Q1: What’s key to planning the perfect safari?
A:
First-hand knowledge and attention to detail. There is
plenty of room for error when planning these trips, so it’s
essential to get everything absolutely spot on.
Q2: What do you love most about your job?
A:
Making people happy. There’s nothing better than
speaking to guests who have just returned from a
fantastic holiday. It gives me such a buzz.
Q3: How did you end up in the safari business?
A:
Purely right time, right place. Though my mother had
been in the travel industry so I had an inkling of what it
would be like to plan high end holidays for people.
Q4: Where are you going to visit next?
A:
I don’t have many more countries to ‘tick off the list’,
but am off to southern Mozambique next. Though I’ll
miss the wildlife, I’m particularly looking forward to
some beach-time.
Q5: What’s your most memorable
safari moment?
A:
Probably sleeping in the hide at Meno A Kwena,
Botswana. Elephant splashed about in the river
while two lion prides roared back and forth at
each other all night long. It was thrilling to be
caught up in the middle of it. I didn’t sleep a wink.
Q6: What’s the strangest safari
request you’ve had?
A:
Getting emergency contraception out to Africa,
from the UK, for a honeymoon couple!
Q7: What would be your dream itinerary?
A:
Gorilla tracking as I lived in Uganda and Rwanda
for a while. Greystoke Mahale and Chada Katavi in
western Tanzania for chimps and remote wilderness.
Riding in the Okavango would probably be there too,
along with time on one of the private islands just off
northern Mozambique. I’d need at least a month.
Q8: What’s your favourite animal?
A:
Wild dog as they’re so rare and incredibly
exciting to watch when they’re hunting.
Otherwise I just love the grace and beauty of giraffe
which, tall and leggy, are completely opposite to me.
Q9: What’s your sundowner choice?
A:
I’m not fussy, but a G&T is a real safari favourite.
Q10: Favourite camp?
A:
Many. If I HAVE to choose, probably Sand Rivers
or Beho Beho in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve.
They’re beautifully designed, in stunning locations
with great guides, hosts and wildlife.
Q11: Favourite country?
A:
Kenya with its perfect mix of activities and
wildlife, Uganda and Rwanda for being so different,
and I adore the gorillas, and finally Botswana for
the sheer amount of wildlife.
Q12: Favourite safari activity?
A:
Riding. The wildlife sees you as another animal
so you can get closer than you could in a vehicle.
It’s adrenaline pumping and exhilarating.
Q13: Best ever sighting?
A:
Being 10 metres from a mating lion while on
horseback. He was staring straight at us but was
too preoccupied to take much notice. I still
remember it as if it was yesterday – I loved it.
Q14: Most precious piece of safari kit?
A:
My camera. I’m not the most accomplished
photographer, but really enjoy having a go.
Ask the Expert
In the first of a series of interviews with our sales team,
we quiz Jo Gordon on her life organising safaris.
JO GORDON
www.
aardvarksafaris.co.uk l
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