Résumé

Philip Ashby was born in 1964 Grahamstown, South Africa. He is the fourth of six children. An attempt at educating him was made by St. Andrew's College in Grahamstown and at Umtata High School in the Transkei. At that point in his life his mane interests were; escaping into the bush, fishing, sailing, or at school, staring out the window day dreaming. After his national service with the South African infantry in the Kalahari and Namibia he attained a diploma in agricultural management from Cedara College of Agriculture in Natal, South Africa.

These were interesting times to grow up in South Africa, apartheid in full swing, and Philip was from an English missionary family. Philips father was the Anglican bishop of the Transkei and a professor of theology. His parents are now retired and still live in South Africa.

After receiving his HND, Philip was invited to by the Holstein Association Exchange Program, U.S.A, to work on a large dairy farm in New Hampshire. He spent a year and a half working on the farm followed by two months travelling across the northern tear of states and down the west coast covering about twenty thousand miles in a van he converted into a camper.

Philip was tempted by an offer to stay on in the USA, but felt the urge to travel stronger still. He moved to London, to find out what it means to be British.

After a two month budget trip through Peru, Brazil, Venezuela and the windward West Indies, Philip returned to seasonal farming, pub work and tree doctoring all the time with an eye on returning back to Africa. Having heard of the wonders of East African wilderness from Kenyan school friends, he had decided to aim for that part of the continent. Once his father heard him seriously considering work as a stripper-gram to raise the money to emigrate, the bishop soon came up with a proposal. He secured a position for Philip managing a small coffee farm belonging to the Diocese of Mount Kilimanjaro.

On completing a two year contact Philip was hired by a conservation fund. From nineteen ninety three to ninety nine he was responsible for the management of a permanently based anti – poaching and community development projects in and around Maswa Game Reserve. This was a chance for Philip to for fill a dream of working in effective conservation. The project removed seventeen thousand snares from the reserve and arrested more than four hundred poachers during Philips tenure. In ninety four he married Sara Harries, a Kenyan, who was working for a safari company in Arusha.

While working for the conservation fund Philip started accompanying educational safaris as a “guest lecturer” on conservation issues. These were groups from The Smithsonian Institute, The New York Zoological Society and various collage alumni. Soon he found himself leading some of these tours.

The Maswa Game Reserve is a sport trophy hunting reserve and Philip started assisting on the hunting safaris too. After leaving the conservation fund to move back to town, as Philip and Sara now had children to consider, Philip has worked in various capacities for safari companies involved in hunting, fishing and photographic safaris.

More recently Philip has been devoting his time to free lance guiding as a specialist-walking and fishing guide, and a professional hunter. He managed a seasonal camp in southern Loliondo and took groups of well-healed clients for educational bush walks and stalks on dangerous game. He was a surgeon from LA’s eleventh safari guide who wrote that Philip was the most knowable guide he has had yet. Philip is regularly requested by repeat clients and is recommended to new clients by their friends whom he has guided.

Philip annually visits the USA to catch up with friends and family. He has also visited Moscow at the invitation of an assistant to President Putin. He has guided celebrities on several occasions and speaks Kiswahili, English and Afrikaans.

Sara is the sales managing director for one of the largest and most exciting safari companies in Tanzania. They have three beautiful children, Kimali, named for the area she was conceived in, Batian, named for the peak of Mount Kenya and Tavari.