Travel with Professionals
Africa beckons you with its beauty and splendor
Safari Professionals can bring this experience to you with your own personalized Private African Wildlife Viewing Expedition. You set the itinerary. The safari moves at your pace with a variety of well-planned excursions, accommodations, and meals designed to make yours the trip of a lifetime.
Since 1987, we have been designing and conducting private wildlife viewing expeditions that exceed the expectations of our travelers while protecting and enhancing the lives of the people and wildlife of Africa. Through a simple, yet thorough, planning process, we can help you identify and prioritize all the elements that will become your personal safari.
Planned entirely to accommodate your interests and needs, this is Africa as you have imagined it - the Africa of Theodore Roosevelt, Karen Blixen and Ernest Hemingway. The expansive savannas, stunning landscapes, untamed wildlife and ancestral tribes are all waiting for you.
News!
Join us on our 25th Anniversay Serengeti Safari!
In January 1987, I realized one of my lifelong dreams - I arrived in the Serengeti! Here are some notes from my safari journal - "We awoke to a bit of fog clinging to the ridge of the crater, temporarily blocking our view as we ate breakfast. The fog lifted as our bags were being loaded into our Land Rover and, as we departed Crater Lodge, we enjoyed one last view of the crater, as the warm morning light illuminated the dense vegetation of the western wall of the old volcano. As we descended, I was reminded of the origin of the word, “Serengeti” – derived from the Maasai word, “serengit,” which means “endless plain.” The horizon seemed to stretch to infinity, with nothing visible except the scrub-like bushes, isolated acacia trees and the savanna grasses."
I'm returning to the incredible Serengeti in January 2014. A maximum of just 12 travelers will join me to witness the annual spectacle of the Great Serengeti Migration - when up to 2 million wildebeest and zebra flock to the rich grasslands of the southern Serengeti. To review our safari itinerary and learn more, please click here. Or, email me here.
See you in the Serengeti!
Tom
IMPACTONAFRICA™ The Serengeti Shall Not Die!
In 1959, Dr. Bernard Grzimek declared that the “Serengeti Shall Not Die,” through his groundbreaking film and book of the same name. His Academy Award winning documentary introduced the Serengeti migration to a worldwide audience. Dr. Grzimek’s pioneering work led the way for today’s conservation scientists, who continue to probe the mysteries of life on the East African savanna.
Today, Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park faces the threat of a road being built in its northern region – across the centuries-old route of the Serengeti migration. Despite pressure from powerful voices from around the world, the plan for this road – dubbed the “Serengeti Highway” – has not been permanently abandoned.
Tom LaRock’s Safari Professionals are teaming up with its IMPACTONAFRICA™ Council of Conservation and Scientific Advisors to encourage meaningful action to protect the Serengeti. Wildlife tourism is the primary reason the Serengeti has remained relatively intact and may be the best hope of insuring its survival. Therefore, one of the most important actions you may take to help in this initiative is to go to the Serengeti.
Tom LaRock’s Safari Professionals will donate 10% of the profits from all IMPACTONAFRICA™ Serengeti safaris to research and conservation projects reviewed by our Council of Conservation and Scientific Advisors.
IMPACTONAFRICA™ Council of Conservation and Science Advisors
Tom LaRock’s Safari Professionals is pleased to announce the formation of the IMPACTONAFRICA™ Council of Conservation and Science Advisors. This group of esteemed volunteer conservationists and scientists will provide professional guidance in the development of safari programs and will help evaluate project proposals submitted to our IMPACTONAFRICA™ program.
To learn more about the Council, please click here.
And, we are honored that two highly recognized conservation science professionals have joined with us to initiate this important endeavor –Terry L. Maple, Ph.D and Michael Hutchins, Ph.D.
Dr. Terry L. Maple serves as the volunteer Chair of the Council. Dr. Maple served as the founding CEO of Zoo Atlanta, creating the vision that led to the stunning renaissance of a condemned zoo into a world-class showpiece. During his tenure, Zoo Atlanta established a Nairobi-based program of African conservation research – one of a handful of zoo-supported research programs in Africa with a full-time zoo scientist in residence.
For more on Dr. Maple’s extensive background, please click here.
Dr. Michael Hutchins serves as Safari Professionals’ Director, Conservation and Science. Dr. Hutchins has served as Coordinator of Research at the Wildlife Conservation Society, the William Conway Chair of Conservation and Science for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and, most recently, CEO of The Wildlife Society. Michael is an accomplished author and editor, having published over 200 books, articles and reports. His extensive world-wide travels have included Botswana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
For more information about Dr. Hutchins, please click here.
