Born in Addis Ababa, Bemnet (or ‘Bem’) is passionate about travel and being exposed to new environments, cultures, customs and beliefs. It is a passion that was inculcated in him as a youngster when accompanying his father on business trips around Ethiopia. It is the historical circuit of the north of Ethiopia – Amahara, Tigray and beyond – where his expertise is most developed and where for more than a decade he has hosted and guided guests from many different backgrounds and nationalities. Equally adept at answering the needs of the first-time traveller or those of seasoned specialists Bem’s familiarity with the highlands of the Ethiopia mean he is also an excellent birder.

A budding career in law was abandoned early in Pierre’s adulthood in favour of adventure and pioneering sea kayak expeditions in the Great Rift Valley and the east African coast. This led to settling down on Lake Malawi and building two award-winning island eco-lodges in the mid-1990’s. Itchy feet led to Madagascar and the remote Masoala Peninsula in the north-east of the island. The annual Masoala kayak expeditions became legendary and resulted in the creation of the Masoala Forest Lodge, where Pierre and his wife Maria have built a fantastic team of Malagasy staff from the local villages and raised their two young children.

Paula joined the Masoala Forest Lodge team almost 20 years ago in the early 2000s as a purchaser of provisions in Maroantsetra, a frontier town where the Masoala adventures start and end and where she and her husband live. Over this period, through her unfailing positive energy, enthusiasm and diligence, never mind her unflappable island grace, she has worked herself into the position of manager of all lodge operations in Maroantsetra. Amongst her myriad tasks, she is the smiling face of Masoala that meets all of our guests on arrival and facilitates their smooth transfers to and back from the lodge.

Proudly Zimbabwean born and raised, Jemma’s childhood was firmly rooted in the national parks and wild areas of the country and it was inevitable that after stints living and working in first Australia and then South Africa and Botswana that she would return home. The foundation for this return was built on a budding ecotourism career with some very well-respected safari brands operating camps all over southern and east Africa. Her skills for writing and an innate understanding of the natural world first led her into marketing roles that subsequently morphed into being ‘bush-based’ and it was in reconnecting with her natural heritage that Jemma became convinced to take on the management of Camp Hwange in the exceptional Shumba Concession.

Olatotse Sarefo, or Ola, is an elder of the Gudigwa community with both Bukakhwe San and Hambukushu heritage. His long career in ecotourism began in the mid-1990s when he started work as a guide that saw him employed by some of the best safari companies across the Okavango Delta. It was always his dream to start his own safari company however and some years ago he achieved this vision with the establishment of Camp Karangoma Safaris, a mobile safari operator. This dream has grown into Karangoma Camp in the remote northern reaches of a wildlife management area known as NG12, a fitting full circle for Ola whose family called the area home until some 30 years ago.