Tim Leperes

Timothy Leperes, always referred to as Tim, was born in Samburu, in the Northern Frontier District of Kenya. His knowledge comes from growing up in close contact with the wildlife of his home area, where he was always fascinated by the bush and by his grandfather's campfire stories about lion hunts and herding cattle amongst wildlife. It was his grandfather who first taught him animal behaviour, what to look out for when taking the cattle, sheep and goats to the river or to waterholes, and how to read encounters with buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard. Tim still draws on those lessons today as a safari guide and photographer.

Guiding is often glamorised. It is better described as a lifestyle than a career: long hours, irregular schedules, tough conditions, potential danger and, most of all, solitude in remote places. The rewards outweigh the hardships. As a field guide you live and work in areas most people only dream of visiting, you meet people from every walk of life, and you are in the unique position to educate others about the natural world and contribute toward a sustainable future.

Tim has more than 16 years of experience leading high-end safaris across Africa. He trained as a walking and safari guide, learning to read tracks, interpret bird calls and interpret animal behaviour, and now guides in numerous African countries.

He is particularly known for expeditions through northern Kenya's remote wilderness, from the rock escarpments of the Ndoto Mountains to the volcanic deserts around Lake Turkana, the Jade Sea. These journeys sometimes include helicopter access to areas that are otherwise almost impossible to reach.

Alongside wildlife, Tim guides cultural journeys that bring guests into genuine contact with communities including the Maasai, Samburu, Pokot, Turkana, Hadzabe, Datoga and Himba. He also leads specialist itineraries such as horse riding safaris in Kenya.

Tim's interest in photography ran parallel to his guiding, beginning as an interest in abstract artwork. As he tells it: "My arts and crafts class was the best. I loved drawing and sketches. This built up my interest in photography, as most of my paintings and sketches were from looking at wildlife magazines. After many years of guiding, I was gifted a camera by a close friend who thought my art should be in taking photos of wildlife, since I spend almost an entire year in the African wilderness. He gifted me a Canon T3 Rebel, I bought a lens and began shooting."

He won the EcoTripMatch.com Best Nature Tour Guide award through a global online vote spanning 321 cities and 63 countries, and has worked as a wildlife presenter for WildEarth TV. His work has been featured in Shadow and Light Magazine, and his prints are sold internationally. He shoots with Canon and works with Swarovski Optik.

"My inspiration lies in not being like everyone else. What I try to do is unconventional. Perhaps this is my way of standing out, but I see it as me being myself."

Tim has an avid interest in all aspects of fauna and flora, with a particular focus on animal and bird behaviour, and continues to broaden his knowledge across environmental topics, natural science subjects and new wildlife destinations.

Home location: Kenya

Guides in: Kenya , Tanzania, Rwanda, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Madagascar

Languages: English

Daily rate: $$$