Ant Bennet

Anthony is better known as Ant. He was born and raised in South Africa, where his curiosity in nature started young with visits to wildlife reserves and northern Natal's wild coastline. He spent extended hours outdoors exploring the “veld” during his school days, and summer holidays traveling about the country on camping trips. He feels particularly lucky to have grown up in an era before cell phones and computers drew kids away from exploring the outdoors.

Even while he was earning his electrical engineering degree at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, adventure pursuits stayed strong on his radar. During these years, his small group of friends would head off into the remote parts of Southern Africa to raft rivers, hike trails or simply explore areas few people had visited. In 2000, Ant’s passion for wildlife and wilderness sparked him to leave his job at Siemens and pursue his passions professionally as a safari guide and camp manager in the greater Kruger National Park.

Most recently, Ant worked in Botswana, both guiding and leading a team of guide trainers. He mentored many young guides over the course of a decade, and also led some unique walking safaris through the wilds of the northern Okavango to the Linyanti. These experiences have taught him the ways of both the wild and the visitors who come to experience it. Ant has a passion for diverse cultures and he genuinely enjoys showing guests the wonders of the African bush in all its forms. He is a seasoned birder and loves a great adventure. To date, he has puttered the length of Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba; taken three multi-day walks across northern Botswana; trekked Nepal’s Khumbu Valley and New Zealand’s Milford Sound; explored eastern Madagascar, the Galapagos and backcountry Yosemite; and seen the highly endangered Bali starling in Bali Barat National Park. His personal hobbies include photography, hiking, snorkelling and reading books—the paper kind.

Upcoming Adventures with Ant:
Madagascar Wildlife Adventure

Praise from Nat Hab travelers:

M. Landman
"It is hard to imaging a better Expedition Leader! Ant was friendly, well organized, sensitive to needs of everyone in the group, good humored and a cornucopia of knowledge."

R. Taffet
"Besides the fact that Ant has a wicked sense of humor and kept all of us constantly laughing, he is a brilliant guide. His depth of knowledge is remarkable and he shared it willingly. He was kind and made sure that everyone saw all the animals, insects and plants."

J. Walsh
"Ant was very engaging, enthusiastic and had deep knowledge as a naturalist. Ant also shared some of his perspective about evolutionary theories and related topics which I found interesting. He was an excellent Expedition Leader."

P. Petro
"Ant was fantastic. He is the ultimate 'people person', able to relate well to any kind of traveler, especially in honoring the special requests we all had along the way. His knowledge of Madagascar's wildlife is amazing. Our safety was obviously a prime concern as well."

S. Schaffarzek
"Anthony was terrific. He very happily answered our many questions. Ant has a great sense of humor and is a great storyteller. He went out of his way to make sure that we were all taken care of."

B. Laird
"Ant exceeded our expectations. He is a terrific leader, well organized, very knowledgeable about Madagascar's wildlife and obviously enthusiastic about his job."

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