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Since I can remember I have wanted to travel to far-away countries and learn about their cultures, whilst everything to do with nature and wild animals has always fascinated me. The heroes of my childhood and youth were Bernhard Grzimek, Jacques Cousteau and Gerald Durrell.

With the first real job in 1988 came the first proper salary and I immediately started planning my first trip to Africa meticulously. The destination was to be South Africa: the Panorama Route, Kruger National Park and the Kwa Zulu Natal Drakensberg amongst other attractions. I ended up rained out for large parts of the tour, half the country was flooded for a while. On several occasions I got soaked to the skin and on one memorable evening had to take my shoes off and wade through knee-deep rain water to my bungalow. Not quite what I had envisaged an African safari to be like... But in spite of the very tall grass in the Kruger Park, I saw my first beautiful and graceful Impala antelope, my first heart-stoppingly huge elephant in the wild, my first giraffe with its large soulful eyes and eyelashes like a diva and my first warthog, a long-time favourite from countless TV documentaries. That did it, I was in love with Africa!

Several more trips to South Africa followed, then in 1990 my first visit to Zimbabwe. The tiny airport in Victoria Falls where even today passengers cross the tarmac on foot from the plane to the terminal building and where luggage is heaved by hand over a low wall into the hall directly behind the immigration counters immediately appealed to me. The customs official who explained over and over again with the patience of an angel to a highly choleric Italian professor that, yes, he must count and declare all the huge stacks of Lira in his possession vastly impressed me. Zimbabwe continued to charm me on that very first trip. In particular I was and still am amazed and humbled by the way people cope with adversity in this country. From the car rental mechanic who welded the driver's seat of our car into place because he understood that we couldn't drive around the country with it constantly tipping over backwards, to the policemen who cadged a lift with us in order to go and arrest somebody, there was no complaining just "making a plan" and getting on with it. Add the incredible natural beauty of the country and its amazing diversity and then it's small wonder that Zimbabwe became my firm favourite!

Since 1996 I share my knowledge and experience from many years of travelling in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, the United States, Canada and Cuba with my guests. I am always gathering new ideas and suggestions for you on my trips, whether you are looking for guided lodge-safaris, camping and walking safaris or self drive tours or any other kind of safari you may be interested in.

You are cordially invited to join us on a virtual trip through these pages and, if you wish, through the pages of Daktari Safaris, too. Perhaps you will find some new ideas for your next holiday! We look forward to hearing from you!

Best regards, yours, Sabine Gebele