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Hanlie, founder of Guide to Gap Year
Meet Hanlie

A gap year that changed everything.

In 2017, a twenty-something Hanlie packed two suitcases and flew from South Africa to the United States. She was an au pair. She had no idea it would change the direction of her life.

Coming home a year later, Hanlie couldn't stop talking about it. She joined an agency as a recruiter, and spent the next five years placing hundreds of South Africans in programs abroad. She saw what worked, what didn't — and exactly what young people needed that the industry wasn't giving them.

That gap was Guide to Gap Year. A place where you get real advice from someone who's done it, not a sales pitch from someone who hasn't.

"Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you — it should."

— Anthony Bourdain
Let's plan your journey
Hanlie's Journey

From au pair to your guide

2017
Au pair, USA
Hanlie arrives in Virginia and spends a year caring for two children, exploring the East Coast on weekends, and learning that home is bigger than one country.
2018
Returns to SA, joins agency
Back in South Africa, Hanlie joins a placement agency as a recruiter. She immediately starts recognising gaps in how participants are supported.
2020
500+ participants placed
Reaches her 500th successful placement. By this point she has counselled parents through anxiety, caught agency scams before participants lost money, and built a network of vetted placement partners.
2023
Guide to Gap Year launches
Hanlie starts Guide to Gap Year to give young South Africans exactly what she needed in 2017 — honest, personalised, experience-backed guidance.
Now
Growing every year
More programs coming, more participants placed. Hanlie still personally handles every inquiry. That will never change.
Why Guide to Gap Year

What makes this different

No commission bias
We are paid by participants, not agencies. That means the advice is always in your interest — not whoever pays the highest referral fee.
Scam detection built in
Hanlie has seen fraudulent agencies up close. She knows the warning signs and teaches every participant to recognise them too.
Support doesn't stop at departure
Most agencies go quiet after you board. Hanlie stays reachable throughout your program — because that is when you actually need someone.