Nella's Tin Trunk Podcast

From his first curious moments as a boy, watching tourists stop along the road in his native town in southern Uganda, to becoming a senior safari guide, Francis has cultivated a love of Uganda's wild…

I'm speaking here with our son, Roddy Hutchings. He lives and works in Amsterdam following a childhood in Kenya and education in both South Africa and the U.K. Roddy and I talk about his field: carbo…

In my attempt to put the magic of Africa into words, I had the great pleasure to interview seven friends of our son, Orlando Hutchings, during a recent safari. Each speaks of their experience here wi…

There is something about this place that leaves you changed. Every visitor on safari leaves feeling different, awed, hugely lucky to have seen the wilderness, the animals and to have met the extraord…

When I am in ecosystems and landscapes (and in this case also seascapes) that are so pure and wild and in which I am not the predominant species, I feel connected to Nature in an indelible way and th…

Shelan Rodger is a published author, a graduate of Oxford, a multi-lingual drama therapist and a woman who fully embraces adventure and living authentically. She is also one of my closest friends. En…

Hopefully you had a chance to listen to Part 1 of this homage to the great rivers in Africa - well some of them at least! Here, I present 3 more. Two well known and very important to the magnificent …

If you love animals, you will love the devotion of Garrit Pieters. Not only does Garrit have a passion for his dogs - many of us can relate. He has a passion for his mongoose, his meerkats, his parro…

It's always hard to put the feelings of experiencing Africa into words. A lovely client from this past summer has done just that in a beautiful and poetic way.  If you just travelled to Africa, you w…

While visiting clients on safari in Zambia this past June, I was taken by the understated and elegant guiding style of Abraham Banda. He has many years of experience in the very same area in which he…

Time to get soulful on safari. This discussion with my good friend, Lorna Buchanan-Jardine, is just that. A professional photographer, Lorna shares thoughts on how to maximise your photography on saf…

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer. I sure am - even though it's technically winter down here in Africa. Since June I have been on safari quite a lot - mostly popping around to spend time w…

I didn't know I was going to interview HJ when we met. After our first drive, however, I recognised something special about his guiding style. He is the real deal. He grew up in the bush and took it …

If you are too young to remember the movies Born Free and To Walk with Lions, all you have to do is search "Christian the lion" on You Tube to get a glimpse of the legacy of Tony Fitz-John. He broke …

I have known Robert since I moved to Kenya. He was a Samburu Warrior when I met him and he is now a Junior Elder. He is a guide and also a senior manager at Sarara.  I flew up to the new Reteti priva…

Meet One Up One Down, one of Kenya's amazing elephants from the northern rangelands he called home for his entire life. I met him 18 years ago and he was a "true friend".   In this podcast, I honour …

Grab your favourite bouquet and settle down to listen to Sean Privett speak about the Fynbos ecoregion at the bottom of the African continent around Cape Town. You don't need to be a plant expert to …

Let's talk about safari-ing in South Africa!  South Africa is #notjustgamedriving, as I like to say on Instagram and the Tin Trunk  newsletter.  From the Cape to the Sabi Sands to the Kalahari, South…

As promised in my last episode, here is my interview with the lovely and intelligent Salah Sholok. Salah is a professional guide and Egyptologist who hosted my family on a wonderful 12-day trip throu…

Egypt is  Tin Trunk's  newest destination and I am HOOKED! Each time I go, I love it more. We have wonderful people supporting us on the ground there who live up to Tin Trunk's  motto:  "the differen…