Richard Knocker leads safaris in Africa. His life is full of adventure!
Tell our readers a little bit about yourself:
I was born on a farm in Kenya. My mother always loved going on safari, so some of my earliest memories are of sitting by the car with a mountain of gear around us — tents, food, stove — before we set off on a trip. In those days, you could go to the Maasai Mara and just set up your tent wherever you wanted — we wouldn’t see another soul for days.
School was fun. I always enjoyed learning, and we got to do cool stuff, like the time we went to Northern Kenya to watch a total eclipse of the sun. During the school holidays, we always went to the beach. I adore the ocean; snorkeling and diving are some of my favorite hobbies.
After going to university in the United Kingdom, I got a job teaching in Istanbul, my favorite city in the whole world. Then, in 1990, I started working as a guide, and that’s what I’ve done ever since. I moved to Tanzania in 1994 with my wife Jules and three dogs. We live on the edge of Arusha National Park, where my wife makes fabulous cheeses and, occasionally, the elephants come visiting.
What is a typical day like for a safari leader?
Up early for a quick cup of tea, then off. We might be going for a walk or a game drive, but either way, I have to be ready to explain to my guests what is going on around us: ‘These tracks show where a hippo made its way back to water’; ‘That herd of impala are staring and alarm-calling at the lioness over there’; ‘On this twig, there’s a chameleon, perfectly caouflaged against the bark.’
What kind of training does it take to lead a safari?
These days there are lots of different schools where you can learn a great deal about nature and wildlife — the kind of information your guests will love hearing about. But there’s no substitute for practical experience; your best school is the bush, nature herself. Many of my most interesting insights come from my own observations, when I’m out there with my friends and fellow guides, or when I’m guiding clients.
What is your favorite animal — it doesn’t have to be a safari animal.
Am I allowed two? I’m a sucker for elephants and cheetahs. Elephants are incredible animals; they always seem to be doing something cool. They are social creatures, so you often see interesting interactions: a mother feeding her calf, two young males messing around, a herd luxuriating in a mud wallow. In some ways they seem incredibly human, which makes them all the more fascinating.
Cheetahs are just soooo beautiful, the way they walk, the way they lie, the way they groom themselves. A safari supermodel.
What is something cool most people don’t know about animals that you see on safari?
Did you know there is a bird, called a honeyguide, that makes a special kind of call to get people to follow it to a beehive? The humans can get the honeycomb out of the hive, and they leave a piece of comb for the bird. Honeyguides can digest wax because they are serophagous (which is just a posh way of saying they can digest wax!).
When and why did you become interested in this line of work?
Thanks to my intrepid mother, I was always interested in travel and nature. But it wasn’t until I got to go on a trip as a trainee guide in Turkey in 1989 that I realized that this was the life for me. I got to go to amazing places, meet lots of fun people and also to share my knowledge. I suppose it is important to be a bit of a show-off if you want to be guide.
What is the hardest part about your job?
Saying goodbye to my wife at the beginning of a long safari.
What is the best part about your job?
Whenever we see something amazing and one of my guests says ‘wow!’
Can you tell our readers about your most exciting safari?
Hmm, tough one this! Most recently, I spent five days with the Hadzabe, a hunter/gatherer tribe here in northern Tanzania, with a group of teenagers. Every day we walked with our Hadzabe hosts for hours at a time, foraging for food. It was amazing to watch as they hammered wooden pegs into a baobab tree to climb up to get honey from a hive, despite being stung by loads of bees, or to see the women dig up tasty potato-like tubers which they recognized from a shriveled-up stalk above ground and the excitement with which returning hunters are greeted, coming back with a porcupine or hyrax in hand — food for the family.
What are some interesting facts most people don’t know about Africa?
Africa is splitting apart down the middle, along the geological fault known as the Great Rift Valley. It won’t happen next week, but the eastern part is slowly drifting away from the rest. One day, this will be an island. If you look at an atlas, you can see how this has happened before: the coastline of the western part of Africa fits beautifully into the eastern side of the Americas, like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?
I love the beach — snorkelling, diving, sailing — but I can’t lie around and work on my tan.
Explain to our readers what a safari is?
“Safari” in Kiswahili means ‘a journey.’
Most people think of it as being a holiday where you’ll be looking at animals on game drives and possibly sleeping in a tent. To me it’s much more than that. It’s a sort of freedom, a journey to a new and different place. It’s also a journey of the senses where you get the chance to look at the world in a different way, as well as hear, smell and touch new things. It’s a journey of discovery where you see animals and birds that you’ve never seen before, and meet people with interesting cultures very different from your own. It’s also a journey far from things that you are used to, where each day you will do surprising and exciting things which hopefully leave a lasting impression.
~ Thank you, Mr. Knocker!
