Our Guides

Abeduico “Shaka” Masuku was born in a small village called Mosojane close to Francistown in 1969. After completing high school he joined the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) where he worked for 10 years – it was this time spent with DWNP that instilled Shaka’s love of the bush and he decided that he wanted to fully immerse himself in the bush and proceeded to study to become a guide.

He spent 3 years in the mobile sector and then moved to the lodge sector where he soon became head guide for Wilderness Safaris at Vumbura Camp. After a few years here he moved to Orient Express as a lodge manager and spent a year in South Africa having extensive management training. On returning to Botswana he continued in the lodges as a camp manager and realised that his passion was guiding and sharing his love and knowledge of the bush directly with clients so he returned to guiding and the mobile sector, where he has been working again for the last 6 years.

His favourite animal is a Vervet monkey because it is cheeky and clean. Shaka is married with 4 children – 3 daughters and 1 son who he is proud to say is following in his footstep’s with his love of all aspects of the bush.

Brent Reed was born in the Magaliesberg mountains in South Africa where he developed a deep and abiding love for the bush and all things wild but snakes in particular. Although he has been a birder all his life it wasn't until he was near-fatally bitten by a Black Mamba in 2004 that he decided to focus more strongly on the avian fauna rather than the reptillian. Brent's guiding career started in 1997 when he moved to Botswana to join his brother after a brief career in IT which took him to Europe for 3 years. He has guided safaris in South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Mocambique, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Madagascar. Brent is a Level III FGASA Trails Guide and registered Trainer & Assessor with FGASA (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa). Along with his brother, Grant, he is a founding director of Letaka Safaris and African Guide Academy (formerly Okavango Guiding School).

Brent lives in Maun at the southern tip of the Okavango Delta on the banks of the Thamalakane river with his wife Ashleigh and his two sons, Jarryd and Troy.

Gee was born on Chinxom Island, a small island in the southern Okavango Delta near the village of Shorobe. As a youngster Gee accompanied his older siblings, father and uncles on many hunting trips which were undertaken on foot and in dug-out canoes (mokoro). These often long excursions taught Gee field craft that would become indispensable in his later career as a professional guide. By the age of 7 he was an adept tracker and quite capable of surviving in the bush on his own!

With the rapid growth of tourism in the region Gee found a way to turn his passion into his work and he began his career as a professional guide in 2002. He has been guiding safaris in Botswana ever since.

Gee’s favourite animal is a tie between red lechwe and leopard, his favourite bird is the elusive Rosy-throated Longclaw. He lives in Maun with his wife Totang and his 5 children.

Frank was born and raised in a small cattle post called Tsibogolamatabele, along the Boteti Rive, 50km east of Maun, Botswana. He moved to maun to attend primary and high school. In 2007, Frank went on to complete a professional guiding course and joined a large safari company based.

He was based in different camps and lodges around Botswana and has worked in nearly all the national parks of Botswana. Since 2017, Frank has been part of the mobile safari sector and joined Letaka in 2019.

His favourite animal is the Impala! Although a very common animal, he finds them special as they strive to survive day and night as they are often prey #1 on predator hitlists, yet they always seem to be happy!

Frank’s favourite bird is the Lilac Breasted Roller due to its amazing colours and he thoroughly enjoys their mating displays, when they “roll” in the air!

Born in the Magaliesburg mountains in 1974, Grant was raised with a love for birds, snakes and all things African, a passion passed on from his paternal grandfather and father.

Grant’s run-in with snakes came earlier in life on his eighteenth birthday when he was bitten by a puff-adder and ended up spending six months in and out of hospital. Having survived hospital and the puff-adder bite Grant continues to be passionate about snakes and to this day Grant still lectures interested parties on snakes and snakebite. A consummate naturalist, Grant’s interests include such diverse subjects as dragonflies, birds, butterflies and wildflowers.

He is widely considered to be one of Botswana’s top guides and holds two post-graduate degrees in Nature Conservation as well as the FGASA (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa) Level III certificate and a number of specialist qualifications. He is also a founding director of Letaka Safaris and of Okavango Guiding School and a large portion of his passionate energy is directed towards the training and development of guides in Botswana. Grant lives outside Maun on the banks of the Thamalakane River with his wife Trudi and his sons, Merrick and Ross.

James Gifford was raised in the United Kingdom and worked in The City before giving up the bright lights of London to work at Jacks Camp in the Makgadikgadi pans.

His love for photography blossomed in Botswana’s wilderness where never-ending sunshine and bountiful wildlife gave him ample opportunity to hone his skills. After his initial stint in the safari industry he devoted himself to photography and writing full-time. His articles and photographs have appeared in numerous magazines including CNN Traveller, Africa Geographic, Travel Africa and the Eureka supplement to the UK’s Times newspaper.

He also recently reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Africa Photographic Awards. His first book: “Wildlife Photography in Botswana: A Practical Guide”, co- authored with Steven Stockhall, was published earlier this year. Examples of his photography can be found at www.jamesgifford.co.uk as well as in his gallery on our website.

Lucas was born in the northern border town of Kasane on the banks of the Chobe River in 1989. Back then Kasane was a pretty wild place as it bordered on the Chobe National Park as it still does today but in those days there was a lot more human / wildlife interaction as Kasane was still a dusty little village with little development.

From a young age Lucas developed a fascination for the creatures that surrounded him even though he and his family had to deal with lions eating their livestock and elephants raiding their crops on an almost daily basis.

Lucas first qualified as a guide in 2010 and has been guiding safaris in Botswana ever since. His favourite animal remains the pesky elephants that used to raid his corn fields and his favourite bird is the Lilac-breasted Roller.

Matambo was born and raised in the panhandle in the north-western part of Botswana , near Shakawe, in a small village called Sekondomboro. He grew up with his family in this remote area, where he spent most of his time in the amongst the islands fishing.

At a young age, he had many encounters with a lot of potentially dangerous animals such as hippos, elephants and lions. Due to growing up in an area like this, Matambo began to love these animals even though they were destroying their crops and lions were eating their livestock.

He completed his schooling in Maun, and then went on to get his Mokoro polers license in 2002.

He worked as a tracker and poler in the Okavango Delta for many years before joining Abu Camp in 2008 as a ‘mahout’ (elephant handler).

His passion for guiding spurred him on to successfully obtain his guides license in 2010. Matambo has guided in several lodges and came to Letaka Safaris in January 2017 where he has quickly established a great following from repeat guests.

Matambo has a love for big cats in general as well as elephants. His favourite big cat is the leopard because of their camouflage and he revels in the challenge of finding them!

He lives in Maun with his partner and their 3 children, and his favourite areas to guide are Khwai and Savuti due to the incredible landscapes.

Robson was born in Manxotae, a small village on the north-eastern edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, about 19km east of Nata.

As a young boy, his father and uncles gave him the knowledge of how to survive in the wilderness, learning about nature, plants, animal behavior and the climate.

Robson came to Maun in 2001 and got into Birdlife Botswana where he learnt a lot about birding around Lake Ngami. He got his professional guides license in 2003 with the local Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

His passion and love for the tourism industry grew every step of the way and he has worked with several safari companies in the Okavango Delta as a professional guide.

His favourite animal is the honey-badger. He thoroughly enjoys its behavior as it is always busy, strong and ferocious, very uneasy to intimidate and has a do-it-all attitude.

One of his favourite birds is the Southern Crowned Crane because of the call it makes along with is colours and its iconic crane. Although rare, he would see them regularly in his you in the fields in the Makgadikgadi growing up.

Robson lives in Maun with his wife and three kids Alisa, Grace and Shalom.

Bate was born in 1985 and grew up in the pan-handle of the Okavango Delta. Growing up in the heart of the Okavango Delta, he grew his passion for wildlife and nature in general.

This interest and passion drove him to obtain his professional guide’s license in 2009 and further grow his knowledge of Botswana flora and fauna.

In his years of guiding, Bate has worked in many lodges in the delta until he joined Letaka Mobile Safaris in 2019.

Bate’s favourite animal is the Wild Dog, he loves their social structure and the way they look after each other and share food. His favourite bird is the Rosy-throated Longclaw, because of their elusive nature and it is a great accomplishment finding them!

When he isn`t on safari he lives with his wife and two kids in Maun, the Gateway to the Delta.

Shadreck was born in Maun but grew up in the small village of Kachikau in the northern Chobe region about 100km west of Kasane. He completed his schooling in Kachikau before going on to complete his guides license with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in 1996. After a few years of guiding up in the Chobe Shadreck decided it was time to return to the Okavango and in 1998 he moved to Maun where he worked with Brent in another safari company for several years. Shadreck became a well-known fixture in our parks and is know to his fellow guides as ‘Shadow’.

Shadow joined Letaka Safaris in 2012 and has a growing list of past guests who return to travel with him again and again. He lives in Maun with his wife Keloreng and his three children, Ikageng, Mighty and Tefo.

CJ was born in the Chobe region of Botswana in the 1980’s. He grew up in the outskirts of the Chobe National Park. Growing up in such area meant learning to co-exist with wild animals in everyday life, especially elephants, which have now become his favorite animal.

He learnt from as young as 6 years old, how to treat elephants and animals in general, and how to read their behavior. Following completion of high school, CJ went into conservation jobs with the government, which led him to world of guiding.

He has been a guide since 2007 and finds it the most fascinating and interesting role he has ever done, which he enjoys every moment of. He particularly relishes sharing his knowledge and experiences with people

Stu and his wife, Justyna are the owners of WILD4 African Photographic Safaris. Since 2004 they have been successfully organising and leading photographic safaris to different parts of the African Continent. WILD4 is a family – run photo safari business and you can be assured that Stu & Justyna will take care of your every need from your first enquiry to the end of a memorable safari. They are passionate about their business and their clients and have very clear principles on how to run and operate their tours.

Canadian-born Tyler Garnham is a professional photographer based out of Vancouver in Canada. Tyler’s passion for photography shines through in his unique photographic style and his enthusiasm for all things photographic.

He also works as a rafting and expedition guide in the northern reaches of British Columbia and Alaska during the Arctic summer. Tyler now leads an annual African photographic safari to share his wealth of knowledge with other photographers.