His knowledge was honed by the briefings he gave to passengers when flying them to the camps and lodges in the Okavango, Linyanti, Chobe and the neighbouring Victoria Falls area.

A Snapshot

James' experience within the industry comes from years working as a senior training captain for Wilderness Safaris (Botswana's leading lodge owner) and as a camp manager at &Beyond's Phinda Game Reserve. He has spent many years flying clients across Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe and has stayed in many camps across the region. James has duel citizenship and a family home in South Africa. At Yellow Zebra, James works as a Southern Africa specialist with a focus on Botswana, South Africa and Victoria Falls.

Recent Travel Experience

James returns to South Africa every year to see his family and in 2017 he visited Cape Town, the Winelands, and Kruger and its private reserves.

Expert Destinations

Botswana, South Africa and Victoria Falls.

African Countries Visited

Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius.

James's Biography

James was born in Kent to an English father and a Zimbabwean mother. He developed a love for Africa during childhood trips starting from a very young age, normally being the youngest guest in the camps. When he finished school he moved to South Africa and studied to be a commercial pilot with the aim of flying in the bush. When not flying he made sure to exercise his camping, tracking, birding and photography skills on self-drives.

In July 2017 James and his wife (who he met in Botswana) decided to start their married life back in the UK.

James has an extensive knowledge of Botswana, South Africa and Victoria Falls. All of these are destinations he knows inside out and they are the areas he focuses on at Yellow Zebra.

Most Memorable Experience

I am so fortunate to have a wealth of magical memories from Africa. It is therefore very difficult to single out the most memorable of them all, but it would probably have to be Christmas in the Timbavati in 1996.

Christmas is a special time when you are 9 years old, but when you are from the Northern Hemisphere and it’s conventional to have cold wintery weather, a first Christmas in South Africa’s summer is certainly memorable.

We were staying at &Beyond’s Ngala Safari Lodge, and the world was so green and alive. I went to bed on Christmas Eve and during the night there was a tropical-style downpour. I woke up excited for presents, but little did I know that there had been so much overnight rain that the bone-dry riverbeds we had seen on the previous day’s game drive had transformed into raging torrents. For me and many others this was an excellent present, especially since it meant Land Rover river crossings were in order, quite the Christmas adventure!