Day in the life of
Safari Owner – Shaun Taylor
My day starts very early. I get up and get coffee and cookies ready for my guests who are about to emerge like little bushbabies needing caffeine asap. If I have any inquiries I do them first so I can get them out to guests as soon as possible.
After some coffee, the sun starts to rise and we head out on a game drive. I spend about 3 hours on a game drive looking for animals, tracking and pointing out interesting things along the way. Sometimes, we get lucky and come across a lion pride or another predator hunting in which case we stay out a little longer watching him/her/them. At some stage, we stop for coffee, tea, cookies, and water in the bush and chat about our morning.
Once back at camp, I put my waiter hat on and help serve my guests’ breakfast. After that, I check emails and do some key admin, and straight after that, it is time to serve lunch to my guests. We then start our afternoon/evening game drive which is about 3 hours. After an awesome end to the day, my waiter hat gets dusted off and I serve dinner and drinks to my guests before stoking the fire and having a chat with them about the days game viewing. From there, it is time to clear down, check my emails quickly for any pressing matters and I hit my pillow at around 11:00 pm. Just another day as a safari guide and business owner in Africa, I love it!
Pros
- It’s a passion, so I love it
- I can work from wherever I am at the time
- I get to see happy people on holiday all the time
- The travel community is full of hardworking people with great attitudes
- You get to see so many amazing places
Cons
- The admin can be quite taxing. You have to be on top form all the time, especially dealing with itineraries and money
- Any economic issues whether it be local or international affects your business. Travel is always the first industry to be hit and the last to recover
- Looooooooong hours, get used to it
- You work during the holidays
