If you have ever wondered exactly how a Masters in Engineering from Oxford University, a fellowship at the Royal Geographical Society and being the descendant of one of Africa’s leading professional hunting dynasties might contribute to the making of a man then look no further than Malcolm Destro, one of Royal African Safaris’ earliest partners and widely considered as being one of the continent’s leading wildlife guides.

Malcolm was born in Nairobi, Kenya, the son of Reggie and Cecilie Destro and the grandson of an original member of the 1904 McMillan expedition. Malcolm’s East African upbringing is a veritable window to the world of the twentieth century professional safari guide: his childhood memories a vivid index to wildest Africa, his life as immersed in the business of safari-making as it is possible to get. Add to this Malcolm’s education, his scientific basis for the understanding of wildernesses (their habitats, animal species and our own evolutionary paths), his experience, first, and on the death of his father, at the helm of Reggie Destro Safaris, and then on his own, and you have before you one of the most wonderfully able wildlife aficionados you could hope to meet.

Going on safari with Malcolm is to explore what he calls the “ultimate purist experience,” by which he means a private canvas safari that takes as its cue the immersive journeys pioneered by the likes of his father and the golden age of safari making. Such a safari is both comfortable and extraordinary. It is fun, inspiring and filled with surprise, the unexpected, with those rare, unforgettable moments. And it is as much about the effects of wild travel as it is the wild itself. In short, a Malcolm Destro safari changes lives – for the better. He’s that good.

Malcolm lives with his wife and business partner, Meriel, in Nairobi, Kenya. They have two sons, Lloyd and Cameron.