Travel with a private safari guide

Historically, the safari industry developed from privately guided safaris, and today you can still hire a specialist private guide if you have specific interests or to host you throughout your safari.

The benefits of traveling with a private guide are not just limited to their guiding abilities, but extend to encompass your whole safari experience.

Although hiring a private guide will add to the cost of an itinerary, the knowledge and experience that they bring with them is simply invaluable.

Sandra Naledi Rubins

Botswana’s wild places impact the health of our Earth. Our support alongside the community’s indigenous knowledge conserves iconic species and uplifts the communities who live alongside them and preserve the landscapes they all share.

Born and raised in Botswana, Sandra is passionate about making a change in the world and the lives of individuals. Travellers with an interest in community upliftment and empowerment will be in good company with her as their private guide.

Before she found her calling, Sandra worked in management for a variety of different tourism operators but always found staff welfare front of mind. In 2017, she and her equally philanthropic best friend founded Naletsana Charity Organisation with the shared goal of making a positive impact in the lives of others. Sandra is also very involved with the Maria Ramsden Learning Centre in the Khwai community.

Seven years in the non-profit sector has equipped this community-minded guide with impressive fundraising, outreach and program management skills, making her a valuable asset to our team, and to your safari. Sandra has played an integral role in the design and implementation of campaigns on educational accessibility, terminal disease, poverty alleviation and environmental conservation for a diverse range of charity organisations from international relief agencies to local grassroots initiatives.

Any journey in Sandra’s company is an inspiring one thanks to her dedication to create positive change and empower others to do the same.

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Super Sande

There are stories everywhere here. Like us humans, every individual animal has its own story. Every tree, every sunset. All their stories are part of every other story. They are all linked.

Super Sande has literally been living in the Botswana bush his whole life. Born in Senyawe, a village in North-East Botswana, he started working for Jack Bousfield as a teenager at Birds and Game, an animal orphanage in Francistown. After Jack passed away in 1992, Super started working for Ralph Bousfield and helped him build Jack’s Camp.

He started working in the Makgadikgadi Pans in 1991 and developed a deep and abiding passion for the pans. Ralph taught him a lot and introduced him to the world of guiding; this has made him a true specialist in this challenging and unique environment & ecosystem.

Super has incredibly good tracking skills and eyesight like a Meerkat, which combined, make him an expert on finding the Kalahari’s most elusive residents. He truly loves the Makgadikgadi Pans and the challenges that come with guiding there. There is nowhere on earth quite like this ancient super lake and no one on earth who knows it better than Super!

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Ralph Bousfield

There are always new frontiers to be explored. I’ve always liked places that are wild and dark, but most of all I like the places that have stood still forever. It is where I live my life and feel completely at peace.

Ralph Bousfield comes from a long line of African pioneers and adventurers; he went on his first safari at the age of three. His family has guided safaris for five generations.  His passion for the Kalahari and the Bushmen began at a very young age as he was very lucky to have one of the greatest teachers and mentors, his father, Jack Bousfield.

Growing up on safari, and hunting as a professional his whole life, his father worked with some of the greatest traditional hunters and trackers in Africa. Jack’s respect for the Bushmen rubbed off on Ralph, and from a very young age, he had the good fortune to spend all his free time on safari with his father and his team.  

Ralph has been guiding since 1976. In 1998 he co-produced and presented a sixteen part series for the Discovery Channel entitled “Uncharted Africa”, which was filmed in Botswana, Namibia, Kenya and Tanzania. Ralph spearheaded the building of Jack’s Camp in the Kalahari Desert’s striking Makgadikgadi Pans. Jack’s Camp and Unchartered Africa were pioneers in tourism in Botswana.

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Gaby Grieveson

There is nothing more exciting than seeing the look on my clients faces when I surprise them with an out-of-this-world experience. It’s such a happy feeling for families to be together in the African bush, surrounded by nature. To me it’s a daily adventure of incredible moments!

A family safari is the ultimate bonding experience, bringing together relatives of all ages through shared experiences, and Gaby is a master of family travel.

With two children of her own, Gaby has plenty of tricks up her sleeve to keep everybody happy and is adept at keeping life running smoothly. She has a wealth of knowledge about the Natural Selection camps. Gaby is fun, easy company and greatly loved by clients for her capable and kind demeanour.

Gaby has a passion for children and families – she thrives on transforming holidays into memorable adventures that stay with every family member for life. Gaby is adept at leading family groups through Botswana and Namibia and is sure to be a valuable member of your party as you journey through Africa.

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Chabba Selei

The balance of the unity of life in a desert coupled with the fun of having very keen guests and a lovely team, is a beautiful recipe for a happy jolly life.

Chabadimaketse Selei (universally known as Chabba) was born in Francistown, Botswana. In the early 80’s this area still had great biodiversity around it and Chabba would catch birds and reptiles and with the help of elders identify them, performing his first dissection with a broken bottle, not aware that this would lead to a path in science and education. Eventually Chabba undertook national service and taught in a bushman village named Salajwe in the southern Kalahari. From there he began his scientific studies at the University of Botswana, after two years transferring to the University of Oklahoma to complete his degree.

Chabba joined Uncharted Africa Safari Company in 2005 as a guide, also undertaking duties such as guide training and maintenance. He is currently based in the Okavango Delta but has a deep love of the Makgadikgadi Pans after many years based at the famous Jack’s Camp. Chabba enjoys showing guests how life and environments connect in an interesting and educational way.

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Nadine Smith

“Africa has an everlasting effect on you and gets under your skin – in a really good way! Breathe it in… wonder at the star-studded skies… and embrace every aspect of what these wild open spaces have to offer. But mostly, enjoy the adventure, make memories, have fun, and leave with a renewed zest for life, knowing you will return. Albert Einstein said it best, ‘Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.’”

It’s hugely empowering for women to travel together through some of the Earth’s most remote corners, and as the mother of two daughters, Nadine’s a dab hand at making female travel a sheer joy.

Nadine’s safari career began in 1998 and since then her sparkling personality and natural curiosity have made her a popular face on the safari scene. Her extensive knowledge of the Natural Selection properties in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, as well as experience guiding in Rwanda makes her a remarkably rounded guide, in whose company fun is never far away. She’s also resourceful, professional and devoted to ensuring her guests have the best possible safari experience.

Nadine’s love of the wilderness has grown from a childhood spent fishing, camping and exploring with her family. Now she loves to share her passion with other women – any women! Single ladies, groups of girlfriends, generations of the same family… this effervescent guide will make sure they all have a blast, understand the value of the simplest moments and leave having forged deep connections to nature and their fellow travellers.

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Peter Allison

I’m fascinated by humans’ interactions with wildlife, from the day we evolved to current times. It is also important to me that people learn how valuable wildlife in wild spaces is, even for those not so interested in nature. Most importantly though I enjoy having fun!

Peter’s story began on Antipodean shores, but a thirst for knowledge and passion for wild places and species brought him to Africa. His guiding career began in South Africa’s Sabi Sands in 1994, but a yearning for the wilderness saw him move to Botswana in 1996 where he guided in the Okavango Delta and Linyanti regions for many years. He progressed to head guide trainer for the region’s largest safari operator before crossing the border to lead safaris through some of Namibia’s most remote areas, including the far northern border with Angola and the infamous Skeleton Coast.

The intrepid guide went on to spend 2 years travelling through South America and has written three books about his experiences as a guide and a traveller. Peter guides trips anywhere and everywhere and has a particular interest in conservation.

Peter is known for his offbeat sense of humour and comprehensive knowledge of all things wildlife. He believes that the most complete safari is one where you learn while having fun and try a new experience every day.

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Kagiso 'Villa'Moatshe

Conservation is humanity caring for the future.

Kagiso – who’s known as Villa throughout the Natural Selection family, had his first environmental conservation experience at the age of 17 when he volunteered through an organization called Botswana Workcamps Association. The organization sparked a passion for the environment in Villa, and he remained with the setup, running conservation projects within communities and wildlife reserves until 2013 when he was offered the opportunity to facilitate high school workshops on conservation and climate change in Germany.

Villa returned from Germany with one dream: to become a safari guide. Newly qualified, Villa began his guiding career at Khama Rhino Sanctuary and then Modisa Wildlife Project before joining Uncharted Africa in 2018. He underwent intensive guide training from Ralph Bousfield (revered guide and founder of Uncharted Africa) before setting out to guide in the Makgadikgadi Pans.

Villa’s experiences have made him somewhat of a desert specialist and he’s particularly knowledgeable about the Makgadikgadi Pans. The love for the environment and its conservation that was first sparked at the age of 17 in Villa has endured to this day, and he’s passionate about sharing his knowledge and care for our planet with his guests.

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Kyle MacIntyre

To me, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing the wonder my guests feel from being out of their busy lives and in the stillness and wonder of nature. It's pure joy on both parts.

Kyle has a unique perspective when taking families on safari as he grew up in Maun and the Okavango Delta. Both his parents are also guides, his mother Karen in fact one of the first licensed female guides on the continent. Always active, Kyle climbed Kilimanjaro at the age of 11, and recently played for the national rugby team of Botswana.

He is qualified as a guide for armed walking, cycling, boat, and kayaking safaris and enjoys making everyone’s safari a completely rounded experience. His eagerness to explore continued with his father Chris as they pioneered unique cycle trips following century old elephant trails.

In 2020 Kyle completed a 1500km 50-day horse expedition for charity from the Okavango to the Chobe River and circumnavigated the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans following the Boteti River back up to Maun. Kyle’s divides his time between marketing and guiding, and has a special affinity for family groups and kids, sharing his world in an out of the ordinary way.

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Robyn Sheldon

“It is true that humans are unbearably, unbelievably precious. When we drop beneath our stressed-out perceptions by tuning into the wise, patient rhythm of the earth, we increase our ability to be guided by our own inner wisdom and are changed on a profound level.”

Robyn’s passion for wellness and healing led her to establish the Okavango Healing and Wellness concept, a unique experience that reconnects us with ourselves and nature in the pristine wilderness of the Okavango Delta. With over thirty years intensive meditation practice, her transformational process work focuses on the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of her clients and all therapies are designed to promote deep relaxation and mindfulness, reduce stress and anxiety, and enhance overall well-being.

Robyn has always had a deep connection to nature. She deeply believes that nurturing oneself, in nature, offers profound healing capabilities and brings one back to stillness. Her holistic treatments are designed so that guests can reconnect with themselves, reconnect with nature, and find inner peace and healing, whilst on vacation. A session with Robyn, is a truly transformative experience. She works around the interconnectedness of mind, body and spirit and will support you throughout each session, as you release blockages and let go.

Why book a wellness safari with Robyn? This is not just a spa experience in the bush. It is the opportunity to come back into wholeness, healing, and a deep appreciation of life through mindfulness and deep process work, whilst in nature and on a restful vacation.

Through the therapy work that Robyn offers, guests are submerged into the tranquility of the Okavango Delta. It’s more than just about treatments and relaxation, but also about profound and transformative soul work, for healing.

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Michael Pohamba Haindongo

It excites me to take guests on safari and show them the beauty and diversity that Namibia and Africa have to offer. It's like discovering new gems each and every day.

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Murray McCallum

I love witnessing the beauty and complexity of wild places with my guests, and imparting the importance of protecting them.

Growing up in the Western Cape of South Africa, Murray’s fascination with nature began early and led to a long-standing interest in the interplay between environmental matters, community and conservation.

Murray is the Sustainability Advisor for Natural Selection and provides conservation and community support for the Natural Selection Trust and Foundation. He guides the Natural Selection Conservation Safari and has deep knowledge of the projects that Natural Selection support, and the importance of these projects in the face of pressures such as human-wildlife-conflict.

Formal education includes an honours in Environmental Science and undergraduate in Environmental Science and Anthropology. His thesis focused on community resource management and the pressures of poaching and impoverishment.

Murray previously managed lodges in Botswana and Zambia, and kayaked 300km across the Savuti Channel and Selinda Spillway with Track of Giants to bring attention to Elephant Conservation corridors and the importance of trans frontier park conservation. Murray is an avid birder and keen fly fisherman. As a father of two young boys, he also really enjoys the company of children and their exuberance and curiosity when on safari.

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Ndabona 'Bones" Thabologo

I really love being around people from different nationalities and backgrounds and enjoy seeing their reactions when we are on safari. I have a strong connection to the environment and love watching it change throughout the seasons. From a very young age I knew that the Makgadikgadi Pans would always be my home.

Ndabona was born in the Makgadikgadi area and aged 10 years old did his first crossing of the Makgadikgadi pans, on horseback, traveling from Xingara on the northern side to Rakops in the south. It was here, guided by elders and travelling at night under a full moon, that he decided he would one day be a guide in this unique region of Botswana.

He found this opportunity in 1999 when he became a guide with Uncharted Africa Safari Company, starting out of Planet Baobab and then heading the guides at Camp Kalahari. Ndabona (or Bones as he is known) has been guiding for 22 years and he has guided at Camp Kalahari, San Camp and Jacks Camp. He draws on a rare and comprehensive insight into the Makgadikgadi area, afforded by a lifetime’s commitment to his environment.

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Thuto Moutloatse

Each and every day I am grateful for the stories I get to share, the adventures I get to have and the incredible people I get to meet.

Voted “Seven Best Adventure Guides on the Planet” in Outside magazine’s Travel Awards in 2014, Thuto Moutloatse life has evolved around wildlife. His passion for nature runs so deep that one of his guests once observed: “He seems to really understand the profound position he is in – that he lives our “trip of a lifetime” every single day.”

Thuto’s privilege to live in and amongst the pristine natural areas of Botswana was due to his father’s involvement in tourism and conservation and a school career spent in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains in neighboring South Africa. In 2006 he started his career as a private guide.

Thuto is frequently requested by both tour operators and repeat guests from all over the world. As for his specialties, the list is endless and his larger-than-life personality makes for memorable family safaris. Going on safari with him will have your mind reeling from the experience and  you will return home having acquired a great deal of knowledge as well as a new friend.

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Boikaego (BK) Setlabosha

I like to engage my guests in every experience and fully participate in the natural world around them. It's all about an unforgettable safari experience that is unique to anything they have experienced before.

BK is a highly motivated guide who is a natural communicator and able to provide an entertaining and informative experience to guests. He has a flair for talking to groups of people along with a good memory for facts and figures. He has always been a fantastic storyteller with an infectious sense of humor and is an expert at thinking quickly on his feet. He provides guests with a unique, unforgettable experience that encourages them to fully participate with what is going on around them.

Through his career he has learnt how to lead guests through sites of historical and cultural interest. As a true professional he always displays a true passion for what he does.

He has guided with all the major safari companies in Botswana, and brings skills learnt from childhood, when he would join his father on subsistence hunting trips in the Okavango Delta. Learning the secrets of many of the most famous safari regions today. He is a master tracker and has the ability to spot wildlife at distance that barely seems possible.

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Badapile Brooks Kamanakao

There's nothing quite like the adrenalin rush of finding spoor and then tracking your way with excited guests to find the prize. Even if you end up empty handed, there are so many other incredible wonders to unearth along the way.

Brooks started his career as a camp assistant, but determined to progress further in the tourism industry, he became a waiter, then a tracker, and then went on to qualify as a professional guide in 2000. Since then, Brooks has developed his bush knowledge even further, and has fine-tuned his guiding skills   working at premier safari camps including Mombo and Kings Pool.

Brooks has earned a reputation for always wanting to learn more, as well as never giving up the wildlife chase if he’s hot on a track! His deep knowledge on ‘simply everything’ is astonishing, and this, combined with his friendly manner, humor and special interests in flora and fauna, astronomy, photography, birding, and the diverse cultures of Botswana, makes him one very popular guide. The ultimate reference, however, is the sheer number of guests who come back specifically for another life-changing safari with Brooks.

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Colin Bell

To me, Africa is where we all began. Each and every one of us has had their DNA crafted here in Africa. Getting to know what makes each of us tick and ultimately better understanding oneself can best be fully unlocked after spending quality time in remote, rural Africa. Travels to the continent leads to inner content – but be warned, it is addictive!

Colin has an impressive 41 years of guiding experience and operates anywhere in Africa.

He landed his first job as a safari guide in Botswana in 1977 after completing an economics degree at Wits University in South Africa.

In 1983 he co-founded Wilderness Safaris which, over the decades grew to own camps and lodges across seven countries, managing over 2 million hectares of prime wilderness lands. In 2017 he co-founded Natural Selection which was created as a conservation-driven tourism company.

Colin is a passionate wildlife conservationist and has co-authored two books on wildlife and the environment – Africa’s Finest and The Last Elephants. He believes that wildlife enriches our lives and makes us caring, nurturing, human beings.

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Ian McCallum

We can learn a lot about ourselves from the wild, if we are prepared to listen, to watch, to be still and to wait. The animals and the wild landscapes are in our blood and in our psyche. Who and what would we be without them.

To summarise Ian McCallum’s achievements inevitably does this gentleman a disservice, but in essence he’s a psychiatrist, analytical psychologist, writer and specialist wilderness guide. Ian qualified as a medical doctor in 1973 before going on to become a specialist psychiatrist. In addition to his work as a consultant at Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital, he also served as an adjunct professor at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Graduate School of Business, and an honorary lecturer at the University of Cape Town.

Away from his medical work, Ian has always had a deep synergy with the natural world and has published two anthologies of wilderness poems: Wild Gifts and Untamed – in 2022 he was named The Wilderness Poet of Honour. Additionally, he wrote the award winning book Ecological Intelligence – Rediscovering Ourselves in Nature. It was Ian who contributed the written word for sculptor Dylan Lewis’ Untamed exhibition in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and in 2012 he and journalist Ian Michler travelled 5000km by foot, bike and kayak across six Southern African countries, co-authoring a book on the experience.

So far so impressive, but this private guide is also a former rugby Springbok, an award winning wildlife photographer and co-founder of the safari company Invent Africa. Ian has been deeply entrenched in the world of conservation for many years, he’s a long-time associate of the Wilderness Leadership School and a trustee of the Cape Leopard Trust. In 2016 he was awarded the Wildlife and Environmental Association of South Africa Lifetime Conservation Achievement Award.

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Mike Myers

The fact that I was born in Africa has been the greatest gift I could ever have been given. From the youngest age I can remember being at peace in wild places. I loved being outdoors and that has always been enough for me. To this day, Africa’s wild places energize me and soothe my soul.”

Mike’s career as a guide started at Londolozi in the 70s. He was already trained as a commercial pilot and worked with John and Dave Varty at Londolozi until he moved to Botswana.

Once in Botswana he was flying and guiding, taking mobile camping safaris into the Okavango Delta which was exciting and truly wild. In mid ’95 he joined Wilderness Safaris as part of the team that built a great safari business over 23 years. While there, he started the Specialist Guide division and guided all over southern Africa. From the magnificent waterways and floodplains of the Okavango Delta to fishing off the vast dramatic Skeleton Coast. Up to the remote and ancient landscape of Damaraland in Namibia to the famous Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park, Matusadona and the Zambezi in Zimbabwe.

Africa’s wild spaces are now more important than ever, and their protection is so relevant to the well-being of our planet and humankind. Safari travel supports this and working in Africa’s great wild parks and places is where Mike gets to share his deep love and passion for Africa with like-minded travellers who are nourished by her magic.

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Map Ives

This world and all life is so completely intertwined, I regard vegetative plants as being the basis for all life on Earth. I also regard the complexity of adaptation in plants and animals to be of primary importance when trying to understand their success in survival on this planet.

Driven by a curiosity about the natural world, Map began his wildlife career in 1974 when he joined the Zimbabwe National Parks Department as a field ranger working alongside some of the true legends of wildlife management and conservation. Returning to Botswana in 1983 he discovered the Okavango Delta and began a lifetime of study and guiding.

Map has been a licensed Professional Wildlife Guide and conservationist in Botswana for the last forty years. He has organized and led safaris into the wildest parts of the northern Botswana wilderness, including the Chobe National Park, the Central Kalahari, the Linyanti system and his special interest, the great Okavango Delta where his knowledge of the geology, hydrology, geomorphology, and animal movements, have earned him a reputation as one of the very best guides in the region.

Map is acknowledged as a leading expert on the Okavango Delta, it’s various components and wildlife populations, and has also established himself as spokesman for the protection of this unique wetland of international importance.

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Alan McSmith

My personal philosophy as a guide is about creating and facilitating meaningful moments on safari, but also platforming conservation-based experiences.

After 30 plus years in the saddle, Alan continues to break new ground as a safari and wilderness guide. A lifetime of exploration and discovery, not to mention the traditional knowledge and wisdom of baYei, Bushman, Herero and Shangaan trackers and guides have made lasting impressions. Wilderness, therefore, is no longer a place but a way of life and he remains committed to share meaningful wildlife encounters, storytelling and old school hospitality, preferably around a remote African campfire.

For Alan there is no place like The Okavango Delta. His deep understanding of the wild and his readiness to share it with all who are interested makes him a much sought after wildlife and wilderness guide.

But it is not just his knowledge and experience that makes spending time on safari with him so special; it is also his gentle, self-effacing manner, sense of humour and relaxed character that makes it such a treasured event.

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Daniel Crous

I am here to do two things through my work; take the wilderness to the world in the form of my photography and any inspiration it brings, and of course, bring the world to the wilderness by leading people in life changing experiences.

Daniel Crous was raised in the Okavango Delta where his parents managed safari camps in the 90’s. The need to be closer to a school brought the young family to Maun, Botswana where they have lived ever since.

Daniel studied Hospitality Management in South Africa before starting a career in Tourism that has taken him all over the world. Private tropical islands, African rainforest, Okavango Delta, and the ski fields of the European Alps have all been temporary homes. Daniel also guided long overland tours through Europe that took him to all its corners, no matter how obscure.

When, at the age of 14, Daniel’s father gave him his old Konica Minolta Film camera, photographing the incredible world he lived in became a passionate pursuit. Daniel has not looked back and now finds as much joy in guiding others towards special natural experiences, both through the lens and through the unfiltered eye.

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David Luck

I guess what is unique about me is my guiding style combined with my passion for photography and all things natural. I have many years’ experience with a variety of different locations and habitat types. I like to turn an experience into an incredible journey.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1961, David grew up in Zambia. He spent much of his youth in the bush accompanying his father who was Chairman of the Zambia Wildlife Society. He quickly developed a passion for the wilderness and its complexities and between him and his brother; they collected a menagerie of chameleons and snakes!

David started guiding in Zimbabwe in 1986 in Matusadona National Park. Moved to Malawi and guided guests on Lake Malawi doing kayaking and scuba diving trips to outlying islands from 1996 to 1998.

He moved to Botswana at the end of 1998. Besides guiding in Botswana, he leads privately guided trips to Tanzania, Madagascar, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, the Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. He was very fortunate to have led expeditions in the Canadian Arctic in 2004 to photograph polar bears and other Arctic wildlife.

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Kai Collins

I was lucky to grow up in a rural village surrounded by wildlife, which sparked my passion for conservation. I now dedicate my life to the conservation of the last wild places and critical ecosystems that sustain us. Nature brings us back into the present, where we really should be spending most of our time!

A born and bred Botswana boy, Kai is a seasoned conservation biologist who’s remained close to his roots and bases himself in Maun. He holds a MSc degree and is currently completing his PhD.

Kai makes an ideal choice for the conservation-minded traveller since he has been heavily involved in some truly epic conservation efforts throughout sub-Saharan Africa. These have included coordinating some of the largest international translocations of black rhino in history. His expertise lies in the safeguarding of endangered species and addressing the ecological ramifications of climate change on ecosystems and protected areas. The conservationist has also coordinated a collaborative framework and coalition amongst NGOs and governmental bodies with the aim of spearheading community-driven initiatives to catalyse sustainable economic ventures including adventure tourism opportunities in remote parts of Africa.

 This weight of experience makes Kai a fascinating and insightful guide. He has worked as a guide since 2012 and speaks both English and French. 

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