Emma Dunn
One of our most experienced safari designers, Emma grew up in Zimbabwe, and safari has always been a part of her life. Today, she specializes in crafting unforgettable safaris to both East and Southern Africa and brings her love and first-hand knowledge of Africa to every trip.
Emma’s Recent Travel Experience
Em’s last adventure in Botswana was back in October/November 2018 – a time when the country was in the grip of an especially dry season. To say she was excited to return in 2025 is an understatement! The aim was to visit areas that she hadn’t been to previously, to see new camps that have recently opened, and to return to areas she hadn’t visited since she was a child. Em timed her trip earlier in the year to experience Botswana in full flood… and what a year to do it. With some of the most impressive floodwaters the country has seen in over a decade, Botswana pulled out all the stops. Iconic waterways, incredible wildlife, and dramatic seasonal contrasts – it was classic Botswana at its very best.
Em visited the Linyanti region, the Okavango Delta, the Mababe Depression and the Makgadikgadi Pans. The highlights came thick and fast: spotting elusive aardwolf in both Moremi and the Makgadikgadi Pans (twice in one trip – unheard of!), an unforgettable encounter with a leopard and her cub at Monachira Camp and seeing the vast herds of buffalo sweeping across the Mababe Depression… an unrelenting, unforgiving and harsh environment but what a place!
Emma’s Most Memorable Experience
“My most memorable safari experience was spending two weeks ‘beetling about Botswana’. Leaving Francistown for two weeks with all our supplies and a convoy of three cars was pretty exciting for a 12-year-old! The highlight had to be waking up in the Savuti one morning to see the zebra migration had moved in overnight and the plains had transformed into a sea of zebra and a dining plate for the lions – a stark contrast to the day before, when we had spent the whole day out on safari only to see a tortoise and one not-so-happy elephant!”
Emma’s Bio
Safari was very much part of Emma’s upbringing. She grew up in Zimbabwe and school vacations were spent exploring parts of Southern Africa – and they also had to fit in with the tobacco season! During April vacations, Emma and her family would drive various different routes to Durban, with the occasional trip to Cape Town, whilst during August they would enjoy traveling around Zimbabwe, as this month heralded the start of the planting season. One year, the family undertook a two-week self-drive in Botswana – this was a one-off vacation, but it goes down as one of the most memorable safari vacations, as it was so different from any of the vacations her family had ever done! And a brief trip to Mozambique left Emma wanting to go back to discover more of Mozambique’s coastline and islands.
After finishing school, Emma moved to the UK and studied Leisure and Sport Management with Tourism at the University of Gloucestershire. Once Emma had completed university, she moved to London to join the rat race! She joined a travel company where she was able to broaden her Africa knowledge and travel experiences. Since being in the travel industry Emma has explored more of East Africa, having visited both Kenya and Tanzania on numerous occasions, including running the Lewa Half Marathon – a slightly different way to experience the Lewa Conservancy! After exploring East Africa, it was back to Southern Africa, then self-driving around Namibia and exploring Madagascar – Emma is keen to explore more of this island nation.
In 2023 and 2024, Emma took two six-month sabbaticals to manage Mwamba Bush Camp in Zambia’s South Luangwa, further deepening her hands-on experience and love for life in the bush.
