A snapshot

Freddie comes to Yellow Zebra with a background in zoology and conservation, experience as a safari guide in Kruger, and nearly a decade working in the luxury travel industry including five years at one of the UK’s leading safari specialists.

Expert destinations

Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa.

Recent travel experience

Freddie’s most recent Africa travel was a self-drive trip through Namibia, staying in backpacker hostels and luxury lodges while updating a guidebook to the country. While driving across the expanse of the Namib desert, he found oddities such as one of the driest vineyards in the world and L-shaped pool tables in abandoned mining towns. He also visited the country’s world-renowned sights, including the towering orange sand dunes of Sossusvlei and Etosha’s desert-adapted elephants.

Freddie's most memorable experience

“With over ten years of experience working, travelling, and guiding in Africa, it’s hard to pin down my most memorable experience.

“Wildlife has always been a passion of mine, though, so close encounters with animals do stand out, from finally spotting an aardvark on a night drive in Zambia (I’m still waiting on my first pangolin sighting!), to crawling within meters of playful wild dog pups in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park, the sort of experience where you come away panting as you’ve been unintentionally holding your breath!

“And while the beach is rarely the most memorable part of a trip for me, proposing to my wife in a treehouse on Mafia Island as the sun set over the Indian Ocean was certainly one of the most memorable moments of my life.”

Freddie's biography

Freddie grew up reading cheesy adventure novels about exploring the bush and tracking lions on foot, so as soon as time and money allowed as a teenager he headed straight to Africa, experiencing the incredible wildlife of Tanzania’s Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, and discovering how much weight you can lose while climbing Kilimanjaro.

He pursued his interest in wildlife through studying Zoology at university while putting his theoretical knowledge to practical use during the summer breaks through training to become a safari guide in Kruger National Park.

He later worked with the University of York on a conservation project in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains, searching forests for a recently discovered species of chameleon and conducting research into sustainable fuel sources.

He worked briefly in ecology upon returning to the UK, but discovered the wildlife didn’t live up to Africa’s, so he joined a London-based luxury safari specialist. While working here, he helped to update guidebooks to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, while also travelling multiple times per year to Africa on research and personal trips across the southern and eastern areas of the continent, often taking willing partners and family members with him to introduce them to his favourite camps and national parks.

After an involuntary break from working in travel, Freddie has leapt at the opportunity to join Yellow Zebra, to use his detailed knowledge of Southern Africa to plan detailed, experiential itineraries, and once again share his favorite locations.