About Moriti Private Safaris: A Small, Owner-Run Operation
“A small operation, where the person who plans your safari is the person you deal with the whole way through”
Moriti is deliberately small. I plan every safari myself, I answer my own messages, and my name’s on whatever you come home with. That isn’t a small operation apologising for being small. That’s the whole point. If you’re still weighing it up, whether to book it yourself or hand it to someone like me, I’ve set out the honest case here.
You can travel with me two ways. I either come along and guide you the whole trip, or I place you with camps and guiding teams I’ve worked with for years and stay on the end of the phone while you’re out there. Neither is the lesser option. Either way, when something has to change at six in the morning, you’re talking to the person who planned it, not a call centre and a booking reference. I’m the one who’s glad when your morning comes together, and the one who takes it to heart when it doesn’t.
How Moriti began, and why it has stayed a one-person operation
Moriti started in 2011, running private bush trips in the Greater Kruger. People kept asking to see more of the continent, so it grew with them. It never grew past me, though, and that was on purpose.
It comes from a bush obsession I’ve had since I was a boy and never got over, which is why no two of my safaris run the same way. I build each one around what you tell me matters to you. Nothing comes off a shelf.
Early on I did something nobody else was doing. I ran fully guided safaris out of the self-catering lodges in the Klaserie, brought my own chef along, and gave people the ease of a private lodge with the whole trip run around them.
There’s more on who you’d actually be travelling with here: about me and how I guide.
How I work, and the things I will not compromise on
From your first message to the drive back to the airport, you’re dealing with me. I plan it, I book it, and I stay reachable while you travel. Guiding you myself or placing you with a team I trust, it’s still one person you call, and that’s me. If you want the details on what privately guided actually means, and when it’s worth it, it’s here: what a privately guided safari means.
Here’s the one thing I won’t move on. Quality over quantity. I’d rather give you an unhurried day in the right place than move you on every morning to fit more in. That’s the difference between ticking a leopard off a list and sitting with her long enough to watch her decide you’re not worth getting up for.
And I only run trips I’d be happy on myself. If a lodge or an activity puts itself ahead of the wild, it’s out. The wild’s the reason you’re coming. My job’s to get you in front of it, then step out of the way.
Where I travel, and the countries I plan safaris across
My home ground is the Greater Kruger and its private reserves, the Sabi Sands, Timbavati and Klaserie, where I’ve guided since 2003. From there I plan and host trips across Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and Uganda. Rwanda I’ll set up if you ask, though those are specialised and built one at a time.
Which one’s right for you comes down to what you want to see and when you can get away. I won’t cram all that in here. I’ve laid out how the regions differ, and how to choose between them, over here: choosing where to go.
Moriti’s core values have, and always will be: a passion for Africa’s wild places, and a passion for a true African experience over profit. I will take a loss if it means my guests get the best experience.
Conservation, the specific kind, and where the money goes
Every safari I run has conservation and community levies built into it. They’re part of what you pay, and they go to the reserves and the people keeping them standing. Where I can, I back local community reserves and projects directly, and I make sure the money lands where it’s meant to.
In the Klaserie, you can spend a morning with the anti-poaching unit and meet the dogs that work alongside them. I charge for that morning and hand it straight to the unit, so a few hours in the field turn into a real contribution.
I book small, owner-run lodges, and I use owner-run operators wherever I can. Partly because they tend to care more when nobody’s watching. Partly because a small operation staying loyal to other small ones is how the good ones keep going.
Trading since 2011, and what my past guests have to say
Moriti has been trading since 2011 and remains owner-run. The real test of whether that works is what people say once they’re back, so I’d rather show you than tell you.
Plan your safari with one person, from first note to airport
From your first note to the drive back to the airport, it’s one person planning your safari, and that’s me. Got practical questions first? The FAQ page covers most of them. Otherwise, just tell me what you’re picturing: rough dates, who’s coming, what you’d most love to see. As much or as little as you’ve got. You’ll get me writing back, not an AI Bot.
Occasional notes from the field. Thoughts on planning, places I’m spending time in, and changes that actually matter when you’re thinking about a safari. I send it when there’s something worth saying.