If you were planning a trip to see the big cats in Africa, who would you go to for inspiration? Your local travel agent? Your friends? Google?
At Timbuktu, we believe in going straight to the experts for advice—not just the travel experts, but those who are deeply passionate and knowledgeable about their field and love to share that knowledge with others.
This is why we approached Dereck Joubert, award-winning National Geographic filmmaker and big cat conservationist, to create his own dream safari on Timbuktu.
Dereck and his wife, Beverly, have been filming, researching and conserving big cats in Africa for over 30 years. They founded the Big Cat Initiative, which contributes funds and resources to over 64 innovative projects to protect 7 iconic big cat species in 27 countries. In total, the organisation has built 1,000 bomas to protect livestock, big cats, and people.
For his trip, Dereck wanted to provide a quick but thorough experience of the big cats safari in Africa, in the places where they still thrive, and where the conservation of these icons of Africa is still relevant.
“My big cat safari begins with the huge prides of lions at Duba Plains in Botswana, leopards and lions in Selinda, (with an added chance of seeing wild dogs there),” says Dereck.
“No understanding of big cats in Africa today can be complete without understanding their relationship with the Maasai in particular. So we head up to the Mara ecosystem to immerse oneself in cheetahs and leopards and the savanna lions that are just everywhere in the Mara Plains conservancy.
“At Ol Donyo, the story of big cats is etched into the ground and the conservation efforts there are showing fantastic results, to the degree that the Maasai have announced that they ‘don’t kill lions anymore.”
The wonderful thing about Dereck’s trip is that it’s not the final picture. Take inspiration from his ideas, and use the Timbuktu tools to easily customise the itinerary, and make it your own.
Perhaps Kenya is a bit far to travel and you would rather remain in Botswana, then simply remove the Kenyan lodges and add another one in Botswana. Perhaps try including the beautiful Selinda as your final stop on the safari.
Whether you take Dereck’s advice, or make the trip your own, the Timbuktu team will be here to guide you in making the best choices for safari, no matter what you decide.
At the end of the day, the big winner will be the big cats themselves—the wild lions, cheetahs and leopards—as your travel dollars go a long way towards providing economic incentive to conserve these beautiful animals, and the stories you tell when you get home will hopefully inspire others to do the same.
Try customising Dereck’s trip, and make it your own.
