The Turners have a long and established history with Africa. The very first members of the family to adventure into the continent did so more than a century ago, and in 1876 were amongst the first western explorers to discover the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. More recently, during the Mau Mau Wars of the 1950’s, Don Turner came to Nairobi, Kenya with the British Colonial Service. He stayed on in Kenya with his young family after Kenya’s independence in 1962, after a personal invitation from the new President – Jomo Kenyatta. Don’s safari business started well, his first client was the famous American author and naturalist Roger Tory Peterson – who on that very safari described the Flamingoes of Lake Nakuru as : “the finest bird spectacle in the world”.
After 25 years in the safari business, Don retired to the shores of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley and in 1987 left the business to his son Steve. Steve’s upbringing in the wildernesses of East Africa obviously fostered a very special and dedicated interest and extensive knowledge in not only natural history, but also the communities who live within these rich environments. He has travelled widely throughout the region with and without guests searching for similar experiences – including a massive 25,000 kms photographic expedition taking some 6 months across north, west and central Africa. His passion for culture, wildlife and nature has taken him and his guests throughout the African continent, and as far afield as Australia, Asia, The Amazon, The Arctic and Antarctica. He has received acclamation awards for his in depth photography of endangered Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda and Zaire, and his extensive collection of photographs of Africa’s disappearing tribal people have been published worldwide. Steve photographs are represented internationally by Getty Images.
Steve is a Trustee of the Kasigau Conservation Trust an organization dedicated to the development of community based environmental enterprises in Kenya’s largest wilderness – Tsavo. In his time Steve has been the Chairman of ” The Kenya Professional Guides Association” – an association to promote greater qualification for the tour guides. He is one of the few Gold certified guides in East Africa. As the Chairman of “Campfire Kenya” he lead a consortium of conservationists working to promote greater conservation amongst Africa’s pastoralists peoples. He has also served as vice chairman of the Ethics and Standards Committee for The Kenya Association of Tour Operators, a Board Member of The East African Natural History Society, and the African Board member of the US based Ecotourism Society. As with all our guides he has also attained a certificate in 4WD Off Road Driving skills from Glen Edmunds Performance Driving School. Steve’s first aid training does not stop at just the normal “Emergency First Responder”, but in addition he is trained and certified in “Advance Wilderness Medicine” . This is a specialist program geared towards expedition medicine in remote areas where emergency medical assistance is not always available.
When not travelling, Steve lives in a leafy suburb of Nairobi, Kenya with wife Jayne, while their now adult children study abroad
