Meet Shaun Stanley
Meet our travel consultant, Shaun. He’s without doubt one of our most travelled team members, with more than 50 countries under his belt! Find out more about Shaun in our Meet The Team section.
1. What do you love most about your job? I was very lucky to have travelled extensively through Southern Africa as a child and so I love that I can draw on my childhood memories to design exciting and different safaris for my clients. And the fact I get to go to and experience these amazing lodges for myself is a plus!
2. What are your top 3 destinations you have visited in Africa?
Zimbabwe is a fantastic destination to visit. I’m so happy to see it coming back on the tourist map again. The people of Zimbabwe are one of the friendliest I have ever met. The wildlife is fantastic, with huge elephants and plenty of lion, wild dog, buffalo, rhino – you name it, they have it!
Botswana has unparalleled wildlife viewing with exclusive concessions and some stunning lodges! Where else in Africa can you be in the desert in the morning and by sundown be drifting through the waterways of the Okavango Delta in a mokoro?
Madagascar – this is a surprise destination and still emerging, so facilities are a little limited compared to the rest of Africa. If you can put this behind you and look at the adventure of travelling to a developing tourist destination then you will have an amazing time. Lemurs, chameleons, stunning beaches and interesting cultures all make for a unique safari experience!
3. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten on your travels? I have eaten lots of weird things on my travels, but the weirdest was a deep fried tarantula in Cambodia. We got off a bus at a small village market and there was a guy selling deep fried tarantulas. When I saw all the kids on the bus going crazy for these things (eating them as if they were “pick and mix” sweets) I thought I had to try it for myself! It turned out to be a lot of hard work for very little reward – not my kind of treat!
4. What is your most memorable safari moment? I have been very lucky to have tracked gorillas, witness the Great Migration and see lemurs, but for me tracking wild dogs on foot in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe was a highlight and something I will never forget! They are very curious animals and so often come up to get a closer look – very exciting!
5. What is the one thing you have to take with you on every trip? Always my camera; I never go anywhere without it! For people coming to Africa, I would strongly recommend investing in a good camera and lens. I don’t think a point and shoot will do your safari experience justice when you get back home.
6. Where in the world do you still want to travel to? I think the Congo is still a very unexplored area of Africa and is slowly opening up to tourism. I would love to explore the forests and track the lowland gorillas in the Bais! In other areas of the world, Mongolia really appeals to me – the cultures and wide open spaces make for a photographer’s dream!
7. If you could go on a dream safari with anyone at all, who would it be and why? It would have to be Nelson Mandela. I would love to have the chance to meet him and just chat to him face to face. I know that he is a very keen believer in conserving wildlife for our future.
8. What is your favourite (city/beach) hotel that you always recommend to clients travelling to Africa? Serra Cafema Camp in the most northerly part of Namibia is the ultimate in remote locations. Nothing for miles around, just sand dunes and nomadic Himba tribes! I am not a beach person, but I love Anjajavy in Madagascar. 7 private beaches as well as a private reserve with loads of lemurs – the best of both worlds.
9. What are your top 3 favourite safari lodges that you always recommend to clients travelling to Africa? Mombo Camp on Chief’s Island, Botswana; Serra Cafema Camp in the northern Kunene area of Namibia; and Sayari Camp in the Kogatende area of the Serengeti in Tanzania.
10. Where is your favourite place to eat in Cape Town? I am still exploring the fine eateries of Cape Town and so don’t have a favourite yet. The Sidewalk Café is a great quirky restaurant with excellent food!
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