African Safari Roots

"Guides who go beyond the job description and share themselves and their life experiences - not just what's on the itinerary - are a traveller's treat… sometimes it's the luck of the draw." National Geographic Traveller

Our mission at Safari Roots is to provide the highest quality guided safaris in Africa - to take away the 'luck of the draw'.

	All About Me: Rob McDowell Client Comments

Call Rob: + 44 (0)1736 367635 Email Rob: rob@africansafariroots.com

2008

This year, in 2008, we're proud to be the safari specialist sponsor for TPOTY (The Travel Photographer of the Year). As part of this, read about our one-off migration safari led by award-winning photographers Chris Coe & Chris Weston. American amateur photographer Jean-Claude Louis’ haunting black and white images of Berlin won first prize here, congratulations.

Check out the trips we have for 2008, including a new style of self-drive in Bots, historic safaris and even strategic planning courses with the Maasai! Do call us to discuss. Or visit us on the Tanzania Tourist Board stand at Destinations Travel Show at the end of January.

On the home front our son, Pax, will be one in March. He already crawls like a Baboon and whoops like a Hyena!

Our photo gallery pages have been updated and we'd love to receive your best shots for a new 'Your Pictures' client page we're building.

Drive yourself Wild in Botswana

This is a very exciting possibility for all free-spirited wannabe adventurers. With the independence and value of self-drive, you now get to relax and 'see' more with safari provisions, food and a private Botswana guide included. This is perfect for old African hands, or for those who simply want the flexibility but also the ears and eyes of a 'local' to assist and direct where necessary. There are lots of variables so do chat to us. Prices start from £110 pppn.

Set Departure Safaris
	Following the success of last year’s set departure safaris, we’ve new adventures planned this year including Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi. These mean top private guiding, small groups but a keener price tag, if you can travel on set dates. Space is obviously limited.

“My one week photo safari at Kicheche Mara Camp was indeed incredible. The game drives were amazing. After two days we saw the big five. Also we were lucky to see two river crossings, of which the last one was really the highlight of my holiday. Thousands of wildebeest crossed the river and many of them were sadly drowned. Afterwards the river had plenty of dead animals, which was great food for the vultures. This was by far the best safari I have ever had! Best regards and thanks for the good organisation.” D Vandendaele, Kenya

Special Interest Groups
	If you belong to a group or club, be it rambling, birding, golf, cricket, polo, reading, yoga, photographic or another interest and want to organise a trip for like-minded folk, we can help you arrange the trip. Groups need to be minimum of five plus leader and are always privately guided on the ground in Africa. Special leader rates apply. This is proving popular with all kinds of groups.

“I recently returned from Kenya with a small group of six enthusiastic wildlife artists. We spent time sketching the pinks of the flamingo lakes, followed by thousands of wildebeest in the Mara. It was a wonderful art safari, with private guides giving flexibility and all their personal touches along the way.” Mary-Anne Bartlett, Kenya

Family Trips
	Family trips are becoming a speciality for us. Picking the right guides, areas and lodges makes or breaks a trip for a multi-age group so please call us for advice.

“We're all still talking about our family reunion - breakfasts round a log fire and dinners to the accompaniment of hippo… With our own plane it was made so easy and personal. Rob went the extra mile to meet everyone's needs - with nine of us aged seven to 73, that was a real feat.” S Keighley, Zambia

Honeymoons

About 20% of our clients are honeymooners. We’re happy to connect you with folk who have travelled with us, if you want an objective reference. This is where ‘tailor-making’ and early planning really come in to their own. Please get in touch as early as you can to assure camp availability. We also have a popular wedding list voucher system whereby you can have your guests contribute to your honeymoon.

“Having our own private guide on honeymoon made all the difference – we could be entirely selfish in what we wanted to do and see. It also meant that all our memories are ours and ours alone! We had a lot of romance along the way, the lodges were so stylish and we returned with some great adventure stories. The wedding vouchers worked perfectly.” P Helsig, Tanzania

Kommt mit auf Safari! Venez en safari!

A steady stream of clients are coming to us from Europe and the US.

We speak German and French. Please do call us if you'd like to discuss safari plans.

Guiding with a Difference

Our mission is to provide the highest quality guided safaris in Africa - to take away the "luck of the draw".

We want to take you to the most amazing areas of this continent (my home) and to help you really get under the surface - down to the roots. Whether you prefer luxury accommodation or something more rustic, we want to help you feel the spirit of Africa. Constant research and a different approach to guiding are our methods.

Research

We only use areas and lodges that we've personally visited. As the safari industry has developed, you as clients have been able to demand greater in-country knowledge and access to more remote areas. This drives excellence and research. Personally we love it - we're addicted to sniffing out new wilderness areas to excite both old and new Africa Hands. After ten years researching and organising safaris we can give you our personal take on more than 80% of lodges and wilderness areas in East and Southern Africa. If we haven't seen it, we don't sell it. This personal knowledge isn't a given in the industry, but it should be.

Guiding

But besides exploring, I have an even greater passion: getting the guiding right. It's the one vital piece where you stand to lose or gain a lot but still have so little control.

Usually when you book a safari the selection of your guide is out of your hands. Inevitably there are good guides, mediocre guides and sadly, some poor or unmotivated ones - even at 'exclusive' lodges. The truly GREAT guides are rare and you need to know how to find them. The guide assigned to you can really can be 'the luck of the draw' and with typically three guides per trip, you may experience a lot of repetition.

Connecting you with truly great guides, whether on or off the beaten track, is the driving concept behind African Safari Roots.

We work in three different ways to help you get the best possible guiding:

To find out more about our approach, please click through the links above.