Ultimate Safarisinvests N$400 000in guide exchange

ULTIMATE Safaris, a conservation-based luxury travel operator in Namibia, has invested over N$400 000 in its international guide exchange.

The investment applies to the initiative since its inception.

Through the initiative, the ‘Ultimate Guide of the Year’, is given the opportunity to travel to Baja, California, in Mexico for a three-week immersion experience with Todos Santos Eco Adventures.

This year is the project’s fourth edition.

Peter Nuugonya, who grew up at a village near Ondangwa where he learnt the art of animal tracking as a youngster, won the award for 2025.

He started his career at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge in the Namib Rand Nature Reserve, where he began working as a barman, but soon realised guiding was the career he wanted to pursue.

He says his journey from Namibia’s vast deserts to Mexico’s vibrant marine ecosystems was nothing short of transformative.

“It was a humbling and once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Nuugonya says.

The guide also reconnected with Axel Herrera, a Todos Santos guide who had previously visited Namibia through the same exchange programme, reinforcing the mutual value and long-term relationships fostered by this initiative.

Ultimate Safaris co-founder and managing director Tristan Cowley says the guide exchange initiative continues to be a learning experience.

“It is a great opportunity for interaction between people on different sides of the world who may have differing geographies, wildlife, and weather, but who share the same dedication to conservation and community,” he says.

Later this year, a Mexican guide will travel to Namibia for the next chapter.

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