10 Ways to Stay Safer
As Andrew Pierre White succinctly put it on a safety video about driving the roads of Africa, the easiest way to stay safe is to …. Slow Down! This simple…
Is Botswana a viable self drive destination?
Article in Travel Africa Magazine by Charles Norwood Botswana is an adventurous and challenging driving destination so be prepared for the conditions. The roads vary from sealed tarmac with some…
Low Season is best
Why Travel in the Low Season? Firstly its a better experience The “low” season is simply travelling when other people don’t which can be for many reasons. It might be…
Self Drive Safari Resource
Self Drive Safari Resource is a free content web site that offers, information, planning, inspiration and on the ground knowledge to fully independent travellers that are driving themselves on safari…
Article in Land Rover Owner
Baring the soul in a high profile magazine was a little daunting. This is tough reading for anyone that loves Land Rovers and at the time accounted for many years…
Animal Tails, the tuskless elephants of Ruaha
When I was a small child my Mother mistakenly took me to the cinema to watch what she thought was a child-friendly film about elephants. It was, in fact, a…
Essentials to Pack
The leatherman is my single most useful and versatile piece of kit – just remember not to put it your hand luggage. As someone who only packs at the last…
Whats has been happening in the Serengeti these past few months?
Its easy to forget that the world has not stopped turning, the sun still rises over the Serengeti Plains, the Zambezi is still pounding through its gorges creating wild spray…
Camping in Comfort
Self drive safaris are very tiring especially in the hotter times of the year and if you are camping. Heat, dust, rain, and mud combine to sap your strength and…
Travel Rescue is a better bet, article in Travel Africa 93
Don’t you just hate paying for travel insurance? I would rather spend the money on a flight over the Okavango Delta or splashing out on the honeymoon suite at Cottars…
8 Pre-Departure Checks
Setting out for the remote bush in Africa needs some preplanning so that you are self-sufficient and in the event of breakdown or incident you have a plan in place.…
How to Spend your safari budget wisely
The game viewing experiences at a waterhole are often the same whether you are paying £500 a night staying in lodge or £25 a night staying in a campsite and…
Health on the Road
It’s especially important that you take your own health seriously when you are a long way from home in countries that have no National Health service, no Ambulance service, and…
Free Spirit article in Travel Africa 92
When you have to explain to someone who has never been to Africa what you do and why driving your own vehicle on safari is the best experience and it’s…
Tjaart Smuts
For more than 30 years Tjaart has been involved with the development of the self drive industry in Namibia. He has also been involved with the motor trade and in the early days of Safari Drive he ran our local operations meeting and taking care of the clients.