Safari Stories to Warm your Heart
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Tales of Suspense
With World Rhino Day coming up on the 22nd September, it seemed appropriate to open this newsletter with a story about a rhino, set under a full African moon.
When I asked John to tell me his Moonlight Rhino story, now legendary, he responded with a smile and that faraway look came into his eyes, as he recalled that wonderful night…
“Zimbabwe’s Zambezi Valley was once home to the Black Rhino. Difficult to believe now that they’re all gone, but true.
“It was August 1990 and our camp overlooked the vast expanse of the Zambezi River in the Mana Pools National Park. My four guests were American and our "Walking Safari" in this exquisite locality was almost over. They would be flying out of the area the following day so we had a little while left to explore. I sat back in my old canvas chair thinking of a few options. It would be full moon that night and I had in mind spending it out at a remote pan, which was situated well off the beaten track. I explained the benefit of sitting quietly at such a spot, listening to night sounds and observing at close quarters unexpected sightings. Above all, the whole atmosphere would be riveting. I detected a sparkle in my guests’ eyes!
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Explore more...
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Meet Gary Layard, Safari Guide
 Gary Layard (48) grew up in rural Zimbabwe and has fostered a passion for wild places in Africa from a very young age. He is married to Sharon and has two children, Bryony (17) and Jeremy (14).
He qualified as an optometrist in Johannesburg in 1986 and has built up two busy optometric practices in Harare.
In 2007 Gary decided to take his bush passion to new levels, and undertook to complete his Professional Guides license - after a three year apprenticeship, he was able to achieve this, whilst continuing to work as an optometrist - every possible opportunity to get into the bush was fully utilised, as his family and staff will confirm! Sharon, Bryony and Jeremy fortunately share Gary's passion for the bush, and they spend a lot of time together, enjoying the wilderness of Zimbabwe (especially Mana Pools National Park) and adjacent countries.
Whilst Gary continues to work as an optometrist, he does make time to pursue his passion with professional guiding - taking a number of select photographic safaris each year.
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Join us around the campfire
If you’re planning to come on safari, we hope you find something here - www.johnstevenssafaris.com/options.htm – to warm your imagination and spark some thoughts.
But most of all, we hope that you, too, will come away from a safari with many stories of your own to tell!
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