Shambolic: A Safari Life

Shambolic ~ A Safari Life. A love letter to Africa, to life on the ragged edge, and to the frequent contradictions of the safari world. Forget about chest beating bravado - these are true tales of near-death encounters with septic tanks, room sharing with a leopard, mutinous staff, crocodile love bites, misfiring clients and moments of unexpected grace.

The 1990s was a golden decade for the motley crew guiding at and managing the small safari camps dotted around Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Minimum managerial oversight and maximum improvisation in an analogue world. Mostly out of sight, sometimes out of their minds and always unwilling to read the instruction manual. It was frequently shambolic, occasionally glorious and almost no one died.

Ben Forbes has spent twenty-five years working in wildlife travel, mostly in Africa.