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Michael Lorentz

@mlorentz23

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Safari Guide
Travel Designer
Conservationist
Wannabe Photographer
Supporting @africanparksnetwork @natural__capital

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How can a safari become more than an unforgettable journey? Can tourism actively shape the future of conservation?

In this episode, we sit down with Michael Lorentz — private safari guide, photographer, entrepreneur, and founder of @Safarious. After more than 40 years exploring Africa's wild places, from the Okavango Delta in Botswana to some of the continent's most iconic protected areas, Michael shares his vision of a new generation of travel—one where every journey can leave a lasting conservation legacy.

We discuss how responsible tourism, philanthropy, and conservation can work hand in hand, and why meaningful impact comes from supporting carefully selected projects that create measurable change on the ground. Throughout the conversation, Michael highlights the remarkable work of organizations such as African Parks and Big Life Foundation in Kenya, explaining how large-scale protected area management and community-led conservation are helping safeguard wildlife and vital migration corridors for future generations.

Beyond conservation itself, we reflect on Africa's extraordinary wilderness, the importance of protecting places that still feel truly wild, and the role each traveller can play in supporting the people and organizations working tirelessly behind the scenes.

This conversation is an inspiring reminder that travel can become a force for good—connecting people not only with Africa's incredible wildlife, but also with the conservationists who are ensuring these landscapes endure for generations to come.

@mlorentz23
@safarious
@africanparksnetwork
@biglifeafrica
@natural__capital

#ConservationTravel #AfricanWildlife #SustainableTourism #ConservationStories #ImpactTravel by @mlorentz23

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17 days ago

Some journeys stay with you long after you’ve left. Watching Ellen and Portia return to Rwanda, again and again, is a reminder of why this work matters.

Guided by our very own @mlorentz23, with @inyambo_travel bringing it all together on the ground, this is a journey we hold close to our hearts.

Through the Safarious Fund, a portion of every journey we plan supports @savinggorillas and the vital work being done to protect Rwanda’s mountain gorillas.

We feel incredibly privileged to play a small part in that story.

•••

#repost from @ellendegeneres:

Portia and I are in Rwanda. The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has seen over 100,000 visitors since we opened 4 years ago. I’ve had so many people come up to me that are visiting here from all around the world talking about how incredible the campus is and how incredible it is to see gorillas so close up in their element. I am very grateful to get to bring this kind of awareness and support for gorillas and Rwanda. It’s all possible because of @portiaderossi and the most incredible 60th birthday gift of all time.

(People wear masks around the gorillas to protect them from human diseases) taken in Volcanoes National Park by @mlorentz23

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2 months ago

This is your regular reminder that lions are not actually in charge out here…

📍 Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia, while on safari with @chiawasafaris taken in Lower Zambezi National Park by @mlorentz23

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2 months ago

What you could see on an adventure with @safarious ➡️➡️➡️➡️

Book your next trip with @safarious, one of our preferred travel partners (🔗 in story). by @mlorentz23

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3 months ago

KICKSTARTER – 9 DAYS TO GO

With only 9 days in our Kickstarter left to go, we today announce another 10 contributing photographers to the new Remembering Giraffes book with this incredible image by Micahel Lorentz. The 10 photographers are:

Michael Lorentz @@mlorentz23
Adam Bannister @adam_bannister_wildlife
Isak Pretorius @isakpretorius
Marlon du Toit @marlondutoit
Wim van Den Heever @wim_van_den_heever
Daryl & Sharna Balfour @darylbalfourwildphotos
Paul Goldstein @paulgoldstein
Chad Cocking @chadcocking
Morkel Erasmus @morkelerasmus
Piper Mackay @piper_mackay

Pledge for the new book and other fantastic rewards in our Kickstarter. But you only have until Sunday 26th April 2026 at 8pm UK time to do so!

Thank you to all contributing photographers and backers for your support.

🦒 Pledge via our link in bio.

#rememberingwildlife rememberinggira by @mlorentz23

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6 months ago

💡Curious by nature, @safarious creates extraordinary experiences in extraordinary places. Their approach to travel is both thoughtful and responsible, with a percentage of every safari directly supporting conservation and community initiatives through the Safarious Fund, including partners like us. We are proud to call them one of our preferred travel partners. 🌍

🦍 Be sure to check out this recent mountain gorilla adventure with Safarious, and start dreaming of your next journey. ➡️➡️➡️

✨ If you would like to learn more about Safarious, visit the 🔗 in our story or explore our travel partners highlights.

📸 Michael Lorentz by @mlorentz23

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6 months ago

Walking into my Monday morning like this…

Slow steps. Big intentions. Enthusiasm still pending.

#safarious #malagasygiantchameleon #mondaymood #wildlifereels #wildmoments taken in Masoala Forest Lodge by @mlorentz23

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8 months ago

Antalaviana day trip ☀️
Hiking legs, salty hair, waterfall swims, beach picnics, and naps in the shade. Proof that the best days are spent outdoors. taken in Parc National de Masoala by @mlorentz23

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8 months ago

We are excited to highlight another repeat recipient of the Safarious Fund, @womentogetherglobal, an organization doing incredible work at the crossroads of community and conservation.

Women Together Global works with women and girls living in and near protected areas, helping them develop skills, confidence, and sustainable livelihoods. Their approach begins with listening and recognizing that women are often the strongest drivers of change within their families and communities. By supporting these women-led initiatives, they help create long-term stability that benefits both local people and the natural environments they rely on.

Over the last five years, women’s groups in Malawi have built small businesses producing fuel-efficient cookstoves and eco-friendly briquettes. These efforts have lessened the dependence on firewood, improved household health, and provided a steady monthly income. With support from the Safarious Fund, this work has grown beyond borders. Women from Malawi have teamed up with women in Mozambique to share skills and experiences, adapting these models for coastal communities where new livelihood options help reduce pressure on overfished marine areas.

Alongside income generation, Women Together invests in education, leadership development, conflict resolution, and girls’ empowerment. These programs enable women to take on leadership roles, strengthen social ties, and pass skills on to the next generation. The impact is gradual, but it lasts.

Supporting Women Together Global again through this year’s Safarious Fund makes us immensely proud. When women are given the tools, space, and trust to lead, the impact reaches far beyond any single project, helping to build stronger communities for generations to come.

#safariousfund #womentogetherglobal #womeninconservation #womenleadingchange #safariousstories by @mlorentz23

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9 months ago

This woman’s name is Fransica Sibanda, photographed in a small town far from Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe. She was widowed by an elephant which trampled her husband yards from their home.

I interview one of her neighbours, Ireene Nyathi, who described watching a man get picked up by an elephant and crushed against her wall. Worried mothers don’t let their children out at dusk; the situation gets worse in harvest time when the elephants raid crops.

“Tourists don’t see this,” remarked Miriam Esther, a local water development co-ordinator I get chatting with on the street: “They just go to the hotels, see Vic Falls, photograph the animals.” Locals ask us why foreign newspapers only focus on the deaths of tourists on safari holidays — most recently, a British and New Zealander killed by elephants in neighbouring Zambia.

To understand the human-wildlife complexities of the story behind this image (and the others in this post) taken by my colleague @tom_parker_photographer, please read the feature out now in @guardian online as part of their ‘Age of Extinction’ series: “Africa’s great elephant divide: countries struggle with too many elephants — or too few”. A few folk have written to me saying they wish the written piece were longer. Tom has many, many more pictures too. Part of me agrees given how nuanced and huge the narrative, not to mention the time, reporting, costs… but as journalists who follow our work will attest, it’s really hard to get editorial space for narratives like this, when readers want happy stories, not uncomfortable truths. So Tom and I will take what we can get, from a newspaper that’s consistently tackling these kinds of stories, in an effort to throw light on what (I think) is important but often unseen.

With reporting from #southsudan #chad #botswana #zimbabwe, the multiple trips supported by two TRUE conservationists who put the issues first: @mlorentz23 @intothewild.rob @safarious #elephant by @mlorentz23

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9 months ago

Next up on our Safarious Fund repeat recipient list is The Skeleton Coast Brown Hyena Project, an organization whose work we deeply admire.

Brown hyenas are among Africa’s rarest large carnivores. Elusive, resilient, and often misunderstood, they survive in one of the harshest environments on the continent. Along Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, this project focuses on building knowledge about how these animals move, adapt, and live alongside people in an increasingly shared landscape.

Our 2024 Safarious Fund contribution helped support the practical realities of this work. It went toward vehicle maintenance and essential field equipment, including GPS collars, camera traps, telemetry gear, and the software needed to manage and understand the data. Much of this equipment will serve the project for years, forming a strong foundation for long-term monitoring and research.

With these tools in place, the project has been able to expand its reach, monitor more individuals, and begin responding to emerging brown hyena conflict issues near coastal towns. This work is patient and largely unseen, but it is exactly what makes coexistence possible.

We are proud to support @emsieverwey and her team again through this year’s Safarious Fund.

Because meaningful conservation is built over time, through consistency, care, and a deep respect for the species being studied.

#safariousfund #skeletoncoastbrownhyaenaproject #brownhyenas #namibiaconservation #humanwildlifecoexistence #conservationinaction #safariousstories taken in Skeleton Coast, Namibia by @mlorentz23

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9 months ago

Zoom in closer, really close, and you will see an #elephant. A 20-year old-bull photographed by my colleague @tom_parker_photographer when we were working with @africanparksnetwork in South Sudan this time last year. It’s the last elephant left — THE LAST ONE — in a protected area six times the size of the Masai Mara. And it’s so lonely, it moves with a herd of giraffe.

Last month, I learned that the elephant had been poached. The ranger team found its carcass with the tusks removed.

In an article out today in @guardian, I tell the story of the last elephant of Badingilo — a tragedy set against a very opposite problem: too many elephants squeezed into tighter and tighter land parcels in countries like Zimbabwe.

Travel supported by @mlorentz23 @intothewild.rob @safarious
#elephant #conservation taken in South Sudan by @mlorentz23

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