In the saddle, in the cockpit
“I suppose it’s just different kinds of horsepower,” she shrugs.
“I’m an entrepreneur and I have my fingers in many pies. I like to take the things about which I am passionate and turn them into businesses,” she says.
Born in Prieska in the Northern Cape, Smit grew up on a farm near the Kalahari where her father farmed cattle and game. When she started school, the family moved to the KwaZuluNatal South Coast.
She matriculated at Port Shepstone Hoërskool Suid Natal and went on to complete a business diploma.
She set up her first business to offer horse riding excursions at the Zimbali Coastal Resort. “I operated there for 12 years. At one stage, I had 26 horses and I was very proud to not only own my own business but also to employ and train staff,” she recalls.
The glamour was not far away. “We had to teach the Miss World 2001 contestants to ride for part of the film shoot for international television broadcasts. Over the years, we featured in many TV shows, newspaper and magazine articles and fashion shoots. We hosted and entertained high- profile guests not only at Zimbali but also at the Durban July.”
When the Zimbali community decided that they could no longer keep horses, she was forced to close at the end of 2010.
It wasn’t her only business. She created Conexions Marketing and Event Management to host the inaugural fund-raising event for the Nicholas Rey Foundation in 2005. It continues to manage fundraisers for different organisations and large businesses.
In 2011, Smit decided to slow down to spend more time with her twins Adriaan and Richard.
“I visited Virginia with my sons, my sister and my twin nephews during one of the April school holidays. While walking around, I spotted an aircraft parked next to a hanger and told them that I wanted to learn how to fly. They all laughed and thought I was joking,” she recalls.
Within a month, she’d enrolled at one of the flight schools. “But I soon realised that, although flying is fun, it comes with a lot of studying. I was surrounded by books, calculators, and other things I didn’t know existed.”
Six weeks later, she completed her first solo flight.
She was also offered a position as marketing manager of the King Shaka Aviation Centre.
With professional pilot and business partner Christiaan Grobbelaar, Smit soon found her space in the aviation industry, launching charter consultancy Sky Voyage in late 2013. It’s run as a joint venture with King Shaka Aviation, which supplies the fleet.
From the outset, they wanted to offer chartered flights throughout Africa, linking travellers and service providers and providing packages to suit clients’ requirements, budgets and preferences.
Things took time to build up but are gathering momentum and the company has a base in Gauteng so that passengers can be flown directly to Zululand without travelling via Durban.
Smit believes that the charter market could grow and become more cost effective. It is important to plan trips so aircraft are not flying empty or waiting for long periods on remote runways.
Since Sky Voyage took flight, she says she has enjoyed promoting an area she loves – northern Zululand – and building strong relationships with resort and lodge owners. “I saw this as an opportunity to market the Elephant Coast.”
Smit began contacting reserves and lodges, asking about guests’ transport arrangements and investigating possible obstacles to flying them in. Then, two years ago, she set up a meeting.
The response, she says, was overwhelming and the large group that arrived to discuss what could be done with the Mkuze airstrip included tour operators and guides, representatives of small business in Pongola and local residents.
“The next thing, we had started talking to the uMkhanyakude municipality in Zululand about developing, running and maintaining Mkuze airport.”
Based on an agreement with the municipality, Smit and Grobbelaar plan to transform it into a business hub. As the centre point, the airport will include a terminal building, fuel, restaurant, car hire car and banking facilities.
The construction of a 5km perimeter security fence is under way. She is optimistic they will have a functional terminal in 12 to 18 months.