Tribute to Big Bird
If you have ever been to Greystoke Camp, hidden in the rainforest and nestled on the shores of giant Lake Tanganyika, your stay there will no doubt have been burned in your memory. Aside from its idyllic setting, and the "Robinson Crusoe" character of this remote camp, it is also...
Uganda – on safari in December
The Engs family from California asked us where we recommend for their fourth safari with us, this time over Christmas. They loved their safari in Zimbabwe, but Christmas is not the best time to visit the Miombo/Mopane belt (northern South Africa, southern Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe). It is however, an...
The Monastery
The views change dramatically as we drive through the pass. We left the small hotel in Alquézar after breakfast, where buildings of brick and reddish sandstone are plastered with an earthy clay and have red tiled roofs, nestled in a land of grey and red limestones, which has been aged...
The Hadzabe of the Yaeda Valley
One aspect of an African safari that is often overlooked is the cultural side. The primary reason for an Africa trip is usually the big game - lion, leopard, elephant and lots more of course! But over the years, I have noticed how activities that bring guests into contact with...
Springtime in the Pyrenees
In East and Southern Africa it is the rainy season during April and May. For most of my life this period has conjured up images of abundance, greenery, mud, adventure, with a bit of steamy warmth. As this is not the best time to be on safari, I have traditionally...
A Drive To Hidden Valley
This has been the driest February in the vast Serengeti that I can remember. We had poor short rains in November and it has rained very little since. Most of the open "short grass" plains are parched, and there is little surface water for the game to drink. It amazes...
A Learning Curve
One morning, while we were out in the Serengeti Plains looking for cheetah, we came across a solitary female who looked hungry and appeared to be working the scrubby bushes as if she was hunting hares. We watched as she swept the area for some time, until she suddenly stopped...
Start to the Day at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
Steaming coffee was delivered to my room in the pre-dawn. I quickly got ready and made my way up to the dining area, ready for our early departure. We were staying at the luxurious Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, and today were driving down into the magnificent wildlife-packed caldera. My guests hadn’t...
Murchison’s Falls National Park, Uganda
Uganda is not a big cat destination, and becomes a place we often visit to track the rare mountain gorillas. This is a fantastic experience but, whenever I am in a country, I have a yearning to see more of it. In January I was guiding a safari there tracking...
Manyara Ranch and the Honeyguide Foundation
This was one of the rare occasions when us three brothers could do something together. My younger brother, Sam, lives in Australia, I now live in Spain, and Damian is the only one left in Africa – in Tanzania. Damian Bell started and runs a non-profit organization (Honeyguide Foundation) that...
Mating lions
My younger daughter has been on safari several times. However, since she was two years old, when we moved to Spain, these experiences have been far apart. This time, two years since her last visit, I watch her become totally immersed in the activities of this African world, its smells,...
Predators in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
The Serengeti Plains are divided into two conservation areas - the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The Serengeti National Park provides full protection to all the wildlife, and humans are only permitted there as either researchers or employees of the national park, or as paying guests (tourists),...
