Ellie Walkingshaw
Ellie leads as Director of Business Improvement, with over 20 years of travel experience in the safari industry.
Ellie’s Recent Travel Experience
Ellie has enjoyed a two-week trip around Zambia’s lesser-visited Kafue National Park, followed by a family trip to Ruaha National Park in Tanzania to do what she loves best – a walking safari.
Ellie’s Most Memorable Experience
“I have always loved walking safaris, and so it is no wonder that my most memorable safari experience was whilst I was on foot. I was staying at Kichaka Camp in Ruaha National Park and being guided by the renowned Moli, known for getting people up close to elephants. We had seen two young bulls from a distance and with the wind in our favor approached them on foot. With no more than 10 meters between us and them, they suddenly caught our scent and turned with heads raised. Moli’s upstretched hand said it all: ‘Do not move!!’ What felt like minutes later, after a trumpet and a forward lurch in our direction, the two bulls moved away, leaving us with our hearts in our mouths.”
Ellie’s Bio
As a child, Ellie would go to South Africa to visit family every summer. She fondly remembers spending time in her grandparents’ garden chasing lizards and chongololos, swimming in the sea near their house, and going on camping safaris to Pilanesberg National Park. But it was a family holiday to the Okavango Delta when she was a teenager that started Ellie’s passion for safari.
A few years later, during her year before university, Ellie boarded a plane bound for Dar es Salaam. A three-month conservation research placement on Pemba Island followed by a six-month backpacking adventure down to Cape Town took Ellie through most of Southern and East Africa. As if that were not enough, she returned to the continent after university for a short stint of volunteer work at an orphanage in Kisumu – a small town on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya – and then again took to the road to travel through the areas she had missed out the first time.
On her return to the UK in 2006, Ellie started working for an esteemed UK safari specialist, moving up the ranks from Safari Specialist to General Manager by the time she left. During her career there she helped to set up the Northern Tanzania and Kenya programme, was a contributing author to the Rough Guide to Kenya and the Zambia Bradt Travel Guide, and helped the company grow to three times the size it had been when she started. She joined Yellow Zebra at the end of 2018.
Expert Destinations
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Tanzania
A classic safari destination home to big game, epic wildlife events, and iconic national parks.
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Kenya
The original birthplace of safari, where world-class wildlife experiences and beautiful beaches meet.
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Malawi
Experience scenic lake shores, ‘blue’ safaris, and a welcoming atmosphere in the ‘Warm Heart of Africa’.
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Mozambique
A standout mix of remote, wild spaces and magnificent tropical beaches.
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The Republic of the Congo
Raw, remote and immersive. A wild adventure suited to specific styles of safari adventurers.
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Rwanda
Gorilla trekking, Big Five safaris, and poignant history. Rwanda is a truly inspiring safari destination.
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Zambia
From walking in South Luangwa to Zambezi exploration, Zambia is as authentic as safari gets.
Ellie’s Top Lodges
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Kichaka Lodge
From £553 pp – Contact UsKichaka Expeditions is an adventurous, off-the-beaten-track safari experience incorporating a secluded, high-end property, a back-to-nature fly camp, and an exhilarating seven-night expedition in Tanzania’s vast, remote, and truly wild Ruaha National Park.…
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Musekese Camp
Enquire for pricing Contact Us for pricing detailsThe story behind Musekese is fascinating – a long history of conservation and the pioneering spirit of two men, all within this remote area in Zambia’s Kafue National Park. Setting up this iteration of Musekese in 2012 at ‘the old camp’, and establishing the…
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Kicheche Bush Camp
From £672 – £918 ppKicheche Bush Camp really is the ultimate bush camp. Fabulously located in a game-rich conservancy, it offers ample wildlife-viewing opportunities – with the added draw of a professional photographer! A top-quality property.
