ABOUT

ABOUT Alan McSmith SAFARIS

VISION

Perhaps our standard operating procedure is best described as a life-long dedication to deliver meaningful, unpretentious and empathetic big game and elephant encounters. Authentic African safari travel experiences. Throughout the adventures we also invite you to explore real time conservation issues … from the vantage point of ground zero. Our commitment to low impact safaris, sustainable logistics and dignified interactions with people, animals and the environment is non-negotiable.

WALKING TRAILS

Walking is an entirely different golden thread in any meaningful safari tapestry. The sounds, smells and insights of animals, both little and large, come alive as your senses revel in the edge. If a game drive is like seeing a movie, then a walking trail is like reading the book.

CONSERVATION NARRATIVE

The conservation of wilderness and wildlife is not merely the preservation of outer landscapes. It is the conservation of a sacred attitude to life and living. One that is deeply engraved on our inner landscape. One of the most urgent priorities of our time.

ELEPHANT AWARENESS

Just as they are keystone members of an ecological circuit, they are also keystone members of a greater awareness. An awareness of the threat to all wildlife, habitats and our own wild natures. Their sentiency allows the blurred lines between logic and wonder, and each time an elephant is poached we sever ourselves from this great ancient order of respect. They are ambassadors in a sense. Ambassadors of an ecological process and also of a spiritual one, both of which are fundamentally important to our well being.

ZAKOUMA NATIONAL PARK, CHAD

Chad? What's out there? Endless brutal desert, camels and wild nomadic people for sure; only crazy travellers go there. So Alan went. And then there is Zakouma; a most unexpected and spectacular wildlife bonanza! An incredible story of a remarkable transition from despair and extreme poaching to one of bounty, renewal and sensational safaris. Alan is one of a handful of guides to have led safaris to Zakouma in the daunting wet season ... an explorers dream beyond expectations. Inshallah!

ENNEDI NATURAL & CULTURAL RESERVE, SAHARA DESERT, CHAD

Imagine a seep of clear cold water emerging from desert springs in a sandstone gorge, somewhere in the Sahara. A legendary oasis lost in time. The 4 dwarf crocodiles that live here are seeing out time. Evolution before our eyes. "Because of this day, and those crocodiles in the pool below, I commit to living with less impact than before", writes Alan. The primitivity of the desert, and it’s conservation, is essential for us all.

ALAN AT TEDX AMSTERDAM

Remote campfires are normally the place, but much like Crocodile Dundee, Alan occasionally ventures out into the big smoke to speak at European boardrooms and events.

AFRICAN PARKS TRAINING CONTRACT

In 2019 Alan was contracted by the African Parks network to design and lead a guide training course on behalf of the Tinga Camp, Camp Nomade and the community guides. There is no guiding qualification structure in Chad so the mission was to create one as it never been formally done before. An exceptional 6-week long adventure unfolded! Good old fashioned human being-ness was abound in a country once considered as the “dark heart of Africa".

guide training

A long standing associate of EcoTraining, the largest guide training institution in Africa as a contract trails guide and tracker trainer. Alan's base was in the Makuleke Contractual Park, northern Kruger; the remotest big game enclave in South Africa. These opportunities are invaluable to participate in future legacies within aspiring guides and conservationists.