Rob Slater
Rob Slater
Managing Director
Rob grew up on a farm in Suffolk and has always had a passion for the great outdoors. On leaving school, his first big adventures took him to the Nepal Himalaya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, shortly followed by a two month back-packing trip around Kenya and northern Tanzania. Outside of Africa, he has returned to the Nepal Himalaya many times since, watched tigers in India and trekked through the rainforests of Peru, Venezuela and Borneo in search of wildlife.
Rob joined the company in 1995, and to add to his previous experiences, has been travelling to Africa three to four times a year ever since. His knowledge and experience cover all corners of ‘safari’ Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, from the primate-rich forests of Uganda to the harsh wilderness of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. He has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, rafted and canoed the Zambezi River and has led friends and family on self-drive trips through Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania and South Africa. He is our resident scuba-diving specialist and has dived in Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi. Rob has a real passion for Africa – don’t expect a short reply on anything – and is a perfectionist when it comes to organising anything. Married with boys, his interests closer to home (when time permits!) include country walks, country pubs and rugby.
Rob’s top 3 EXPERIENCES
Mobile Camping in Moremi, Botswana
Over the years I have been fortunate to camp in Moremi Game Reserve many times and so there is more than a touch of nostalgia involved when I think about sitting around a camp fire under the stars in Moremi. In the early years it was self-drive trips, negotiating elephant herds on the road and having dinner interrupted by lions passing through camp. One afternoon I had a leopard emerge from the grass just metres away from my ‘toilet break’ though perhaps even more memorable were some thrilling encounters following an incredible pack of 24 wild dogs hunting impala through the woodlands. More recently in 2022, I was hosted in a more comfortable mobile camp but enjoyed the same magical encounters – wild dogs hunting wildebeest, leopards lounging in trees, a beautiful serval cat and lions prowling close to camp as it got dark. There are just not that many places in Africa that can compete!
Skeleton Coast Safaris, Namibia
This is an adventure like no other, an aerial safari along the very edge of the continent, where the harshest desert landscape imaginable collides with the foreboding Atlantic ocean. The Schoeman family have run these safaris for decades, and even though prices have somewhat multiplied in recent times, the experience remains both unique and awe-inspiring. Expert local knowledge and piloting allows them to land their aircraft on beaches and in remote desert valleys, whilst beaten up land rovers give you access the hidden depths of the wilderness. We flew over vast lava fields, endangered desert rhino in the remotest of valleys, seal colonies along the beach and shipwrecks that tell the story of the place. We also met nomadic Himba tribes along the Kunene River, watched desert elephants in the Hoanib Valley and climbed great, red mountains in the Huab. Stunning adventure from start to finish.
Ivory Trail Camping in Gonarezhou, Zimbabwe
Some places are just so wild that even the animals seem unsure and run at the slightest whiff of danger. Gonarezhou in south-west Zimbabwe is one of those places, with low visitor numbers and a large expanse of prime wilderness to explore. In 2019 I spent a few nights traversing the beautiful park, all along the Runde River and up to the top of the Chilojo Cliffs, and it was a magical wilderness adventure. Numerous elephant herds, lions roaring each night, cheetah sprinting away from us – it reminded me of earlier times when travelling around Africa was more adventurous and you did actually get ‘dust between your toes’. For photographing animals there are easier places to visit, but for pure wilderness and a reminder of what ‘wild’ is, this is the place to go.
Rob’s Favourite Places To Stay
Kanana Camp, Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta is achingly beautiful, highly exclusive and full of game, so several Okavango Delta camps could make it onto any shortlist. However, Kanana is particularly special to me as I proposed to my wife Jane whilst on a boat cruise from Kanana, back in 2004, and more recently I returned to Kanana for a family holiday. The staff are lovely, the activities varied, the scenery stunning and the game-viewing superb!
Kavinga Safari Camp, Mana Pools
In the late dry season each year (October) a drama unfolds at Kavinga Safari Lodge on a daily (and nightly) basis. Being the only source of water for some distance, you simply have to wait in their water’s edge hide, or on your tent verandah, and the game will come to you. Lions, leopard, wild dogs, elephant, buffalo and much more all coming into camp, often several of them at the same time!
Old Mondoro, Lower Zambezi
Sophisticated adventure in one of Africa most incredible spots, overlooking the majestic Zambezi River, surrounded by elephants, leopards and aardvarks, and looked after by a friendly and experienced crew. I love the wintherthorn groves, game-viewing from your chalet, the eventful night drives, leopard viewing, wild dog encounters and tiger fishing in the afternoon with a few cold ones followed by an incredible sunset over the river. Pure African heaven.
