Spotlight On: Ezekiel Ditshameko

Born in Sepopa, a village on the edge of the Okavango Delta panhandle, Ezi (as he is more commonly known) went to primary school here before moving to Maun for further studies and business school.

Ezi’s first job was with the Botswana Police where he worked through the 90’s.  However, his love of the outdoors was always calling, and in 2000 he left the police force and joined Wilderness Safaris as a lodge guide based at King’s Pool, a luxury lodge on the Linyanti River in northern Botswana.  Ezi’s next job was working for a mobile safari company based in Maun but, sadly, due to the COVID pandemic, he was retrenched.

Royal African Safaris had the great good fortune to offer him employment as tourism started to return to Botswana after the pandemic. He has settled into the Royal African Safaris Botswana family very quickly, where his huge smile and deep laugh are very infectious. He has been given the nickname Kgosi (Chief) as he commands a deep voice.

What is your role here?

I am a professional guide as well as an entertainer and educator.

How long have you been working for Royal African Safaris? 

2 years.

How did you come to work here?

I was introduced to Adam Hedges through a mutual friend who worked with him on the making of a wildlife documentary during COVID. I have now been working closely with Adam for a couple years and the two of us have been nicknamed the “dagga boys” of Royal African Botswana.

What do you like most about working here? 

I enjoy being out in the bush with guests. It is always such a pleasure to see the bush through the eyes of first time visitors to Botswana.

Tell us about your family and home

I live with my family in Sepopa. My 7 year-old son goes to school in the village and my 2 year-old son stays at home with my wife.

Where is your favorite place? 

Savuti, Chobe National Park. Imagine being born in a riverine forest in Sepopa with lots of papyrus and trees and where you can never see more than 500 meters in front of you. Then you arrive on the open marshlands and savanna plains of the Savuti where you can see for miles and miles on end. The vistas are humbling and added to this there are the hills which we typically don’t have in Botswana. The ability to get above the treeline and see the curvature of the earth is something that every Motswana should experience.

Do you have a favorite animal? 

Giraffe. I had a very memorable experience when I witnessed a giraffe giving birth while I was working as a guide in the Linyanti. They also remind me of the Savuti and standing on top of the hills looking at the edge of the horizon. Sometimes, I wish I had their view of the world.