Ranger Diaries – a social networking site for the global safari community

If you’ve ever had a friend who worked as a safari guide, you’ll know that there’s something inherently irritating about them. It’s not so much the fact that they get two weeks of holiday every two months. It’s not the five star dinners they’re eating every night with the rich and famous. It’s not even the khaki shorts and that tan that doesn’t seem to go away in the winter. It’s not the big guns they carry, and it’s not the big cars they drive. It’s what you know they’re busy watching while you’re sitting behind your desk staring at a flooded inbox. That’s what really irritating.

But that’s about to change.

Rangerdiaries.com is a new website that is due to launch at the beginning of May. Inspired and updated by the guides themselves, this is an attempt to bring the safari experience to your computer screens through written stories, photographs and videos.

Up until recently a website like this was not possible. Internet speeds at many of the game reserves were too slow to reliably upload content online. Many game lodges have realized that top safari guides need to constantly be researching the latest and most interesting information for their guests, as well as keeping in contact with them, and thus need high-speed internet access.

This is an attempt to share with the world the fascinating stories that disappear every night into the smoke of the lodge campfires. A guide’s experiences are usually shared only by a small circle of friends and guests. As are the incredible wildlife sightings that we witness daily.

But it’s not just about the action. As our world speeds up, more and more people are yearning for a deeper connection with the slower pace of nature. This site is also about the smell of the first rains after a drought, the dusty pastels of a winter sunset, the neon dance of the fireflies over a swollen river. Good guides are good storytellers and this is a door into their world. Readers and past guests are also likely to become involved in the lives of some of the individual animals. I’d constantly get asked questions like ‘What happened to the elephant calf that lost his herd?’ or ‘Did that male lion ever join up with his brothers?’

This website has something in it for everyone who’s into wildlife:

· For the general public: access to a great variety of wildlife photography, real video footage and literature, all in one place. For free.

· For the safari guides: it’s an opportunity for them to showcase the lodges and wilderness areas they work in, and to get exposure for their writing, photographs and videos

· For potential safari-goers and tour operators: it’s an unbiased, independent indication of the guides and operators that are likely to provide a quality wildlife experience. The site will also have a direct booking facility for the featured lodges.

· For the safari lodges: indirect , real marketing through their guides’ diary updates.

Watch this space for details and launch date.

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