By Adam Hedges Siboniso Mkhwananzi aka "Barnes"

Born in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Barnes, as he is known to all, started working as a porter for the river rafting companies that ply the rapids of the mighty Zambezi.

Every morning, the freelance porters would gather at the rim of the gorge that plunges more than 100 meters from rim to river to carry the inflatable zodiacs, huge metal frames, oars, picnics and life preserving equipment  that the tourists needed to enjoy a day on what is widely considered the best one-day white water experience in the world.

Of course, at the end of the day, after 22 kilometers and 18 exhilarating rapids, all this equipment needed to be hauled out of the gorge too!

Early on, tourists told Siboniso that he looked just like the Jamaican born International football star John Barnes, and the nickname stuck. As his impressive physique and willingness to carry more than the other porters gained the attention of management of the first and most prestigious rafting company in Victoria Falls; Safari Par Excellence, or “Safpar” for short, he was groomed as rafting guide, earning his 1^st class rafting guide certificate in 1996.

By 2001, the economy in Zimbabwe was beginning to turn sour. The then president Robert Mugabe started his campaign to force white farmers out to distract the citizenry from the massive underlying problems of graft and corruption that plagued Zimbabwe. And I was looking for a heavy-duty truck driver and camp manager for my safaris in Botswana.

So it came to pass that Barnes started a new career managing our camps and driving our heavy ex-military trucks around the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari. His easygoing nature and ability to pick up the heaviest equipment soon made him a popular addition to our camp crew.

While on a massive month-long reality TV film in the Kalahari some years ago, with over 75 celebrities, movie makers and 35 staff, we were caught out by early rains. Our four military 4X4 trucks were all stuck at the same time, dining tents were blown over by thunderstorms, dinner was waterlogged and everyone was losing their sense of humor. Barnes was the rock that pulled the team together and the trucks out of the mud.

He is the one who makes our camp moves look easy and is featured in our video below.  Here you’ll see Barnes negotiating the sandy tracks of northern Botswana driving his MAN truck called “The Hulk.”

Barnes is often the first person a guest sees in the morning on our Botswana safaris. He is always ready by the fire with a cup of coffee and a ready smile.

Recently he visited Chris Rodgers’ team in Tanzania to experience first hand how the RAS Tanzania team operates. He did tell me that he was impressed by the mountains and scenery of that beautiful country.

Out of season, Barnes can be found back on the mighty Zambezi guiding white water rafting trips to keep his hand in and stay fit!