Leaders & Guides
These experiences of shared passion and exploration are led by a renowned private guide or expedition leader – on John Stevens’ highest recommendation – and are available to just a few intrepid travellers each year. The guides you will meet on this website have put together their favourite adventure itineraries – expertly curated and elevated experiences for travellers who truly understand and value the concept of wild and immersive travel in extraordinary, remote places. Each is our honour to share with you.
OPERATORS AND GUIDES
COUNTRIES / ITINERARIES
Botswana | Chad | Mozambique | Tanzania | Zimbabwe
16° SOUTH
Graeme Sharp
Graeme Sharp of 16° South – guide, adventurer, naturalist and conservationist at heart, with a deep love for Africa, its people and wild spaces. Graeme grew up in the Zambezi Valley near the Matusadona National Park. After studying adventure tourism management in New Zealand, he started his safari career running high end safari camps in Mana Pools National Park. He was always destined to carve a career and lifestyle in the outdoors, so after 12 years abroad in the corporate sectors of the USA, New Zealand and Australia, Graeme followed his heart and returned home to Zimbabwe to share his passion for Africa and her wild places with his guests.
Milo Harrup
Milo Harrup 16° South – affable safari host, fireside companion and conversationalist extraordinaire. Milo has built hundreds of memorable safari experiences with his guests over the past 15 years as the co-owner and operator of John’s Camp in Mana Pools – named after his father-in-law and notable safari guide, John Stevens. Milo’s extensive experience operating and hosting personalised mobile safaris across Southern Africa, combined with his amiable personality and love for Africa’s true wilderness areas make him the perfect host.
ANDERSON EXPEDITIONS
Fraser Gear
Fraser Gear of Anderson Expeditions – excellent naturalist, guide and explorer. He has spent the last 30 years leading wildlife, photographic and birding expeditions across the length and breadth of Africa, Madagascar, Middle East, Asia and into the neo-tropics. Fraser’s interests and skills are as diverse as his explorations. He is a passionate birder, tracker, botanist and wildlife enthusiast, Fraser has a great love of the planet’s wildest places and the adventure that comes with exploring these regions. He is at his happiest when in the thick of things on foot in the African savanna, on a remote sea kayak expedition with his wife and best friend Sandra, or deep in a steamy jungle seeking out avian wonders. A sensitive and caring tour leader, a wonderful teacher with a passion for nature, a wicked sense of humour, a repertoire of incredible tales of challenge and a sharp intellect combine to make Fraser the exceptional expedition leader he is today.
“I first explored Niassa Reserve in Northern Mozambique almost twenty years ago. It was huge, challenging and remote…. There was no-one else around… I was in love – this was the wildness that I craved, the sheer scale and beauty of the place was so moving. Gigantic mountains, magnificent rivers, enormous, tusked elephant bulls and towering Sterculia trees had made their mark on me forever.”
RICHARD KNOCKER
Richard Knocker
Richard Knocker – naturalist, wildlife enthusiast, ecologist, conservationist, genial host – and more recently, co-host of the acclaimed “Serengeti Safari One Day At A Time” series on YouTube.
Richard was born on a farm in Kenya and was on safari almost as soon as he could toddle. In the early 90s, Richard and his wife Jules moved back to Kenya from their tourism work in Turkey to run a camp on the edge of the Masai Mara.
The pull of some of Africa’s greatest wilderness areas soon brought them to neighbouring Tanzania, where they set up and managed camps in Tarangire and the Serengeti for Ker & Downey and later Mashado.
It was during this time that Richard gained much of his knowledge and experience of the Serengeti and introduced his trademark walks. In late 1998, Richard decided to pull away from camp management and concentrate on full-time guiding. He joined Nomad Safari Guides and was a driving force behind their efforts to develop new safari ideas in exciting destinations, as well as helping mould a new generation of motivated guides through his involvement in the company’s guide training programme.
His passion for the bush life remains undimmed and he revels in the opportunity to introduce like-minded enthusiasts to the joys of the African wilderness.
PRIVATE GUIDED SAFARIS
Ant Kaschula
Ant Kaschula of Private Guided Safaris is a born and bred fourth generation Zimbabwean whose professional guiding career spans more than two decades. He has travelled the length and breadth of the African continent and guides safaris into seventeen different African countries, including Chad and Mozambique.
As the holder of the most highly respected professional guiding qualification in the world (Zimbabwe) coupled with a Master’s degree in Ecology and interests ranging from botany, bushcraft and fly fishing to entomology and recreational flying, Ant is in a unique position to impart an incredible breadth and depth of knowledge to his guests.
He has gained international recognition as one of the continent’s leading professionals in his field and, as an ExCo member of the Zimbabwe Professional Guides’ Association, is involved in ensuring the high levels of training and examining of the next generation of professional guides is maintained.
Ant’s genuine humility, thoughtful demeanour and schoolboy charm result in many of his guests returning to travel with him year after year.
SAFARIS I CAN SEE
Sean Hind
Sean Hind of Safaris I Can See has been guiding professionally in Zimbabwe for 15 years, exploring some of Southern Africa’s most iconic wilderness areas such as Matusadona, Gonarezhou, Hwange and Mana Pools National Parks.
Either on foot, walking along floodplains, or paddling the meandering channels of the Zambezi in a canoe, Sean’s passion has always been to share with his guests the more adventurous, immersive elements of a safari.
In addition to his guiding experience, Sean has hosted and managed a variety of safari operations over the years – from rustic mobile safaris to high end safari lodges.
In 2014, Sean set up his own private guiding business, Safaris I Can See, leading small, bespoke safaris around Africa and freelancing to a select few private clients.
With his blend of experience, excellent guiding ability and knowledge, and his calm, easy-going nature, Sean offers an exceptional expedition experience in his home territory.
DAVID FOOT SAFARIS
David Foot
David Foot was fortunate enough to first meet John in 1985 and was immediately inspired by John’s safari ethos. Forty years later David now leads safaris he truly believes in. His walking safaris and horseback safaris through the Okavango Delta are as green as a safari can be with a lightweight camp being transported by a team of local community mokoro polers.
David spent his early years in Malawi but was educated in the UK. After university he headed back to Africa taking eight months to drive from London to Johannesburg visiting as many national parks as possible en route.
He will be forever grateful to those who gave him his first opportunities in the safari world in Zimbabwe and Zambia, but the lure of home drew him back to Malawi where he was an early pioneer of the safari industry. Settling in the Nyika National Park (one of the most beautiful places in Africa) he started his first horse safari operation and after marrying Robyn they took on management of all the tourism operations in the Nyika and the Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve.
In 2008 they moved to Botswana and have become one of the best-known and award-winning horseback safari operators in Africa whilst developing a walking safari operation to rival those elsewhere in Africa.