Private Guided Safaris
Beat about the Bush Safaris believes that a private guide can immeasurably enhance your safari by excelling in each of the following spheres:
- As a wildlife specialist – when undertaking a safari trip, guests are first and foremost looking for interpretive guidance on what they can expect in addition to what they are seeing and experiencing. This guidance extends from wildlife to tips on photography, safety and what restaurants to eat in and what wines to drink. Our specialist guides not only draw on their extensive and varied experiences in the field with regards to animal behaviour and photography, but also their detailed knowledge of food, wine and service standards to ensure that all bases are covered. The intricacies of nature are shared in a captivating and easy-to-understand manner, with the complexity of elaboration tailored to suit individual needs. But perhaps most importantly, they can dedicate all their time to you because there are no other guests for them to concentrate on, making for a uniquely individualized experience that nurtures a guest-guide relationship based on trust, enabling return safaris to different parts of Africa with the same guide – ‘knowing what you get’ means ‘peace of mind’.These guides will wherever possible drive the safari cars and boats and lead the walks but where this is not possible, they will still do all the elaboration and work closely with local guides to plan and maximize your safari excursions.
- As a host – will be the first person you meet upon arrival and will stay with you until you depart, hosting every step of the way. They ensure that all guests needs are met, and wherever possible pre-empted, timeously, courteously and professionally. Check-ins at airports, handling of transfers, charters and specific requests at camps by means of liaison with camp management are all seamlessly dealt with.
- As an entertainer – by facilitating and instigating dialogue and conversation, especially to ‘break the ice’ at the beginning of a tour. Skilled at keeping guests enthralled throughout the itinerary while maintaining a good sense of humour and an infectious enthusiasm that rubs off on guests thereby tremendously enhancing their stay. Also able to keep guests spell-bound with stories of the African bush and tales of interesting encounters with its many residents.
- As an ambassador – the portrayal of a positive image is imperative in today’s competitive global market. Because first impressions are generally defining and lasting impressions, this attitude should prevail from point of first contact and continue until guests return home. The attitude of the guide not only reflects on the host Company or lodge/hotel but also on the country and very much the region as a whole. Southern Africa is half-a-world away from its major international inbound tourist markets and even one small isolated negative experience in one country, city or lodge can deter return visits to the entire region and most importantly deter future visitors who are made aware of the situation via word of mouth. As such, it is of paramount importance that the guide be an ambassador, flying the region’s flag with pride and diplomacy at all times while striving to sell the sub-region and grow Africa’s share of the tourism cake. Beat about the Bush Safaris believes Private Guiding has the following advantages over the conventional manner in which multi-destination safaris are undertaken:
- Continuity – the guests forge a relationship with one guide only. This enables the guide to know exactly what the guests have seen and been told, what questions have been asked and answered and what preferences they have for the way the safari is conducted – something that only becomes apparent over time. There is therefore no chance of repetition as would be the case if different guides with no intimate knowledge of or history with the guests were to inherit them at different destinations.
- Planning – the Private Guide works with the guest’s itinerary in its entirety and can therefore plan activities, excursions and informative talks based on their knowledge of their knowledge of the highlights of each destination. They can also therefore plan a few days in advance for special requests or surprises and advise on what is best to do when or where. Guides at individual camps tend to focus only on what they can offer at their camp and have little interest in what guests have experienced prior to their arrival or what they will experience once they leave, sometimes inadvertently impacting negatively on a visitors stay.
- Guest-care – rather than the guests relying on management and guides at each destination to assist with onward planning, the Private Guide is there to act as guest liaison and as an interface with camp management while dealing with requests every step of the way from start to finish.
- Return visits – Private Guides get to intimately know the preferences of their guests and can therefore be of great assistance when helping to plan or lead future safaris.
- Specialist knowledge – Private Guides have an intimate and expert knowledge and experience of a wide diversity of wildlife destinations and lodges throughout the sub-region as well as the unique wildlife particular to each and can as such deliver a continuous expert commentary on day to day experiences. The in-depth level of the expertise across a wide spectrum of subject matter (both pertinent to wildlife and current affairs) means that guests will not only derive added value from their observations and encounters with fauna and flora but will be regaled by lively debate and insight into conservation and wildlife issues as well as exciting, enthralling and often hilarious tales of ‘living in the bush’.
