Campfire Conversations with Brett Horley

This Campfire Conversation brings Montana-native Jeff Hyer and South African oke Brett Horley together in the misty mountains of Magoebaskloof, and it is a chat all about nature destinations (Africa and around the world), making childhood dreams come true, near-death experiences, an undying loyalty to Swarovski Optics, and discussing why people choose to go on safari (and why they don’t). A few th...

Last year, we had a bumper Zambia safari season, which got us excited about a deep-dive episode dedicated to it, but we have been singing the praises of this destination for years. It is known as the "rising giant" and it truly does feel like it's still somewhat untapped. After Covid, a relatively lesser known Lower Zambezi National Park gained popularity, but don’t let that fool you...

Darryl and Paul are two treasured BHS safari guests, and by this point we've lost track of who drives the adventure - us or them? Either way, the stories that have accumulated over these epic trips we've shared are worth putting on a platform like this.  There have been high highs - moments that are impossible to replicate - and there have been automotive breakdowns that have lasted hours, batteri...

In this episode, Brett celebrates good friends Jeff Williams’ and Patricia Goodwin’s brand new book - Dangerous Animals of Southern & Eastern Africa . This long-awaited conversation that details not only the entertaining stories and fascinating encounters that led to the content in their book, but also 15 years of shared experiences in special places that BHS has been a part of.  With the grea...

https://www.bhs-safari.co/ Gary is one of the original BHS travellers, putting his adventurous spirit in the hands of a 20-something Brett Horley almost 13 years ago when he was a guide on a conservation course. Sleeping under the stars and walking the rocky baobab-strewn outcrops of Mapungubwe was only the beginning of the Franklin explorations, which now span more than a decade with BHS.  Campin...

Dr Mércia Ângela raced from a meeting in Maputo about rabies disease control to join us virtually for this campfire conversation, so we are very grateful that she carved out the time to talk to us! This Mozambican veterinarian is part of the superpower team that is rebuilding and expanding the biodiversity of “Africa’s Lost Eden” - Gorongosa National Park. A destination that is HIGH on the wishlis...

Joining us from Delhi - headquarters of Ameliya Safaris - is Indian safari guide, filmmaker & on-screen presenter Suyash Keshari, who you are more than likely to have stumbled across on social media. His popular following is a testament to the addictive nature of his exciting wildlife content, and after working with Suyash to plan a tiger safari for repeat guests of ours, we knew we wanted him...

Dr Ian Whyte joins us on the podcast for the second time - back by popular demand after his tales from a 30+ year-long career in the Kruger National Park left our audience wanting more. This episode follows on with even more stories from Ian's life in wildlife conservation, where close calls, hair-raising encounters, and what Ian calls "dodgy moments" in his career, leave us with no doubt that he...

Do you know “the Kruger Park shop smell”? How many little round soaps with their white waxy packaging and green SANParks sticker do you have in your toiletry bag? Grant Beverley reckons one could bottle the smell, sell it overseas and make a small fortune from nostalgic expats. Andrew Briscoe describes his Kruger memories as “formative” and remembers a cheetah kill from 1994 like it was yesterday....

Ben Coley is a Professional Field Guide and Astronomy Educator who believes  "Astronomy is the root of everything and to understand it is to achieve the ultimate connection with nature." For nearly two decades, he has entertained his guests with tales of the heavens as a part of their safari experience, and he has authored FGASA’s Specialist Astronomy Qualification, weaving an astronomical passion...

Have you ever heard of Socotra? Neither had we, until we met Pedro Quirino - a Portuguese tour guide, eternal adventurer, and outdoors enthusiast who has travelled to this mysterious "treasure island" off the Horn of Africa and has introduced us to scenes we could only compare to something out of Avatar. Once we heard about this island of biodiversity that used to belong to the ancient c...

Our destination of 2024 and 2025 - Zambia - is a "rising giant", an enigmatic safari destination that delivers just as much punch whether it's a first-time or many-time repeat destination. Its alluring national parks are sprawled between major river systems, floodplains, swamps, and ancient trees, and you can explore by boat, on foot, in a canoe, and on game drive. Leopard sightings...

This episode comes with a PG warning, and it couldn't be more entertaining. These are truly the UNTOLD stories from behind the scenes on safari involving guides, guests, friends, and colleagues in the industry that some might never have considered would make it onto a podcast. But thanks to our treasured friend and superior safari chef, Christina “Mufasa” van der Merwe, we have a no holds barr...

Welcome to another destination-focused episode of the podcast, hosted by Brett. In this Campfire Conversation, Brett is joined by Jo, who is, by now, a regularly featured safari expert on the pod and who's got bush stories crazy enough to match Brett's. When it comes to Botswana, there are stories upon stories of rogue wildlife in campsites, breakdowns, black-outs, and utterly mesmerising...

Seeking out the rare and enigmatic creatures of this wild continent has always been a primary motivator for BHS and speaks right to our Explorer archetype. So, when there was barely a chance (but a chance nonetheless) to see a black leopard in Africa back in 2017, Brett and a couple of die-hard friends set off to meet the researchers and guides who had been tracking these elusive cats in a dramati...

Retired animal scientist, elephant specialist, and ornithologist with a career that spanned 37 years at South African National Parks (SANParks), Dr Ian "Masthulele" Whyte has published papers on managing Kruger National Park's elephant population, the value of elephants vs biodiversity, elephants as a keystone species, different contraceptive methods, and translocation issues, to nam...

This episode is the first in a series of destination-focused episodes we'll be sharing in this season of the podcast. We're re-introducing you to Jo Cooper, who was our very first guest back in 2020 in season 1 - he is a safari guru, overland extraordinaire, an expert at African border crossings, navigating roadside marketplaces in the most bustling cities across southern and eastern Afric...

Kyle (recently completing his PhD) and Carrie (currently working on her PhD) have been leading the research and conservation of southern ground-hornbills in the Greater Kruger Park for the last seven years as part of a longterm study run by the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology that has spanned the last 23 years. They've tracked breeding behaviour, group dynamics, vocalisations, and...

Devoted Zimbabwean and professional guide of over 34 years, Ian Harmer is an experienced and passionate anti-poaching ranger with a convincing argument for legalising the rhino horn trade. He is a human historian and salt of the Earth human himself who "grew up in the hills" outside Bulawayo and still lives there. He called in to talk to us from his home in the magical Matobo Hills, whil...

This one's been a long time in the making... What started as an exploratory conversation between Brett and his two guests - friends, Matt Lindenberg and Justin Sullivan - has now (a year later) become a relationship between colleagues and collaborators of BHS in conservation and in epic adventures. A lot has happened since this recording, including the tragic loss of Anton Mzimba, a friend and...

Joining us for the third episode of the podcast is helicopter pilot Jana Meyer who did us the great pleasure of sitting down for a chat after she’d flown in for a rhino dehorning. Just another day in the office for this incredibly hard-working conservation chopper pilot! Working in wildlife conservation is a big part of her life and something Jana is very well known for here in the Greater Kruger....

Episode 2 of this season takes us down to a quiet riverbed in the spectacular Thornybush Private Nature Reserve where Serondella Safari Lodge is located. Brett is joined by three gentlemen who make up the core guiding team on the ground here in paradise, and all four of them feel quite at home with our feet in the sand and the sounds of the late morning bush! What a place to sit and have a convers...

It's the season three kick-off and we are in the prestigious company of Trevor Jordan - Lowveld legend in the property development and conservation space, and CEO of Thornybush Nature Reserve where this season of the podcast is being recorded! Just the week before we sat down to have this conversation, Trevor and his wife Lisa had just jumped off a morning flight over Thornybush when they had seen...

Our second season of the podcast draws to a close in a spectacular manner, in the company of Lowveld safari legend and return offender on Campfire Conversations, John JD Dixon, and our neighbour here in Klaserie, Troy TC Zambezi Meeser! We sat down under Big Jack - the 400-odd-year-old Jackalberry tree under which some of our guests at Tulela might have enjoyed a bush breakfast - and got down to s...

We have the team from Wild Wonderful World around our "campfire" this afternoon, which nothing short of an honour! This is by far the most civilised chat we've had - seated in the luxury lounge here at Tulela rather than circled around a fire. Unfortunately the weather wasn't playing along for our recording, so we moved inside, but nevertheless - the Klaserie is all around us and these three guest...