Our Wild Women guides are…everything. In Tanzania, they are Formula 1 drivers. They are as stealth as the predators of the Serengeti and their superheroine powers are endless. Grace can find cheetahs obscured by monster termite hills from half a mile away when only its ear is showing! Barely! She can mimic a hippo, a lion and a white-browed coucal with startling likeness. Grace is as warm as the sun with enviable, mad bird skills. She glances to her left and can point out a little bee-eater or lilac-breasted roller in flight. She looks right and indicates a Malachite kingfisher on a naked branch along the shoreline and a fork-tailed drongo above—all while navigating the potholed tracks of the national park.
Nora holds her own ground—she’s confident, spunky and saucy. It’s the kind of bold trifecta that makes you want to be in her company in the hopes that her spirit rubs off. She likes to dance like nobody is watching and often does. Nora’s secret superpower is her humor and she easily knits a group closer with her kid-sister playfulness, non-stop encouragement and wildlife pop quizzes during game drives.
Both women enrich a safari experience tenfold with their infusion of culture, knowledge, curiosity, cheerleading and commitment to empowering women. These gals are impromptu auto mechanics, wildlife scouts and pure champions of inspiring young African girls to pursue a career in tourism. Natural-born leaders like Grace and Nora are already empowering generations to come with their broad smiles and equally broad shoulders. When little girls see them behind the wheel of the Land Cruiser, they know that one day, they can aspire to the same. They also encourage Wild Women to push themselves and climb higher and longer, especially when the switchbacks down to the salt lake seem too daunting.
The requirements for safari guides in Tanzania are rigorous and competitive, but they are still largely male-dominated. Typical guide education includes bird identification (by sound), memory, IQ, vision tests–how to change a tire, even. Wild Women is lucky to have powerful guides like Grace and Nora to lean on. Their relationship is sister-like and contagious. The women originally worked together at Dunia Camp—the only 100% women-operated safari camp in Tanzania. The Wild Women itinerary includes two unforgettable nights at this Serengeti luxury lodge, too!
Regardless of your destination, Wild Women guides are a beautiful, empowering force that brings a country to life through their strength, intimate stories and generational history.
Want to meet a few more of our guides?
Meet Fio, our fearless guide in Patagonia here and our passionate Egyptologist, Yasmine, here. Don’t forget about our gracious guide in Bhutan, Chhimmi; Disnarda, our unstoppable leader on the Inca Trail; and Kyd Campbell, our ultimate cowgirl in Peru! You can read about them here.
Our Wild Women guides connect us inextricably. Join them and us on the W Trek, the Inca Trail, the Nile, the Serengeti, or any of the 30 destinations that Wild Women travel too.
