August 5

A Day in the Life of a Safari Guide

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Tito Paxton asking if he could somehow expose his business in MaiTravelSite. Turns out that Paxton is a safari guide in Kenya and Tanzania, and I invited him to write a post showcasing what a typical work day is for him.

Safari guides are not as common as bartenders (no disrespect intended), and their profession is one that many of us have dreamed of having as kids.

This is his story, which I am publishing with minimal editing. If things go well I’ll be seeing him some day and explore Lake Victoria and other attractions in the area.

Remember to choose adequate safari clothing and get ready for your african adventure!

safari guide

Guiding a safari in Kenyan jungles might sound thrilling to many of you safari seekers though to many of us who execute the work almost on daily basis- if not a week- we will always have another story to tell. Being lured by the thirst and love of nature together with the quest to explore my country i learned the art of tourism and guiding in Kenya not knowing that the same passion would make me wake up every other day as early as 0300hrs in the the morning to meet these tourists from Bangkok whose flight happens to be the earliest one today, having left the same airport yesterday evening at 12 oclock to pick another family from netherlands whose passion for the mara wildbeest migration had brought them back to visit my country 21 years later.

safari guide in nairobiThe MK flight from Bangkok lands with a loud noise and the three short chinese run quickly and bow in front of the Africa sights and adventures paging board I am holding which has been the tradition at the airport of recognising whom you are waiting for, and quickly I take them to my safari van at the parking smiling to myself because at least two of the three understands and can speak some broken english. We leave the airport and head to the kenya comfort hotel where I had booked the netherland family since they had requested for a budget hotel, and by six oclock in the morning,we pick them and head to Masai Mara national reserve to trace the migration arriving there five and half hours later, in time for lunch and check in at the sentrim luxury tented camp.

Later that afternoon we take off to the same wilds looking for the gazelles, zebras and their predators like lions and cheetahs. It turns out to be another of my lucky days again after my vhf radio transmitter cracks life and a collegue of mine in another direction calls on radio that a kill is taking place right infront of him. After five minutes we stop by his side followed by some other cars from a different direction whom have also heard the same message on their long range radios. Pictures of natural joy and satisfaction from both the Netherland family and my Bangkok friends are all over their faces with their sharp cameras pointed to the two lions infront of us munching their zebra kill slowly with the sun setting lazily in the horizons of the Serengeti on the other side.

ctsavo west buffalos“Mein gott” the netherland lady exclaims slowly to herself and loudly for me to hear. Loudly she calls my name. “Tito, thank you for making my twenty one years long wait to witness this a reality,and thank you for making my boys see this too. It’s their first time to see a lion.”

“Thanks too for booking the safari with me” I thought. That night I doze off satisfied with myself and the guarantee that I will come back to the mara again some other day with some other clients from the recommendation I will get from my Netherland and Bangkok friends.

The safari continues.

Note: This  article was submitted by Paxton a few years ago, and we still keep in touch! He’s a safari guide at afrikasightsadventures.net

Tito Paxton is a safari guide at Afrika Sights and Adventures.


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  1. It’s very nice post. I read and hear about the life of a safari guide when they have one of the most fulfilling jobs in the planet.Thanks for sharing this.

    1. thanks too brother. we keep trying everyday. its good for people to love nature and what nature offers. especially wild animals.

  2. We seldom read and hear about the life of a safari guide when they have one of the most fulfilling jobs in the planet. For the love of nature, exploration and country, they get to share them with people around the world. Thank you for sharing Tito’s!

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