Michael Lorentz

Michael was born in South Africa in 1966 and knew from an early age that his true vision of life could only be found where he was able to explore the vast playground of the African wilderness. His bush career started in the Timbavati Game Reserve in South Africa, where he trained under the legendary tracker, Jack Matabula.

Botswana called in 1986 and became his home for the next fifteen years. During this time Michael built camps, managed camps and guided guests for Gametrackers. He then developed his own business in ecotourism consulting and specialised guide training, before joining Elephant Back Safaris in 1991. For nine years, as Managing Director, elephant mahout and guide, Michael both ran this company and led guests on extraordinary safaris into the Delta with the elephant family he so loved.

In 2000 he returned to South Africa to build Passage To Africa with Mike Kirkinis. Michael continues to guide and now leads privately guided safaris throughout Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, Namibia and East Africa. Accomplished naturalist and committed conservationist, Michael provides his safari guests with an unrivaled insight into the intricacies of Africa’s wilderness. Walking is his preferred approach and in the words of a guest,

“Michael does not take you for a walk in the African Bush, rather he takes you for a walk with it. Until you have experienced the contrast you won’t know what I am talking about but believe me, it makes, quite literally, the world of difference. I saw, heard, smelt, and touched an Africa that I, a son of the Continent, never knew was there”.

Sandor Carter

Sandor was born in 1968, raised in the Middle East and spent seven years in the British Army before a series of fortuitous events led him to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Elephant Back Safaris was to be home for the next seven years and it was there that he qualified as a professional safari guide while developing a deep passion for and understanding of elephants.

In 2001 he swapped elephant in the Okavango for chimpanzee in the Mahale Mountains of Tanzania and began what is an ongoing fascination with great ape bahavior. His journey continued in 2003 to the vast Selous Game Reserve, where he led walking safaris in Africa’s largest protected wilderness.

A professional safari guide since 1993, Sandor leads private custom made trips to Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Zambia, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa and Ethiopia. His odyssey has taken him the length and breadth of the Continent and along the way he has tracked mountain gorillas, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, got a private pilot’s license and driven from the Cape to Cairo - and back.

In his own words, “The opportunity to help guests get to Africa, to awaken their senses and to discover life in the bush continues to be wonderfully rewarding. Now is always the right time to visit this awesome Continent. Exhilarating, humbling, inspiring and fun, this is what going on safari is all about. From your first elephant sighting to tracking lions on foot; trekking to see gorillas and chimpanzees to swimming with dolphins; canoeing big rivers, climbing big hills and walking through pristine wilderness; Africa is so diverse you can spend your life seeing it and like all good things it needs to be shared.”

Richard Coke

Richard’s passion for wildlife, nature and the wilderness developed from early childhood. Growing up in South Africa’s Kwazulu-Natal it became his dream to transform this interest into a life long career. Moving to Namibia in 1999, Richard embarked upon his guiding profession, exploring with his guests one of the world’s oldest deserts, the Namib and the ancient linear oases of the Kaokoveld and Kaokoland. It was here that Richard developed his fondness for elephant, seeking out this small, desert adapted population of +/- 500. Through time spent in behavioural observation he acquired a deep love and understanding of these large yet gentle and caring creatures that roam in this vast area of isolated wilderness.

In 2001 Richard moved to Botswana and here he spent the next seven years exploring the Okavango Delta, the Savuti and the Kalahari, remote and pristine areas that had long fascinated him. Along with Namibia and Botswana, he has also ventured further a-field into Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, leading guests on safaris and undertaking various adventures of his own.

This diverse wealth of experience allows Richard to seamlessly lead his guests from one habitat to the next, sharing not only the knowledge he has acquired over the past thirteen years of first hand exposure but also his unsurpassed enthusiasm and genuine passion. Richard is a keen photographer and as such prefers to take time to really watch wildlife, share his insights and effectively capture moments. He is also a qualified walking guide and enjoys time spent on foot in the heart of the wilderness, viewing the world from the perspective of the wildlife.

Johann Lombard

I have roamed the African desert, crawled along the Skeleton Coast, tracked lions with the Maasai, walked kilometers in search of one more rhino, photographed the Himba, spoken not a word with a Bushman yet understood everything and journeyed the meandering waters of the Okavango Delta,

Summiting Kilimanjaro in February 2010 was a feat for my body, a victory for my mind and an enlightenment for my soul. With over 20 years experience within the eco-tourism, conservation and teaching environments, I now hold an SKS-DG (Specialist Knowledge and Skills – dangerous game) qualification from the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa, a rare commodity in these present times. I aspire to clutch a Master Tracker acknowledgement and hopefully one day rest my head against the pole that supports my version of a safari camp. I have five passions in my life, my wife, my children, cooking, surfing and the bush. When I am not completely absorbed in the bush, I am submerged in the big blue.

My safaris are a stage, a platform from which to design your dream journey within a wilderness environment. Choice abounds; from epic, scenic photographic safaris to romantic, exclusive private escapes into the wilderness; intense, life-altering survival experiences or walking trails with sleep-outs under the stars, as well as unique children and family getaways. Luxurious and opulent if you choose or simple and rustic if you so desire. From Big 5 encounters on foot, to laid-back sundowners on rocky outcrops, the options are endless, exciting and exhilarating.

Alan McSmith

A searching spirit, Alan was born in South Africa at some point in the 60's. He has spent over half his life in the safari industry and has been a professional wilderness guide since 1986.

Recently, he made history as the first guide to lead five mekoros (dug-out canoe) traverses of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Over the course of ten weeks spent camping wild in the Delta he covered over 2,000 kilometers. Alan hopes to complete two more expeditions of the Okavango during the next flood season. It takes a significantly higher level of awareness to guide clients through isolated wilderness for periods of two weeks or more, without permanent structures, communication or support. Perhaps this goes some way to describe Alan's passion for wilderness immersion.

Over the years, guiding for Alan is no longer a profession, rather a way of life. The enriching values and direction wilderness has brought to his life has long since defined it. The bush is not merely a collection of animals, plants, rocks and water. It represents life in its purest and wildest state, one that we all yearn to connect with. When you explore wilderness, you explore your own self. Wilderness preservation should be recognized as one of the most urgent priorities of our time. Alan believes that guides have an important responsibility to share the virtues of wilderness and help develop a conservation culture. Only once people have been touched in a deep spiritual sense will the true value of wild places be realized. Only then will we fully understand what we stand to lose without wilderness in our lives.