Aidan Dunlop

Aidan can’t remember a time when Botswana wasn’t on his radar, so expectations heading out to the Delta were incredibly high. Even with all his years in the South African reserves, Aidan can honestly say those expectations were completely blown out of the water. The sheer scale and beauty of the landscape is remarkable, every single wildlife sighting felt genuinely intimate against those postcard backdrops. Watching how the wildlife interacts with that Delta ecosystem was a massive highlight, and he’ll certainly be trying to find a way back to that country every year! Aidan counts himself very lucky to have been able to visit the Delta this year, particularly with the rainfall reaching levels we haven’t seen for over twenty years. He will remember watching Lechwe antelope sprinting across those lily-filled floodplains at full speed for the rest of his life!

“There are so many safari moments that will stay with me forever. For me, a recent visit to Mana Pools has the biggest collections of those moments – unfiltered, raw, and wildly beautiful. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel small in the best way possible. I remember the scorching heat, the kind that clings to your skin and fills the air with the scent of dry earth, rendering cooling down virtually impossible. The Zambezi river shimmered in the distance, a lifeline in this vast, untamed wilderness. We spent our days on foot, bushwalking through the iconic winterthorn forests, tracking down large and potentially dangerous game.

Then there were the elephants. I’ll never forget the feeling of standing there, heart pounding, as one approached, close enough to hear its slow, rhythmic breaths. It was humbling, almost surreal, to share space with a creature so powerful yet so peaceful. And at night, when the campfire flickered and the stars stretched endlessly above, the same group of elephants wandered through camp, moving silently in the moonlight. One evening, we stopped for sundowners in the middle of the bush, sipping ice-cold Zimbabwean beer as the red sun sunk towards the horizon. It should have been a peaceful moment – until we realised we weren’t alone. Lions lounged nearby, their golden eyes catching the last light of day. There was no panic, just an overwhelming sense of awe. Mana Pools isn’t just a place I visited; it’s a place that consumed me, challenged me, and, in some ways, changed me. I’ll never forget that feeling, and I intend to chase it with return trips soon!”