The Benefits Of Choosing A Female Guide For Your Next Safari Adventure

When planning an African safari, one thing to consider is whether a safari company employs women as safari guides, as having a female guide may provide you with some unique and unexpected benefits. This recommendation may seem surprising, since safari guiding in Africa is a heavily male-dominated field. But a new trend is emerging in which women from South Africa to Botswana all the way to Tanzania are assuming these roles, learning to operate safari vehicles and competently guiding tourists through the most far-flung places on the African continent, all in the name of adventure. 

Deirdre Opie, head safari guide at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in South Africa, informed Travel Weekly that female guides tend to excel in particular areas. "Women tend to have more empathy and intuition for guests' needs," said Opie. Yasinta Mabula, assistant manager of Asilia Africa's Dunia Camp in Tanzania (Africa's first safari camp run entirely by women) agrees. "Both women and men can be highly knowledgeable about a place or experience, but females are more attentive to the needs of guests," Mabula said. "They uncover guests' feelings easier and think of things instinctively like, 'My guest has children in the car; let's put toys for the kids to play' or, 'It's warm out now, let's bring some water." 

Another advantage of female guides is that they may be more attuned to the entire ecosystem, and can bring in different perspectives. As rich repositories of cultural and traditional knowledge, they make excellent storytellers, and tend to share different kinds of information about the safari park ecosystems with guests, focusing not just on the obvious — the big game animals — but also on the more subtle, such as flowers, trees, and medicinal plants. Guests appreciate this softer and more holistic approach.

There is one subset of travelers in particular who appreciates having female safari guides: solo female travelers, whose numbers are rising all over the globe. "We have found that female clients like to have other females around rather than an entirely male work force, especially when traveling alone or in small groups," Mabula told Travel Weekly. Women traveling alone feel safer having a female safari guide on the team, and in all likelihood — way out there in the African bush — they probably also appreciate the camaraderie. 

Regardless of whatever special skills they do or don't possess, we think African female safari guides are inspiring. They are forging new paths in their cultures as well as in the wilderness, and we applaud their bravery and their efforts. Are you a female solo traveler in Japan? Check out our article on Japan's women-only train cars.