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I’ve been an experience host for the last 8 years, leading guests from around the world on a wildlife safari on horseback. When the world got turned upside down in 2020, we had to adapt to a new reality of initially no travellers, and still two years later, a slow trickle of returning real-life guests. I never would have imagined pre-pandemic that I’d be hosting safaris virtually, but here we are and what a ride it’s been!
The online experience hosting community is a force to behold – filled with resourceful, creative, dynamic, supportive human beings who realise that in supporting each other we build ourselves up too and I’ve learned so much from other hosts in this online journey, and also enjoyed many of the online experiences on offer.
Initially I started out doing virtual safaris on horseback – while this was a truly unique experience offering, it had its limitations. I have the most amazing horse who I could trust on autopilot to take me throughout the reserve while I could focus on the filming and narrating. A freak riding accident on a young horse left me with a severe injury in April 2021, and unable to ride for 6 months – so it was the call to adapt again. I started doing the tours with a golf cart, and this allowed the experience to evolve in positive ways. It allowed me to move about the wildlife reserve a bit quicker, it provided a roof overhead for those rainy days, and enabled the installation of a signal booster to improve internet speed – the make or break of online experiences! Definitely not a consideration pre-pandemic for hosting a horse riding experience!
This of course is also not without its incidents, and there have been some moments to remember – between golf cart breakdowns, power outages due to loadshedding in South Africa, and my wonderful wildlife ‘colleagues’ taking me on some interesting excursions.
We’ll start with rainy day meanderings – last winter we had a tremendous amount of rain - as e.e. cummings said “the world [was] mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.” But this meant I only had one way in, and one way out of the reserve. It also restricted the routes I could follow, but of course wildlife are not concerned with my route restrictions and will wander where they will. So of course, I did my best to give my guests the best views and on one trip, I misjudged the depth of mud in one section, and promptly got stuck! Fortunately it was right at the end of my tour so I was able to say goodbye and then phone for assistance to be pushed out of the mud! I also got soaked on many trips last winter – as we all know, tech equipment doesn’t like water so keeping gadgets dry, with fingers that no longer want to cooperate because of the cold is all in a day’s work while keeping the commentary entertaining and the views great for guests sitting in their warm, dry home with a cup of coffee! But the effort is never without reward… on one such rainy, cold winter day, we came across the birth of a zebra foal. We just missed the actual birth, but baby was just working out the use of its wobbly legs, mom still had the placenta dragging behind her and dad was running from one side to the other keeping the rest of the herd away on one side, and a herd of eland away on the other. A truly special moment I got to share with my guests on the other side of the world!
Next up we have our power outages! From time to time here in South Africa our electricity provider implements loadshedding when there is too much strain on the grid for various reasons and they aren’t able to supply power consistently. These power outages usually last 2.5 hours at a time and depending what stage we are in this can happen 2 to 4 times per day. In stage 6 we recently had 4.5 hour outages too. Now while I don’t need power to host my virtual tour, I do need internet. However, when there is loadshedding, our cellphone towers can’t cope with the outages, even with battery backup, and so it’s impossible to host a zoom call during these outages – so this has taken a bit of juggling, and sometimes rescheduling sessions is unavoidable. On one such occasion, where we had extended outages, my golf cart didn’t charge sufficiently, and not having a battery gauge, I didn’t realise this. Naturally this resulted in my second time getting stuck out in the reserve. This time it was as the sun was setting. Fortunately again, I’d just finished a tour. I phoned back to the farm for assistance, but with loadshedding, messages and calls also weren’t going through. So I bundled my little boy onto my back and we started walking out of the reserve in the darkening evening. Luckily, it wasn’t long before someone got my messages and came to take us home and tow the cart out of the reserve.
Why am I highlighting all of these less-than-smooth experiences? Because this brings to the forefront the reality of the challenges and joys of hosting. It doesn’t always run as we planned, but the connections that are formed with strangers and the kindness of the human spirit comes through. There are always going to be things that go wrong – but I’ve come to realise that people are at heart kind, and also do appreciate a ‘real’ experience as opposed to a ‘perfect’ experience. I’ve hosted groups where when it’s time to say goodbye as they watch a beautiful African sunset with me, express their concern for me driving home in the dark and ask if they should stay with me (online on the other side of the world) until I get home safely. I always realise with corporate teams they’re on a time limit so I aim to end exactly on time, but then I invite anyone who wants to stay with me for the rest of my drive back, and it's wonderful when people choose to stay with me an extra half an hour on a zoom call and we get to chat a bit more personally and maybe see a few extra things we missed during the official tour. When people say they felt like they were sitting next to me in my golf cart I feel I’ve accomplished my goal of providing an authentic safari experience within the limits of what a virtual experience can provide. It’s also amazing when I’m the one surprised when all my guests logon wearing safari outfits with wildlife backgrounds to their zoom screens.
I have hosted individuals, couples, families, and companies from around the world on my tours. Many have never been to South Africa, or anywhere in Africa, and are having their first ‘African wildlife encounter’ with me while in the comfort of their own home or office. I’ve met some incredible people and got to share my little patch of paradise while highlighting conservation issues and responsible tourism practices. I hope these experiences encourage guests to add Africa to their bucket lists if they hadn’t considered it before, and as I always quote on my tours: “The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa, for he still has so much to look forward to.”
This topic is part of our Festival of Hospitality 2022. You can find the full line-up here.
