About Your Professional Safari Guide

After being raised in Australia where many of my early days in the bush filled me with a passion for the outdoor life, I moved to Kenya to fulfil these desires. For over 10 years I have relished my life as a Professional Safari Guide, which has taught me so much more than I could ever have imagined I could learn.

Since my first safari outing in the 1980s I have been entranced with the acquisition of knowledge about the African environment, and the biodiversity of the wildlife to be found here. I began my safari career taking adventure-loving groups around Kenya, Northern Tanzania, and to the Great Apes of Uganda and Rwanda. I have travelled extensively throughout the African continent gaining a sound knowledge of the many wildlife areas, cultures and exciting locations to be found. These travels have left me with many tales of safari legend.

A firm believer that to conserve the wildlife you must first know something of it, I helped set up an Outdoor Education Program for African children of various ages, exposing them to not only the animals but to the particular environment each species lived in. My work with children, and interest in their learning has given me a special appeal to families on safaris. Utilising specialised knowledge gained from his close association with a US funded wildlife research unit operating in Kenya’s Masai Mara, I have conducted safari 'field trips' for undergraduate student groups from American universities as part of their zoology degree curriculum. And in October 2005 I married Stephanie Dloniak, herself a PhD researcher from the USA. Read more about Stephanie’s research at www.msu.edu/~dloniaks

I began with Ker & Downey Safaris (Kenya) in the late 1990s and have never looked back. I endeavour to let the thrill and privilege of becoming a partner in Africa’s most prestigious Safari Operation show through every day I’m out in the field. Each and every safari there is an opportunity, even for me to find and experience something new. Its not hard if you look long enough.

Recognising my knowledge and leadership abilities, the Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association (KPSGA) asked me to join their Board of Directors several years ago. I assist with the setting and marking of examination papers as part of the on-going program of establishing qualification gradings for safari guides in Kenya. Find out more about the KPSGA on www.safariguides.org

More recently I have also worked as a director of Campfire Conservation Ltd, a conservation management company working to ensure the healthy future of the wildlife and communities of Kenya, especially in the well-known Masai Mara National Reserve.

In my time away from safaris, I love sports such as skiing and rugby. I am also a keen scuba diver, and acquired my Private Air Pilots Licence in 1997.