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…
Why you need to be thinking about Safari Drive for your next safari
The travel industry is currently going through meltdown and coming through this is going to take time and patience. We will all be rethinking about how we travel and the…
Why Tanzania is a tough self drive destination
Self drivers in Tanzania struggle with finding decent vehicles, making National Parks bookings and the high prices everywhere. Whilst there are the traditional car hire companies out of the main…
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…
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…
Botswana self drive tips
Is Botswana a viable self-drive destination… Botswana is an adventurous and challenging driving destination so be prepared for the conditions. The roads vary from sealed tarmac with some pot holes…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
Why travel rescue is better than travel insurance!
When you have a serious problem overseas; the medical emergency, the car accident, the crashing fall off a mountain bike, the mistimed landing on your paraglider, the rockfall, or the…
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.