How long have you been a guide? I have only ever been a guide at Borana Lodge. I have been guiding clients here for six years. When did you know you wanted to become a guide? I grew up in a very poor village in Lake Turkana and once I ... Read more
While the Kruger is South Africa’s most famous national park, Madikwe Game Reserve is one of its unsung gems. Regarded as one of the country’s most successful conservation stories, this formerly semi-arid farmland in the north west, close to the Botswana border and its capital Gaborone, was designated in 1991 ... Read more
Anywhere that includes ‘impenetrable’ in its name is sure to be remote; but there’s remote and remoter when it comes to Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest. This ancient forest (estimated to date back more than 25,000 years) in south western Uganda is home to over half the world’s endangered mountain gorillas, ... Read more
The immense Chobe National Park is renowned for its huge numbers of elephant, which at 50,000 is the largest single population remaining in Africa. The park runs across the northern edge of Botswana, following the course of the Chobe River westwards from its confluence with the Zambezi until it becomes ... Read more
Everyone has heard of the Serengeti National Park, some of Earth’s most fertile grassland, and its immense herds of migrating wildebeest and zebra. It's no surprise that visitors flock to see this astonishing spectacle which can make the neighbourhood seem rather congested with vehicles. In contrast, Mwiba Private Wildlife Reserve ... Read more
We sit on the deck overlooking the dry riverbed warming ourselves in the morning sun. The whole family is dressed in muted colours as we wait for our guide to return with news. He left early, before sunrise and the delivery of coffee to our tents, to meet the rhino ... Read more
Makuleke is little known, even among safari specialists. Test it if you like. Call six safari companies and see how many can place it. One might be able to, and a couple of others might ask if you meant Marakele, but I’m confident most won’t know where it is or ... Read more
During part of a recent holiday in Namibia, Richard and his family spent a week exploring with Francois as their guide. Rather than being based at one particular camp, Francois works for safari outfit Ultimate Safaris whose guides lead guests through various parts of this spectacular country. He and Richard ... Read more