Drumbeat Spring 2023

The cooler months see many of our clients escape the clutches of a British winter and head off to enjoy Africa’s sunshine. It’s also the time when people’s thoughts turn to summer holidays. In the last fewmonths Tansy and Becky have both been to Botswana to test out some of our favourite camps. Tansy experienced the benefits of a mobile safari, with meals cooked on and in the fire, while Becky flitted by helicopter between a series of luxury tented camps. Alice has also been travelling and took Namibia by storm as she hosted a group of adventurous female riders on an epic riding safari across the Namib Desert. This issue’s ‘Ask the Expert’ is Jennifer, the wonderful camp manager at Offbeat Mara in Kenya, about whomwe receive regular high praise. She shares her favourite African experiences with us as well as what drew her to the safari industry in the first place. Godwin Urioh, another African-based expert and guide for Nomad Tanzania, shares some of his superb photography tips. Godwin loves being behind the lens and specialises in guiding both professional and ‘just for fun’ photographers. Conservation and working towards protecting the environments we all love to explore is important to everyone here at Aardvark Safaris as well as the camps we work alongside. We look at the important work being done by many of our favourite Rwandan camps to protect their beloved mountain gorillas and their habitats. Finally, a big ‘thank you’ to our client Susie Boissier, who sent us the leopard photograph we’ve used on the front cover of this issue. This wonderful photo was taken, with the help of their guide on their 12th trip with Aardvark Safaris, whilst staying at Shumba in Zambia. RICHARD SMITH - Co-founder INTRODUCT ION 3