November 2021 News Brief

A couple of months ago I talked about the “ Rip van Winkle’ quality to the sudden restart of travel: The change in attitudes, the loosening of restrictions and the joy of welcoming guests back to share the incredible adventure of a safari. 

Those adventures reaffirmed why we have chosen this way of life, the power of connection that is so unique to a safari. The connection between each other, as fellow explorers, families, friends, the excitement in the discovery of each day, and those whose home the wilderness is. 

In this news piece I would like to pay tribute to the resilience and determination of the partners and the safari crews. There were indeed times when it was difficult to see further than the metaphorical end of one’s finger. The confusion of opinions, swirling conspiracies, endless predictions and false news all added to a sense that no one seemed to know what they were talking about. It was easy to lose one’s perspective, easy not to see the moon. 

However in that confusion, there was a common thread, a core belief that the company, and each safari is only possible because of the people that make it happen. Whilst `”human capital” does not appear as a value on a balance sheet, the reality is that the combination of skills required to run extraordinary safaris is built up over time. Teams like this can not be simply hired and trained in a single season, or for that matter, found as graduates from hotel schools, or tourism courses. A safari, in the proper sense of that word requires people to run it and lead it who are from the land through which one travels, ready for the unexpected, taking on each challenge with a sense of fun that is infectious. They ensure the camp makes it to that special spot. Their smiles, welcome us back from a long day, with those simple comforts that make all the difference, whilst ensuring all is in place for us to experience the wildlife, the culture and the wilderness, away from the “madding crowd”.

It is no small feat, that school fees were paid, food made it to 100’s of tables, in Kenya,Tanzania and Botswana, and those teams that are the backbone of who we are; stand ready, intact, excited, and certainly looking beyond the end of that metaphysical finger, to welcoming those coming on safari. 

As 2021 draws to a close, we rediscovered, and reaffirmed what was important. The personal sacrifices every one made to get here, are quickly forgotten as we look around the familiar faces, friendships that define who we are, what we stand for in the privacy and spontaneity of travel, proud to be offering safaris as they are meant to be. 

All of this would of course not be possible without the incredible support we have had from you. Safaris, postponed, not cancelled, more friends referred, and as you will read in the foundation news, a real commitment to keep the wilderness and wildlife intact. 

Thank you,