Where the experts holiday: Stuart Bartman, Karibu Safari

Karibu Safari’s Stuart Bartman on polar bears and the beauty of Botswana

Karibu Safari Botswana’s Managing Director, Stuart Bartman (left)

What do you like to do on holiday?
Explore, learn and be in touch with nature

Where did you last go?
Gcadikwe Island and Xini Lagoon – part of the Okavango Delta Botswana.

Do you know where you’re going this year?
We want to explore the south part of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana.

Of all the places you’ve been to, which was your favourite and why?
Savute and Xini Lagoon. It truly is the ‘Garden of Eden’, a wilderness the way God created it, thanks to the huge herds of buffalo, elephant and amazing cats.

Which destination do you wish to travel to, but haven’t yet been?
Alaska so as to see the Polar Bears!

In your own country, what would you recommend tourists see that isn’t in the travel guides?
Find your roots and camp out in the wilderness. It creates perspective of how insignificant we really are.

How do you plan your holiday? (Guidebooks/website/agent/recommendations etc)
I talk to the tour operators, because they are in touch with what’s happening on the ground.

How often do you go away?
We work ‘away’ and sometimes it is hard to tell the two apart!

Who do you travel with?
I travel with my wife Kim and son’s Kyeren and Rogan.

Where do you see tourism in your country, in 10 years?
We are fortunate and blessed to live in the last true wilderness on earth, Botswana. But this wilderness is threatened by farming and mining and only tourism and international awareness will save what is left of our heritage. We must travel there!

Thanks Stuart! For more information on Karibu Safari, click here