Safari Conversations - the Singita podcast Solid Gold Clients

Ever wonder how Singita transforms Tanzanian nature lovers into the polished, knowledgeable guides leading their exceptional game drives?

Ross Couper (Singita's resident photographer and former guide), sits down with Grant Telfer, the (Head of Singita's Guide Training in Tanzania), to get the recipe. From a Singita field guide in South Africa, Grant’s compass pointed him north to become a lodge manager in Grumeti in 2013. A 6-month stint helping out with guide training led to a 10-year career managing guide training.

When Singita puts out a call for new recruits, they're flooded with hundreds of eager applicants. But it takes more than knowledge to make the cut - Singita's looking for natural communicators with a passion for the wilderness. These lucky locals then embark on an 18-month training programme covering tracking, driving, interpretation and communication.

The result? A team of phenomenal, confident guides who bring the Serengeti to life in a way that enchants Singita's guests - whether it's their first safari or the twentieth. Grant, who's developed over 150 guides in his 10 years, is clearly passionate about providing life-changing opportunities and creating the best guided experiences possible.

Ross and Grant also share their most memorable sightings in this incredible 350,000-acre reserve (protected by the NGO, Grumeti Fund) from dazzling herds of zebra to mongoose ambushing cheetah.

Looks like Singita knows how to spot safari superstars, along with lions, leopards, and Mara River crossings!

Tune in to this fascinating conversation about ranger training.

In the Western corridor of the Serengeti lies a 350,000-acre game reserve that’s been protected by NGO, the Grumeti Fund, for the last 20 years in partnership with the Tanzanian government, creating opportunities for communities too. (It’s also Singita’s amazing conservation partner in Tanzania.)

The landscape was devoid of wildlife when they started to restore it in 2003, with a small team of ex-poachers. It took ten years for the wildlife to bounce back. Now with a team of 165, the challenges are real – climate change, integrity of the landscape, biodiversity loss – and they take the responsibility seriously.

In this episode, Matt Perry, one of the GMs of the Grumeti Fund, talks to our content creator, Ross Couper, about the various ways they conserve the area, anti-poaching efforts, community projects, and strengthening the ecosystem.

20 years ago, you couldn’t imagine a free-roaming population of black rhino within Grumeti. A few years ago, the team (in partnership with the Tanzanian Government) completed a historic black rhino reintroduction - plus a few births. This is a success story for a critically endangered species - the eastern black rhino. The Grumeti Fund can now prove that zoo stock can be used to produce wild Serengeti black rhino.

You’ll also hear about Eric the rhino, whose long and inspiring journey took him from San Diego Zoo to the grasslands of the Serengeti.

The Grumeti Fund embraces technologies like AI and constant research to enhance efficiencies. The canine anti-poaching unit is another success. The team is tackling aggressive alien invasive plants – a very real threat to wildlife and the agriculture of the neighbouring communities. Matt is looking forward to what the future holds in terms of technological innovation.

Matt and Ross discuss the future of conservation, the vision, the data, and the need to meet human-wildlife conflict and partnering with our communities. Matt believes there aren’t any key species missing from this iconic landscape, as they’ve reached ecological integrity in a short time.

Funds are derived from donations from Singita guests, NGOs, and philanthropists seeking to make a difference in Africa.

Today, we're taking a trip back to where it all began – Singita Ebony, nestled in the shade of giant trees along the Sand River, in Sabi Sand. It's not just a lodge; it's the beginning of our 30-year journey and a beacon of our 100-year purpose, filled with memories for many people.

Under ancient Ebony trees, the Bailes family brought their dream of preserving wilderness areas to life and established the first commercial lodge in 1993. This planted the seed of what is today 16 award-winning lodges - a collection that represents the best of ecotourism and conservation. A sense of purpose and history is tangible in the spaces at Ebony Lodge.

Ironically, Ebony is undergoing an exciting transformation on our 30th anniversary.

In this lively episode, Georgie Pennington (Singita’s Group Creative Direction) chats with our friend Megan Hesse (Partner & Interior Designer of HK Studio handling interior architecture). They discuss working on the Ebony project together, one which everyone (the staff especially) is very protective of. It was a gentle and respectful process to nudge it forward into modern times. Design-wise, it was important for Ebony to still feel like Ebony and pay homage to history but evolve with modern materials and design – a beautiful balancing act of old and new.

Hear about the new, interactive Conservation Room at the heart of the main area – just like conservation is at the core of everything Singita does. This is a space to extend the game drive. The wine cellar has been moved and the new space is full of narrative, detail, and warmth. Behind every item, there is a story of sourcing locally from African crafters and artisans because our local talent is as strong as anywhere in the world.

Megan and Georgie also worked their magic on Singita Kwitonda Lodge in Rwanda, and at our newest exclusive-use villa in the Serengeti, Singita Milele, where every piece of art or furniture is sourced from Africa.

Join us to hear stories from two dynamic designers who love what they do.

Ebony reopens in April 2024.

In this episode, we meet Singita’s Head Chef at Singita Volcanoes National Park, in Rwanda. Vanie Padayachee chats to Sharon Machira, a journalist, content creator and Podcaster in Kenya, about a previous visit to spill the beans (and the gooseberries) about the on-site nursery called ‘Akarabo’ (meaning Little Flower) and the food philosophy here.

In an entertaining conversation, they unveil the plant-based menu with ingredients plucked from the lodge garden or sourced from female farmers, and what she does with tree tomatoes. Delicious raspberries, lettuce, green beans, rainbow carrots, and herbs are harvested from the Akarabo garden.

Rwanda’s volcanic soil is so fertile! The team built two mushroom huts which have yielded 1,000kg of oyster mushrooms over time! Other plentiful, year-round local ingredients are passion fruit, strawberries, dodo (spinach), and sugar cane which Vanie turned into cordial and ice cream. She didn’t stop there. She also created a tree tomato jam, which apparently can make you cry.

Sharon takes us down memory lane to the Singita Community Culinary School (SCCS) in Musanze, where she met the students and taught them a TikTok dance challenge! They’ve all become chefs. One student travelled to Cape Town for an internship with Chef Liam Tomlin at Chef’s Warehouse. In SCCS’s third year, applications from the immediate community grew from 100 (in the first year) to 400. This education changes the trajectory of their lives.

They discuss ingredients and sustainability in the kitchen. Vanie explains what activities are available to guests in the nursery – such as yoga, a pottery studio, picking your own ingredients, a running track, visiting the seamstress, or planting a tree.

Guests graze often, just like the buffalo, Golden Monkeys, and Mountain Gorillas. Vanie says we should eat simply, and let the ingredients become the storytellers!

We meet two of Singita’s dynamic head chefs based at lodges in Tanzania and Rwanda. While the local ingredients and menus are entirely different, they have a lot in common.

Mia Neethling, Singita’s Executive Chef in Tanzania, and Vanie Padayachee, Head Chef In Rwanda, chat with two lodge managers in Tanzania about the food served at Singita Grumeti (Tanzania) and Singita Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda). Mia and Vanie head up the teams producing exceptional and sustainable food at these award-winning lodges. Irene Diu and Betty Mollel are both lodge managers in Tanzania where they witness the impact our food has on guests every day.

In a lively and entertaining conversation, they discuss how common plant-based menus are, sourcing new ingredients from local female farmers, harvesting fresh produce in the kitchen gardens, and what it’s like to inspire a new era of chefs through the Singita Community Culinary School in each region. They also explore how Singita’s food has evolved over thirty years, in a rhythm that is true to our brand.

The chefs discuss what it takes to produce exceptional food in remote areas, with limited, seasonal ingredients. It takes passion, agility, creativity, innovation, and thinking on your feet. Learn what Vanie does with the 185kg of mushrooms she harvests at Akarabo Nursery! We learn how sustainability is deeply ingrained in all kitchen staff and what this entails, for example, sending all food waste to the local pig farmer (in Rwanda) to make compost.

In this episode, Mia, Vanie, Irene, and Betty also talk about traditional dishes and food trends and tell some hilarious stories along the way.

Conservation success stories from the Ecologist of 27 years.

Singita Photographer and former guide, Ross Couper, chats to Sarah Clegg, Ecologist at Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve in Zimbabwe, where Singita has two lodges: Singita Pamushana & Malilangwe House. The Malilangwe Trust is our conservation partner in Zimbabwe, responsible for far-reaching community and biodiversity projects.

Sarah was the first ecologist at the Malilangwe Trust in 1996 and is responsible for establishing the monitoring systems still in use today. The focus is mainly on black and white rhino populations. They discuss conservation success stories from this Reserve - 130,000 acres of protected wilderness – and how it has evolved over thirty years.

As custodians of the reserve, the Malilangwe Trust manages the conservation of 38 habitats. Black and white rhinos were introduced in 1998, it is now a source for translocations elsewhere in Africa. The Trust developed a blueprint for harmony between conservation and community development in neighbouring villages and ensured a sanctuary for wildlife. https://singita.com/conservation/malilangwe
https://www.facebook.com/themalilangwetrust

Sarah joined the Malilangwe Trust as a MSc student studying the effects of perennial water on the vegetation, and wild herbivores. From 2007 to 2020 she worked as a consulting ecologist, where she focused on rhino monitoring, sustainability, and environmental education for children. She is busy with a Ph.D. in the ecology of black rhino but continues to monitor Malilangwe’s rhino, contributing to rhino management and interventions.

In this episode, Ross and Sarah also talk about restocking the reserve; anti-poaching scouts; rhino relocations; community partnership programmes; and the delicate balancing act in this thriving ecosystem. A fascinating conversation with an ecologist with over 27 years of research and success from one reserve.