Following the news of the Michelin Guidebooks launching in South Africa, I thought you would enjoy this chat with Grant Parker, a safari camp manager and passionate chef. Learn about safari cuisine, how they get such great ingredients into the remote bush and the talented teams making it all happen. Enjoy our chat! www.tintrunksafari.com Instagram: @tintrunksafari

The passing of the gorgeous and talented Robert Redford got me thinking about Out of Africa. Redford stars with Meryl Streep in Sydney Pollack's film adaptation of Karen Blixen's memoir of the same name. It's about Blixen's life in Kenya and her love affair with Denys Finch-Hatton. Today, this term evokes romance and elegance on safari. In this podcast, I give a bit of history of the book and the film and some anecdotes about the making of the movie here in Kenya, as well as discuss the...

This was a very fun interview to do. It followed a very fun walk through the Namibian desert with Boetie in which we learned a lot - and got tested! One of the oldest cultures on Earth, the San or Bushmen of Southern Africa have ancestry dating back thousands of years, with cave paintings dotted around the continent. And they are proud to share their customs and traditions with us, as you will hear. Enjoy my chat with Boeti! www.tintrunksafari.com Instagram: @tintrunksafari

What does it mean to be a good safari guide? What is okay and not okay to do around the animals in the bush? In this episode, I elaborate on safari guiding and how vital it is that safari visitors support the right places and guides if we want the African wilderness to thrive. This is the only research you need to do before deciding which safari to go on! www.tintrunksafari.com Instagram: @tintrunksafari

It's true. If you plan to come on safari in Africa, who plans for you and chooses where you are going is paramount to the quality of guiding you will experience. And that is the difference between respect for the animals, communities and an ethical approach to it all and the very opposite. Brian and I discuss what it means to be a good safari guide. The more you know about this, the more wisely you can choose, for how you travel matters! Thank you for listening and enjoy my chat w...

It's all about Permit. Or GTs. Or Bone Fish, (but they are easy). Kyle Simpson is head guide at Alphonse, the idyllic tropical paradise in the Seychelles that attracts passionate fishers the world over. It attracts people wanting to dive and snorkel and swim with mantas too, but that is covered on my previous podcasts. Kyle and I talk about why this place is such a world-class destination. If you are already a fisher, you will want to go for sure. If not a fisher, like me, beware of transform...

It's a topic dear to my heart. What is it about a safari that is so personally transformative? Why do people - even those who were 7 years old at the time - say, over and over, it's the best trip they have ever done? I keep attempting to answer those questions, using my own experiences and that of our clients. In this short episode, I talk about the hierarchy of man on the planet and how the Great Rift Valley's geological phenomena helped set the scene. How being in the presence of these rare...

John Barclay is a fountain of knowledge about the bush. His safari genealogy goes back generations. He is the grandson of the famous Jack Bousfield of Botswana, an explorer whose collection at Jack’s Camp is considered part of the national treasures of the country. His uncle, Ralph, is a mentor and avant-guarde thinker on all things safari and conservation. John has used his childhood in the bush to learn – and learn and learn. As you will hear, he is not only full of information but, above a...

Did you know that no one has ever seen a Manta Ray give birth? Their babies are over a meter wide when they are born. Or that the Seychelles may be one of the only Manta nurseries on Earth? Elle Brighton is a devoted marine conservartionist working in the Seychelles Outer Islands. Based on the inimitable Alphonse Island, she oversees everything from the health of the fishing (it's a world class destination for catch and release of bone fish, giant trevally, and lots more) to shark conservatio...

Wendy Panaino is the head of conservation at Tswalu in South Africa’s Kalahari. If you listened to my podcast about the Deserts of Africa, you will remember the Kalahari. It is an exceptionally rich ecological area and Tswalu is a success story of rehabilitation and conservation. Wendy and I sat down while I was there and chatted about what it means to be a custodian of Africa’s largest private nature reserve, it’s fragile ecology, complex management of wildlife – especially the relationship ...

Over the 21 years I have been bringing guests to Africa with my business, Tin Trunk Safari, I have held to the principle that I do not send guests anywhere that I have not been personally. This has kept Tin Trunk “slower and closer” and is also essential in making sure I match the clients to the right experiences. In today’s episode, I talk about the vetting process. What am I thinking about and looking at when I do a reki? I always spend at least one night, usually two, and that allows me to...

It's the end of February and in case the Winter cold lingers, I thought you would enjoy going to a tropical island - to talk about food. Luke Van Der Merwe is the head gardener on Alphonse Island in the Seychelles and, as you will hear, he is passionate about what he does. Our chat covers everything from how come the food is so delicious here, in the middle of nowhere in the Indian Ocean, to how important the microbiome is to that fact. It's certainly farm to table here! Enjoy! www.tint...

The names conjure romantic images: The Sahara. The Namib. The Kalahari. Africa is home to three of the largest and most diverse deserts on our planet. Safaris that include the Namib and the Kalahari in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa reveal not only unbelievable formations, landscapes and flora, but also unique animal sightings, like the desert-adapted Elephant; the Cheetah (Namibia has the largest population of them in Africa); the Oryx, a master of thermo-regulation, and very rare sighti...

Our conversation continues and after learning about Kes's arrival in Africa, her elephant research, frog heart muscle research and raising a family in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the border of war-torn South Sudan, we now hear more about that as well as what she is doing to stop the total extinction of the Northern White Rhino species. Enjoy Part 2 and be sure to listen to Part 1 first if you haven't! www.tintrunksafari.com Instagram: @tintrunksafari

Kes Hillman Smith is an unsung hero in African conservation. She arrived in Africa in a Land Rover through the Sahara and stayed to become a dedicated conservationist. Her research and hands-on involvement in Garamba National Park in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the border with South Sudan, protecting elephants and rhino from savage poaching, flying her own plane for animal surveys and establishing conservation initiatives - all while raising her two children - is ...

How Scared Should You Be about Africa? It depends to a large degree on into whose hands you are entrusted. Good guides. Travel planners who understand that Africa can be daunting and are willing – and knowledgeable enough – to help you through to the other side. This is something I enjoy and whether we are talking about planes, animals, illness or just how different Africa is from every other trip you have taken, clients and I discuss and plan based on levels of comfort. I want to hold your h...

Jack Coupland walks the talk. He oversees the fascinating – and incredibly important – conservation projects on Alphonse Island in the remote Outer Island area of the Seychelles. In our chat, we talk about sharks, turtles, birds, fish and coral and how they are all intricately, crucially, linked to form this pristine and thriving marine environment. It’s not often one can say that about the condition of our oceans these days so this is an uplifting one too! Enjoy.www.tintrunksafari.com Instag...

Listen to hear why this is my favourite tropical paradise in Africa. Whether you are looking to lie on white sands until sundowner time with a good book or want to get out and do some world-class fishing and diving and snorkeling and hiking and biking and and and... this is it. Happy listening! www.tintrunksafari.com Instagram: @tintrunksafari

Tony Church is a man whose life has spanned fascinating moments in Kenya's history. To some he is the father of horse safaris in Kenya, to others the man who helped organise the horses for Robert Redford and Meryl Streep while they filmed Out of Africa, to other, precious ones, he's the grandfather who puts them on horses when they come to visit. Listening to Tony talk of zebra rustling as a child, of ocean voyages between England and Africa, of horse riding from Nairobi across lands then wil...

In this episode, I talk about the endangered Mountain Gorillas and take you on a virtual trek. I have done this 8 times now, in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's often called an experience of a lifetime - and it truly is. If you have done it, you will have a lovely walk down memory lane. And if you haven't, you will want to! Enjoy! www.tintrunksafari.com Instagram: @tintrunksafari