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  I was born in the former Rhodesia, now the controversial country of Zimbabwe. My father was the first Warden of Wankie Game Reserve, today Hwange National Park, where he served for 32 years as Chief Warden. His influence left me with an enduring fondness of the wilderness areas of Southern Africa as well as a sense of being at ease in the bush.
Soon to be retired at a "young" age, I am now able to bring you my personal love of the wildlife of Southern Africa and afford you, my guest, the opportunity to share my enthusiasm for wildlife conservation.
With luck and some bush savvy, we will be able to share precious moments and capture these experiences on your film to give you once in a life time memories of Southern Africa's wildlife conservation areas.
In varying degrees wildlife conservation areas in Southern Africa are potentially if not currently, threatened with human and economic pressures that can mitigate against wildlife interests. Only sustained eco-tourism or well managed consumptive utilization can prevent these heritage areas becoming wastelands for sub economic subsistence farming trampled by cattle and goats or even de-proclaimed in man's lust for wealth from minerals. Wilderness can disappear as population growth and industrialization results in man encroaching ever more onto Africa's conserved areas. National parks and game reserves might look like huge areas but few are large enough to support sustainable species diversity without artificial support- they are in most cases islands of unconnected conservation-and as a percentage of national land, in most countries far too small a percentage for long term viability.
This wildlife heritage was handed onto us by my father's generation of uncompromising, A-political Game Wardens, typified by Stevenson Hamilton of Kruger fame, Rupert Fothergill of Operation Noah and Ian Player of Operation Rhino and legends like Norman Carr of Luangwa Valley fame in Zambia. It is the current generation's duty to hand the wildlife heritage on to the generations to come, if possible, in an even better conservation status!
Competing demands for land threatens wildlife areas unless the economy of the wildlife areas demonstrably outstrips the unit area value of subsistence or large scale agriculture, by providing jobs and secure long term incomes for many - you the tourist play a vital role therefore, in the wildlife economy and you can become part of the movement to ensure its survival.Poverty in Africa is at the root cause of many of the threats to wildlife sanctuaries and sustainable eco-tourism is one of the most significant positive means of alleviating poverty - Retired long time wildlife manager in southern Africa, Ron Thomson in a recent book, A GAME RANGER'S REPORT describes the need to position wildlife in the centre of programmes aimed at rural poverty alleviation which can result in the people living in rural subsistence economies becoming imbued with the
" emotional ownership " of wildlife resources if direct benefits acrue to them and their families from wildlife revenues, which can improve schools and clinics, water supplies and sanitation and above all, create employment along with which comes dignity.
Come with me on Safari in Southern Africa; go home with a deep and abiding understanding of the critical role of wildlife conservation in the economic salvation of the Southern African region.
I am a member of the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa by examination, as well as a registered Nature Guide with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
I hold a BA degree in Social Anthropology and Psychology from Rhodes University and after a career in government administration with the Natural Resources Board and Rural Councils in Zimbabwe as well as many years in human resources work in South Africa, I now devote my time to convincing you my guest, of the extreme urgency and value of wildlife conservation to the continent of Africa.
Come join me for a serious in-depth look at some of Africa's most beautiful areas, experience many of the sights, sounds, smells and interaction of not only the "Big Five" but some of the regions "Small Five" as well!
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27 399721895
27 842600157
