In 1994 we decided to 'do' Kenya and planned our safari, expecting it to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A colleague suggested a beach resort that would provide a peaceful respite following the trials and tribulations of the safari.

Well we loved the safari (I was expecting Alison to complain about ‘roughing it’ for a week, but she absolutely adored it) and the two weeks we spent at the beach was relaxing. We made lifelong friends and invited them back for our wedding in January 1997. Many also returned for a reunion over the Millennium.

We safaried at least once a year between 1994 and 2017, mainly in Kenya & Tanzania, but also to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia & Zimbabwe, with breaks to US, Egypt, Morocco, Cyprus & Australia in between. Initially we returned to the same beach resort and often took advantage of their own safari camp along the Galana River in Tsavo East. I began producing pictorial maps showing 'what-we-saw-and-where' after we came across many tourists who claimed they hadn't seen any game on their two day safari, only to find half an hour later we came across herds of elephant! In time I concluded it was their approach that spoiled their experience and not the scarcity of game, resulting in this web site.

As we became more experienced we migrated to more exclusive lodges/camps. Although the game is more scarce they are able to offer day-long safaris without the hordes of safari busses common in the likes of the Masai Mara, as well as additional activities, such as walking safaris, quad bikes etc - see Safari Activities.

Why do we keep going back? Primarily, we got the wildlife bug in our first year (for photography only) and haven't lost our enthusiasm for it. In our experience there is no middle ground, either people get the bug as we did or tick it off their bucket list and move on. Every safari is different and we have only been disappointed once (which was more down to our lack of research and the poor service offered by the hosts), even though we've travelled over a variety of seasons and experienced floods and droughts.

So to get the most from your safari take advantage of our experiences and read on!

If you think there are any glaring omissions on this site or would like specific questions answered please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be pleased to help if we can. Feedback is always welcome.