It is a funny thing about safaris but when my friends ask me - as they do all the time - where they should go on safari, scarcely one of them ever asks about the guide. They ask about which country they should go to; which are the smart lodges; which serves the poshest food. They ask about the weather and where is best for spotting the big five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and Cape buffalo ) but no, never the guide. And yet the right guide is almost more important than anything else. He (for I haven't met a female one yet) can transform what could be just another holiday into a life-changing experience.
It's not until you've been to Africa, until you've walked through the bush with an inspirational guide such as a John Stevens, a Garth Thompson, a Richard Bonham or a Calvin Cottar, that you begin to understand not just how vital they are for your safety but also how they can illuminate the experience, give it significance and meaning, lift the thrilling encounter with wilderness and wild animals into something you remember for ever.
