Wildlife Beyond the Lens

Tailored Private Safaris – With Less BS and More Bush

If you’re after mass-produced game drives, uniformed guides reciting lines from a laminated script, or being herded onto a vehicle with twelve strangers who only care about ticking off the Big Five before breakfast… well, bless your heart, but this isn’t that kind of safari.

This is the kind of safari where you call the shots. Whether it’s watching a leopard draped over a marula branch, a lion on a kill, or a herd of elephants rethinking a waterhole — if you’ve ever wanted to feel that quiet, jaw-dropping “wow” moment in the wild, that’s what we chase.

So what does “tailored” mean?

It means we start with three simple questions:
What do you want? What’s your budget? Where do you want to go?
From there, we make it happen — no fuss, no fine print, and definitely no clipboard-wielding tour reps.

You’ll be hosted (and in many places, driven) by yours truly — Daniel Pienaar. Guide, storyteller, and the bloke who still gets goosebumps when a lion roars at night.

Here’s how we do it:

• Five-star lodges with hot towels and hotter curries? Done.
• Self-catering lodges where you’re out from dawn to dusk chasing birds, cats, or clouds? Done.
• Epic road trips through Kruger, Marakele, Kgalagadi, Etosha, or Hwange? I’ll plan it, drive it, guide it, and even handle the firewood situation.

Whatever your budget, bucket list, or wild whim, we’ll shape it around your pace, your style, and your story.

Where do we go?

I’m based in South Africa but the borders don’t scare me. Here’s where I currently offer privately guided safaris:

• Pilanesberg (Black Rhino Reserve) – lodge-based only
• Balule (Greater Kruger / Hoedspruit) – lodge-based only
• Kruger National Park – park-side, fully guided trips
• Kgalagadi, Marakele, Etosha & Hwange – self-drive style, I handle it all

Who’s this for?

This is for photographers, birders, romantics, realists, families, loners, dreamers, and anyone allergic to cookie-cutter travel.

What’s included?

Whatever makes sense for you. From all-in luxury to dusty self-drives, we’ll build it your way — your pace, your comfort, your budget.

Because in the end, it’s 100% personal, 100% wild, and just unpredictable enough to be memorable.

Either way, it’s 100% personal, 100% wild, and probably 10% unpredictable.

How do you book?

Simple:

• Fill in the request form down below.
• Email me directly.
• Send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook if that’s more your thing.

Just tell me what you want out of your safari. I’ll handle the rest—with a bit of humour, a lot of heart, and probably a flask of coffee somewhere in the mix.