This is the Life
I AM STILL JUST AS Excited as when i started!
Meet Ian Proctor, a trusted safari planner with 30 years in the game. He has stayed at over 410 of Africa's top lodges, camps and hotels and visited hundreds more.
He works tirelessly planning high touch African adventures for a limited number of discerning travelers. With 3 decades of connections he is your backstage pass to the world of high end African travel.
Question: Ian, can you tell us about safari planning? What exactly do you do?
"I eat, sleep and breathe African safaris. I am obsessed with searching out the best of Africa for my clients.
I work with discerning high end clients who want to experience Africa in the style they are accustomed to. It's lifestyle travel... people come to me for a high touch experience. They come because of who I know and my first person, insider knowledge.
Over the years I have had my morning tea knocked from my hand by a giraffe, swam with penguins, boated to the edge of the world’s largest waterfall for a swim, and ridden camels, elephants and even a crocodile. I have been bitten by a lion (it was a cub), hiked steaming volcanoes, stared down a Silverback gorilla, and ballooned over empty deserts and wildlife filled savannahs. I have slept under a million stars and in $10,000 a night safari suites."
Question: What is a typical day like for you?
"I spend 2-3 months of each year inspecting safari properties in Africa - flying around each day meeting lodge and camp owners, shooting photos, looking under beds, taking notes, and doing all sorts of activities. I check in the with my expert team almost daily and regularly email clients with cool photos and updates.
When home in Seattle I don't do mornings as I am often up 1/2 the night jotting down ideas for client trips, writing stories, and chatting with colleagues and partners in Africa.
Due to the high touch nature of my safaris, I limit the number of clients I take on, so each client can be assured of getting the attention they deserve.
I have been doing this forever and I am still just as excited as when I started! ”
More about Ian
Traveling from an early age Ian has lived in East and southern Africa. He studied at the University of Zimbabwe and worked in Africa as an ecotourism consultant before starting Ultimate Africa Safaris at the age 26.
He is a founding member of the Safari Professionals of the Americas – a consortium of African travel companies that represents 90% of safari bookings from North America - and currently sits on the board.
Ian was included on Travel + Leisure's 2025 A-List as one of the world's most influential vacation specialists.
In addition he has been named by Condé Nast as one of their “Experience Makers - The Pros We Use” and has been featured in the The Observer, and National Geographic Adventurer amongst other publications.
