Part One: Where It All Began
Well, hello there. I hope that you are fabulously well and have had a wonderful weekend.
This week is a rather special one, as we are celebrating 40 years of Robin Pope Safaris. Yes, 40 years! It is quite extraordinary to think that the story began in 1986 with the opening of Tena Tena.
But rather than have us tell you how it all began, we thought we would hand over to those who started it all to take us back to those early days…
Looking Back – Robin and Jo Pope
Robin began his guiding career in the Luangwa Valley in 1976 as a walking safari trail leader at Chibembe Camp with Norman Carr Safaris and Wilderness Trails. In 1980, he moved to the newly privatised Nsefu Camp, where he spent the next five years as manager.
Robin was one of the first guides in the Luangwa to take that perilous step from guiding to forming his own safari company. Tena Tena opened in 1986 with six simple, grass-thatched tents and three second-hand vehicles. Robin’s parents and brothers provided tremendous support during those early years, and the first guests arrived in early June.
The first two years are always make-or-break for a new company, particularly in what was, at the time, a relatively unknown Zambia. The country was going through difficult times in the 1980s, and provisioning the camp and obtaining foreign exchange certainly had their moments. Robin and the team’s enthusiasm, tenacity and quiet determination set the tone for the years to come.
Sadly, 1986 was the last year black rhino were seen in the area. However, it was blessed with particularly large herds of elephant, buffalo and eland, along with a large lion pride, a lovely river and fabulous lagoon systems filled with birdlife.
Communication was a challenge, with a crackling and often unclear HF radio providing the only means of receiving booking information from Lusaka. It was a robust radio and once even survived being dragged down the road while still attached to the battery! It would be another three years before the first fax machines reached the Valley. Email followed in 1997, initially via the airport landline and later through a satellite link.
Jo arrived from the UK in 1988, and together they began expanding the company. Nkwali opened in 1990, followed by the Mobile Walking Safaris in 1991. Robin Pope Expeditions also began that year, taking guests across Zambia to places such as Nyika Plateau, Liuwa Plain, Bangweulu Swamps, Kasanka and Lochinvar National Parks. RPS acquired Nsefu Camp in 1998, and the safari houses were developed in the early 2000s. From one remote six-tent camp, the company grew into a multi-camp operation across Zambia.
In 1988, Jo started an education programme called the Kawaza School Fund. With generous donations from guests, she renovated and built schools and sponsored vulnerable children through school – and, in some cases, all the way to university. This work laid the foundation for Project Luangwa, which she founded in 2010. Today, Project Luangwa continues to grow and diversify, supported by many of the guests who have travelled through South Luangwa and helping to strengthen the link between tourism and the community.
By 2006, Robin and Jo were ready to welcome new partners into the business and begin planning their gradual exit. They left South Luangwa in early 2010 and moved to Lusaka, where they still live today.
Over the years, Robin Pope Safaris has received many awards in Africa and internationally. In 2011, Robin and Jo received the award for Best Personal Contribution in Safari Tourism; a fitting acknowledgement of the impact they have made.
“As we travel across Zambia today, we meet many people we have trained over the years, and we are proud of that. The company gave – and continues to give – training and opportunities to so many people from the Luangwa Valley. When we visit South Luangwa, we are happy to see the RPS camps being run by many of the team members we grew up with and know well, and to see that the ethos of the camps remains the same.”
What an extraordinary journey – from six simple tents, three second-hand vehicles and a crackling HF radio to the Robin Pope Safaris we know today.
Next week, we will continue the story, looking at how far RPS has come, celebrating some of the special people who have travelled this journey with us and hearing from the Slager and De Rooij families about what lies ahead.
Until then, have a fantastic week filled with plenty of smiles and laughter; and don’t forget to look after one another.
