September 25th 2020 |
Botswana, Kenya, Countries, Unique Experiences, Miscellaneous, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe | by
Francis Naumann
Aardvark Safaris has been arranging the best holidays with the very best guides and hosts in Africa for over two decades. We know them all, and can help our clients realise their dreams of experiencing Africa in the company of a true ‘Old Hand’.
Our favourite hosted safaris include:
Fly the length of the Skeleton coast with one of the Schoeman family who’ve been exploring this spectacular wilderness by air for more than 40 years.
Andre Schoeman hosting a Skeleton Coast Flying safari in Namibia
Ride, walk and fly across northern Kenya with Andrew Francombe, using a helicopter to reach places horses and legs can’t get you to and relishing Andrew’s enthusiasm for what he does.
Andrew Francombe will lead you on safaris through Kenya’s most remote regions
Explore the Masai Mara in the company of Jackson Looseyia, one of the very best guides in Kenya, a wonderful personality and a true gentleman.
Cheetah close to Tangulia Camp which is owned and run by Jackson Looseyia
Walk with meerkats, unlock the secrets of the vast Kalahari and learn about the lives of Botswana’s Bushmen with Ralph Bousfield, a legend throughout Africa.
Meerkats, just one of many wonders in Ralph Bousefield’s back yard
Join Beks Ndlovu, a brilliant guide and a superb advocate for assisting communities, to walk through Hwange National Park, canoe down the Zambezi in Mana Pools, and visit remote villages beside Lake Kariba.
A canoe provides a wonderful vantage point from which to enjoy the wilderness of Mana Pools
Walk through South Luangwa National Park with Deb Tittle (here’s an interview we did with her recently), one of the very best walking guides anywhere in Africa, based at Mapazi Camp.
Deb Tittle in action on a walking safari in the South Luangwa National Park
Ride across the Masai Mara with Gordie Church, a superb horseman, a wonderful guide, and a charming and generous host.
Gordie (fourth from left) guiding in the Masai Mara
Keen photographers will love spending time with Ed Selfe, visiting some of Zambia’s finest wildlife country and learning how to improve their pictures at the same time.
Improve your wildlife photography skills with guide and photographer Ed Selfe
Andrew ‘Mollie’ Molinaro is one of East Africa’s finest and most experienced guides, and a week long walk with Kichaka Expeditions through the immense Ruaha National Park in southern Tanzania is a once-in-a-lifetime thrill.
Wonderful walking to be enjoyed with Kichaka Expeditions in Ruaha National Park
What Next?
Let us know if you would like itinerary ideas to include any of the guides and activites above and we’ll put something together for you. Give us a call, or drop us an email and we’ll respond as quickly as we can – usually on the same day. We very much look forward to talking to you.
Francis grew up outdoors, spending far more time on his parents’ farm than he ever did at school. As well as being engrossed in the books of Wilbur Smith from an early age, a growing obsession with Africa was given a boost on a family holiday in Kenya when he was just 10.
Francis grew up outdoors, spending far more time on his parents’ farm than he did at school. As well as being engrossed in the books of Wilbur Smith from an early age, a growing obsession with Africa was given a major boost on a family holiday in Kenya when he was just 10.
Having attended agricultural college, he spent 18 months exploring outback Australia, mostly working on massive cattle stations many miles from a town of any size, and learned to love being barefoot in the bush. Having successfully dodged wild cattle and numerous snakes, he returned to the UK to farm in Wiltshire, which he did until 1995 when the call of the wild overtook him once more and he headed for Africa.
For nearly six years Francis travelled the length and breadth of the continent, guiding groups of up to 20 clients on overland safaris, in 22 countries from Morocco to Cameroon, and Kenya to Namibia. He became an expert guide in wildlife, culture, geography and general African knowledge during this time, and since he had a vehicle under his command he was able to explore new and unknown places on most trips.
He then went home again, got married, and made the mistake of running a post office and shop for seven years, before joining Aardvark Safaris in 2008.
Away from work, Francis loves his daughter, and is a keen tennis and cricket player as well as enjoying cycling. He also likes food, wine and beer, and occasionally mows the lawn. Happiest when barefoot in the bush, Francis is passionate about wildlife, conservation and sustainable travel, is fascinated by other cultures, and the benefits that well planned travel can deliver for less fortunate communities in developing countries. He has superb wildlife knowledge and is also a good person to talk to if you are interested in the cultural side of Africa.
Favourite African experience
It’s really hard to name just one, but these are among many; meeting Slot (an elephant) in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park; seeing and hearing Dogon dancers on the Bandiagara escarpment in Mali; being seriously close to chimps in Mahale Mountains National Park in Tanzania; canoeing the length of the lower Zambezi, camping on islands in the river; the sight of 250 salt laden camels with their Tuareg herders crossing the Sahara to Timbuctoo in Mali; Samburu people watering their stock at Sarara’s Singing Wells.
Favourite animal
The elephant, for its majestic size, complex family and social structures, and its intelligence and longevity. I have spent hours sitting watching them.
My favourite four camps
Goliath Safaris in Mana Pools for the most intimate wildlife encounters.
Sarara Camp in remote northern Kenya for its stunning setting and the Singing Wells.
Chada Katavi in western Tanzania for its remoteness, beauty, and the feeling of being truly wild.
[caption id="attachment_40572" align="alignnone" width="600"] Jack's Camp in the stunning, other-worldy landscape of the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana.[/caption]
In Zimbabwe I’ve ridden with Hwange Horse Safaris at Bomani, and at Victoria Falls, Kwekwe and Chimanimani (Eastern Highlands). I’ve also stayed with African Horseback Safaris in Botswana.
One of the best experiences was riding from Macatoo (African Horse Safaris’ camp) to the airstrip on the morning we left instead of driving there. It was a fast 3 hour ride and we saw lions on the way.
On arranging holidays
I like to take time to get to know about my clients, to learn what really matters to them, and to provide holidays which suit them perfectly. I work extensively with families, and enjoy coming up with exciting and varied holidays which mix adventure and wilderness with great wildlife and masses of fun in the bush. I enjoy any opportunity to produce an unusual, mixed itinerary, perhaps taking people out of their usual comfort zones and into remote, uncharted territory, even if just for a few days, and also offering the chance to spend time with some of the continent’s fabulous people.
I relish any chance to talk about my favourite places and to enthuse my audience with my passion, hopefully without inducing a yawn.
Part of the joy of the work is the feedback we receive (we contact every client for it on their return), and the satisfaction and excitement engendered in our clients by the holidays we arrange. Our testimonials page makes for great reading.
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