Our Private Guides
SEAN DARNBOROUGH
Kenyan born and raised Sean has an innate passion for the natural world. With a keen interest in both the land and the sea his unique experience and knowledge brings fresh ideas to our professional guiding team
Born and raised on the Kenyan Coast , Sean spent most of his youth exploring in and around the ocean. Many school holidays were spent in Watamu helping with his father’s Game Fishing company, becoming a keen fisherman and watersports enthusiast . With the sea on his doorstep and Tsavo National Park a stone’s throw away, Sean’s passion for adventure and knowledge of the outdoors kept growing.
This unique 'Beach and Bush' combination was the ultimate playground and set the foundation for his career as a guide. Educated in Kenya and South Africa, Sean threw himself into outdoor activities whenever possible. Sean has a Yacht Master’s qualification and has fished professionally in Cape Verde and has been a Fishing Captain in Kenya.
In 2018, Sean went to South Africa to train as a Safari guide with Africa' s top guide t raining establishment, EcoTraining, where he attained his level one FGASA field guide qualification. On returning to Kenya he spent time working in the Maasai Mara and then joined the Africa Born team and has since guided trips with us around East Africa. Sean's easy disposition is perfectly suited to guiding. His passion for the African wilderness, ocean and people is contagious. As a leader, his innate ability to make the most of every situation has made him an early favorite with our travelers.
ANDREW VILJOEN
Having grown up in a small coastal village in South Africa, Andrew’s passions from an early age were birds, all things marine, anything crawling and just being in nature.
Once finished with high school and attempting to pursue his passion as a professional cricketer, he decided to do a diploma in game ranging and lodge management. It was here that his passion for the bush really took off and after completing his course, helped a friend out on a game reserve and has not left the industry since!
His career started as a guide in the Eastern Cape of South Africa back in 2005 and he has since managed, trained, mentored and guided at some of the top lodges in Africa. Creating memories with guests in nature was what he was destined to do, a natural at connecting with people and nature alike.
After a few years in the Eastern Cape he moved up to Madikwe Game Reserve were he met his wife, Drienie and together, they managed properties in South Africa and Mozambique, as we as some time spent in the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, managing, guiding and training the staff.
When they were expecting their first child, Andrew and his wife decided to move back to South Africa and pursue a more home-based career and for the past 5 years Andrew has been specialising in planning safaris throughout East and Southern Africa. Having guided clients for over 10 years and with his all-round knowledge and experience, it was only natural that he continued sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for mother Africa with guests.
His adventures continue from where they started, in the Eastern Cape, where he resides with his expanding little family, expecting their second child early 2020.
OLLIE OUTRAM
Ollie’s taste for adventure and passion for the outdoors is a pleasure to be around, young and enthusiastic he has knowledge beyond his years.
Ollie is a born and bred Kenyan and was educated both here and in South Africa. He comes from a family of professional safari guides and leaders in the tourism industry in Kenya.
After leaving school he followed his true passion - herpetology. He attended multiple courses at Bio-ken snake farm in Watamu on the Indian Ocean coast, where he became a professional snake handler. His interest in snakes took him all over Kenya where he has helped to raise awareness not only for the importance of reptile conservation but also in the development of quality anti-venom for victims of snake-bite.
In 2016 he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a safari guide. This took him back to South Africa where he completed the first FGASA guiding qualifications the same year. The courses he took there increased his love for the wilderness and not just reptiles but all facets of the African bush. On returning to Kenya Ollie worked at Sosian Ranch in Laikipia guiding and hosting safari guests.
In 2017 he returned to South Africa where he gained further FGASA guiding qualifications. He now teaches for Ecotraining in Kenya, which is a highly respected organisation training safari guides across Eastern and Southern Africa. He teaches local Kenyans guiding skills helping them to acheive Kenyan Professional Safari Guiding Association qualifications.
Ollie is young and fun, with a passion for life! He is an entertaining and superb with children - opening their eyes to the wonders of wilderness and sharing his knowledge of the beautiful country he calls home.
FINLAY MARRIAN
A tall, young and charming man, Finlay grew up in Kenya and was partly educated in the United Kingdom. His easygoing nature and humour are underpinned by an intimate knowledge of his homeland.
Finlay is born and raised in Kenya, son of the well-known African landscape artist David Marrian. Finlay’s childhood was spent in the remote corners of East Africa exploring new areas and locations with his family.
The school runs to Banda School in Nairobi were the opportunity of twice daily game drives across Nairobi National Park – it’s fair to say that these were far more enjoyable and informative then the traditional schooling process! After Banda, Finlay left to finish schooling in the UK but the call of the African bush was never far away and at every opportunity there was the chance of another safari, be this on foot or car in Northern Kenya or the more traditional destinations.
In 2013 Finlay returned to Kenya and into the safari business full time, managing Borana Lodge in Northern Kenya. In 2015 he and his girlfriend Hannah joined the Robert’s family taking over the management of the world acclaimed Richard’s Camp in the Masai Mara, and running it to their impeccable high standards for 3 years. Now focused on private guiding, Finlay loves nothing more than being in the bush with his camera to hand.
With an easy disposition and the guests experience always at the forefront of his mind, there is no one better to have with you on your safari. His passion for wildlife, culture and finding the best in every situation mean that you will get the most out of your safari.
Aside from guiding Finlay is also an avid photographer and is happy to assist guests with this. Other hobbies, when not on safari include paragliding, fly fishing and sailing.
FRANZISKA SOMMERLATTE
Born and raised in a fourth generation Kenyan-German family, Franziska spent her childhood growing up in the bush between the Athi Plains and Chyulu Hills of Kenya.
From a young age Franziska would accompany her parents on their adventurous and pioneering excursions through Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania. Their knowledge and passion of conservation, botany and ecology was readily absorbed by Franziska, who knew from the moment her father sent her on her first guided walking safari at 16, that an adventurous life immersed in the wilderness was one for her.
At 21 Franziska left for South Africa to train and complete the one year accredited FGASA Professional Safari Guide Course. Franziska received the opportunity to work in the Waterberg region of South Africa, where her apprenticeship flourished under the direct tutelage of Lee Gutteridge, regarded as one of South Africa’s most celebrated nature guides, trainer and author. Here she developed her skills further, picking up advanced qualifications in FGASA trail guiding and tracking. Her passion for walking safaris drew her back to Kenya, where she received a position to work as safari guide under the Governor’s Camp Collection and later as a guide and lodge manager at Alex Walker’s Serian in the Masai Mara.
Through the keen observation of the elemental forms of the African landscapes and cultures that inhabit its wilder places, an equal interest started to develop which led Franziska to study Fine Art at the University of Cape Town. Her large sculptural installations have been commissioned by private collectors, heads of state, corporate and national entities in Kenya and South Africa.
For Franziska her practice as an artist and guide are intrinsically connected; both rooted in sharing her deep passion, knowledge and inspiration of the great diversity of fauna and flora of Africa as well as the rich cultures that inhabit it.
Franziska’s enthusiasm and love for the wilderness is infectious, creating an unforgettable experience for anyone wishing to be taken on a voyage of discovery and learning on this magical continent she calls home.
RICHARD ANTHONY PYE
Born in Kenya to a family of conservationists and naturalists and living in the bush for the greater part of his childhood led Richard into a holiday-time, outdoor lifestyle as a willing, unpaid assistant working in conservation, tourism, and land management between the Chyulu hills in Kenya, the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania.
Free time was spent catching and identifying, looking for snakes and scorpions, walking, tracking, climbing hills and fishing or swimming in crocodile inhabited lakes and rivers. Through school where he volunteered for conservation service, chaired the snake club and was on the natural history quiz team Richard has always been drawn back to nature.
After graduating with a BSc from the University of Cape Town in 2004 Richard has been guiding walking and vehicle safaris, managing conservation areas and building and managing safari camps between Kenya and Tanzania.
In 2012 he joined an expedition with three others to Kayak five hundred and eighty kilometers up Lake Tanganyika.
After stepping back from tourism in 2013, Richard has, until recently, been the manager and warden of the Olare Motorogi Conservancy in the Maasai Mara where he was monitoring wildlife and managing the rangers, patrols, infrastructure, managed grazing and community relations.
JEREMY GOSS
Jeremy was born in South Africa, and raised to love the wild spaces of the continent from an early age. He grew up with a father who made wildlife films for a living and, perhaps as an inevitable result, has spent most of his adult life trying to find ways to combine his love of photography and wilderness with ways of conserving it.
He started his safari career in the Okavango Delta of Botswana before going on to complete an MSc in Conservation Biology at the University of Cape Town. Thereafter he turned his attention to the more practical aspects of wildlife conservation, working with Big Life Foundation in Kenya where he has been based in the Amboseli Ecosystem since 2013. He now divides his time between safari guiding, conservation work and photography.
Jeremy has travelled extensively across Africa, and these diverse experiences combined with his time spent living and working in wilderness areas, have given him a depth of understanding of Africa’s wild spaces and how important they are. Beyond his simple enthusiasm for sharing this with people, he is an accomplished photographer and avid birdwatcher. Most importantly, he just loves getting out there, wherever there may be.
SAM STOGDALE
In 2014, Sam was signed up as a partner of Africa’s oldest existing safari company, Ker & Downey.
It was a testament to the level of professionalism that he went straight from a junior guide to partner – bypassing what is usually a long and arduous process of qualification and mentoring.
To the Maasai people who knew him as a boy, Sam Stogdale was always destined for a prominent position in the safari trade. The son of renowned Kenyan hotelier David Stogdale, Sam spent much of his formative years with the young tribesmen who were training to become lodge managers and guides under his father’s tutelage. His godfather was the legendary John ole Parmasau, who would go on to become one of East Africa’s most celebrated Maasai guides. As mentoring pedigrees go, Sam had few equals.
Since launching his own company, Africa Born, in 2011, Sam and his business partner Paolo Parazzi have established a reputation as two of the continent’s finest ‘beach and bush’ outfitters. Sam’s specialities are the game-ruled plains of southern Kenya – and particularly the sweeping Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, considered by many to be the single-most important wildlife sanctuary on Earth.
It was in the Mara that Sam cut his teeth as a young guide: walking in the conservancies that line its borders, studying the Maasais’ legendary bush skills, fixing vehicles in rudimentary workshops. By the age of 15 he was a certified guide and, at 17, travelled to South Africa to complete the definitive FGASA Professional Safari Guide course. Along the way, he picked up advanced qualifications in trail guiding, birding and game tracking – making him, at the time, one of Kenya’s most qualified young guides. Still in his 20s, Sam is one of the company’s youngest lead guides – a huge achievement in one of the most competitive sectors of the global travel industry.
Sam is usually accompanied on safari by his wife Antonia, widely regarded as one of the finest chefs in the safari business. Trained at Leith’s Cookery School in London, Antonia has helped many of Kenya’s leading camps and lodges – as well as several K&D partners – to train their chefs and design their menus. Her participation guarantees Sam’s guests the very finest fare to be had in the bush anywhere!
PAOLO PARAZZI
In 2014, Paolo was signed up as a partner of Africa’s oldest existing safari company, Ker & Downey. It was a testament to the level of professionalism that he went straight from a junior guide to partner – bypassing what is usually a long and arduous process of qualification and mentoring.
For a young guide in his early 30s, Paolo Parazzi has a surprising number of strings to his bow. A trained accountant, seasoned scuba diver and boat skipper, this third-generation Kenyan is equally at home running safaris in remote and rugged bushland as he is leading long-distance kitesurfing expeditions, tagging turtles, or free diving with reef sharks. For visitors to Africa who hanker for a balanced blend of ‘beach and bush’, there are few more qualified guides.
Paolo grew up in Watamu on Kenya’s north coast, the son of an Ethiopia-born Italian businessman and a Sri Lanka-born English environmentalist. His mother’s strong conservation ethic was imbued in him from an early age, as he accompanied her to dozens of villages promoting sustainable fishing practices and turtle conservation for her Local Ocean Trust. He also spent much of his youth on safari in the Kenyan bush, staying with family friends who own some of the country’s leading luxury properties – a connection that adds an intimate ‘homecoming feel’ for many of his current guests.
In 2011, Paolo co-founded the pioneering guide training school, EcoTraining East Africa, which has put more than 250 guides through professional courses and delivered conservation training at most of Kenya’s major safari properties. His unmatched knowledge of Africa’s east coast has established him as one of the region’s leading ocean-based guides, regularly sought out by professional water sportsmen, marine biologists and game fishermen.
Having travelled and guided throughout East Africa, Paolo is now widely recognised as one of the top wildlife guides of his generation. Together with his business partner, Sam Stogdale, Paolo continues to broaden his wilderness repertoire – leading recent safaris to Rwanda, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Zambia and Mozambique. In the process, the pair have developed close ties with a number of celebrated conservationists, as well as strong friendships within several traditional Maasai communities – connections that add yet another compelling dimension to their safaris.
