Mr S

Zambia Guru

For me, it’s often adventures with my family that lead to my most memorable experiences in Africa. A true highlight was in Zambia, introducing my family to the Victoria Falls, where I used to live and work – it was a special thrill walking down memory lane. Watching hippos from our bedroom, and zip lining across the gorge with my daughter. Next, taking a helicopter flight over the Falls affording a bird’s eye view, then to a vastly different perspective – sitting on the edge of the Falls at Devil’s Pool! There were so many adventures and memories on that trip that we all still talk about today.

Zambia is intriguing to me because it’s not regarded as one of the more famous safari destinations, still, when compared with South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana, it more than holds its own and in some ways out does itself. For people who want to do more than sit in their game drive vehicle, the national parks allow walking safaris, night drives, boat trips, canoe safaris and so much more. It’s the perfect destination for anyone seeking an active adventure or for families with older kids. Zambia is also renowned for its small “bush” camps with typically only 5 or 6 tents. With the lack of mass tourism, the wonderful wildlife, the mighty Victoria Falls and the friendly Zambian people, it’s definitely up there as one of my favorite countries in Africa.

I grew up a farmer’s son in England, but moved to Africa to bartend in Cape Town then moved to Victoria Falls to become a whitewater rafting guide. Now, I’ve been in the safari industry for 26 years and on safari 40-50 times. My goal is to discover new places and revisit perennial favorites to make sure that standards exceed my guests’ expectations; my job is to constantly update my knowledge and share my findings with my travelers. Just about mid-career, I had children and a decade ago kids weren’t very welcome at safari camps. I began to think about how to do safaris with families, and I’m happy to say that I played a big part in guiding the industry in becoming more family-friendly. I’ve pushed camps to construct family tents and hire guides who are great with kids. I’ve also been an industry resource for other companies who wanted to get into the family market, as well as taking my own family to Africa many times. Now, I’m able to pass that experience along to other parents and their children as I design their family holiday of a lifetime.