Freeman Safaris
‘Yesterday’s Safaris Today’
My family settled in East Africa way back in 1907. The photo to the left is of my Grandfather and Grandmother leaving for their honeymoon in their Ford Model T truck, the first imported into Kenya. The truck actually ended up at the bottom of Mombassa harbour when it was first unloaded, where it stayed for 3 months until they were able to recover it!
They and my parents spent all their lives in the bush working with wild animals, filming and producing the first wild life movie picture, protecting, capturing and breeding, as well as opening up the country, a hard but fantastic life. You must remember that in those days photography was still extremely difficult and unfortunately zoos had a very important part to play. My family believed that, as capturing and breeding for preservation had to be done, it should be done humanely. They were therefore best suited to do this as the animals were their passion. It was extremely dangerous and very difficult, an arduous occupation which included delivering the animals around the world, a responsibility they would not delegate. They always stayed until they were sure the new owners were capable of looking after the animals well, which always resulted in a very difficult and emotional parting.
“As the evening sets in we move close to a lilac-breasted roller on a branch of an old tree. Its colour is fantastic - a living water-colour. Within minutes, on the branch of another tree we see hoopoe, just as impressive. Whilst driving back to camp in the fading light we see a jackal as well as all the plains game as there are always plenty near the camp. We also see a number of nightjars in the track. Once again it’s time for that lovely shower, campfire, drinks and bites.....and more food. I don’t know how Patrick does it but so far I’ve had the best vegetarian meals ever, and that includes English restaurants! We notice this evening that John, who does an excellent job as waiter, also does some pretty nifty serviette folding. It seems different for every meal”
Mick
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Family History
