Dr Joel Alves is a wildlife veterinarian with some WILD stories to tell. You can be sure to see him throughout the Greater Kruger region where he races between numerous rhino dehorning operations and performs life-saving treatments in the field on all sorts of animals, from small antelope species to elephants. He has flown in planes with sedated lions (or not so sedated...) and African wild dogs en route to their new home, and he has had the enormous privilege of working on forest elephants in the Wild West of Africa - the Congo. We spent a few weeks trying to pin him down purely because of his fast-paced lifestyle, which is fuelled equally by passion and his superhuman energy levels, so a big thank you to Joel for joining us for a beer and a chat! 

Mike Grover is back for more on this episode, adding insight and perspective from his field of expertise in human-wildlife conflict and environmental health. An invaluable member of this conversation, thank you Mike!

As always, this episode is mingled with a bit PG 13 humour, but most of all we hope it entertains our listeners and stokes that little fire for Africa in our hearts.

Thank you, too, to Katherine Kuntz and John Dixon (guests on episode 4) for joining us again, and a special mention to JD for leading us in song at the end! 

Be sure to follow Joel on Instagram and see some of the crazy stuff he gets up to, saving wildlife alongside a team of excellent ground-based and aerial conservationists: https://www.instagram.com/the_conservation_vet/

John Dixon - JD to most - refers to himself as a 1960s model, which means he has decades of safari experience behind him. He is a true legend of the region and knows all the songs to prove his hours spent around campfires! His career spans 35 years and his collection of stories, memories, and (often inappropriate) anecdotes are always told with excellent humour. No one has seen JD's face since the 1980s and we're almost convinced he was born with a grey beard and a cigarette in his mouth. He gave up drinking a few years ago when a bout of malaria knocked his liver for a six and we can say with certainty that trading in the brandy for coke has changed absolutely nothing about JD's fireside manner. What a gem to have on the game viewer and right here on our podcast.

Katherine Kuntz brought her Texan twang to our African campfire, but if we hadn't heard her speak, we'd never guess that this gal wasn't born in the bushveld. Khaki-clad and sporting some quality veldskoen, Katherine is more than ready for her life in the wild. She's a safari guide and a nature enthusiast - something she brings from her childhood appreciation of her native Texan wilderness - and these days she creates journeys for others wanting to travel to the continent. We're in awe of Katherine's Mount Kilimanjaro climb of 2015 and we loved having her around the fire with us, firing off some questions for Brett and JD!

Check out our esteemed guests on their social media accounts:

Katherine Kuntz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopeafricanadventures 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeafricanadventures/ 

John Dixon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bushexplorationsafrica

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bush_explorations_africa/

Get comfortable, pour yourself something cold and join us for this firecracker of an episode of Campfire Conversations: stories from the African continent. Fair warning that this episode is momentarily NSFW about 9 minutes in, but we recommend not missing a minute!  

Sitting on the other side of the fire today is Kruger Park's African wild dog expert, Grant Beverley, who is a local celebrity and Endangered Wildlife Trust's wild dog researcher. He is guaranteed to teach you something about these absolutely amazing endangered predators, and you will also be treated to a serenade in his second language, which is an exclusive performance reserved for fireside sessions after at least one gin and tonic.  

Sitting next to him is YouTube sensation and undeniably safari's finest funny man, Brian Masters. Don't let his mature-audience joke content fool you, this guy is one of the best field guides out there. Fuelled by passion and armed with encyclopaedic knowledge, Brian's Open Skies Wilderness Expeditions are bound to offer you an insane experience in nature.   

We all agree that by going back to nature, as humans, is the most powerful thing we can do for our short lives on this Earth. If you take anything away from this conversation, let it be that you should and must plan another trip to the bush when this is all over. And that now we know who came first, the chicken or the egg.  

Follow Grant's work in wild dog conservation at https://www.instagram.com/knpwilddogs/ and support the important work by the EWT at https://www.facebook.com/EndangeredWildlifeTrust   

Find Brian and follow his trails adventures and safari expeditions at https://www.instagram.com/openskieswild/ and https://www.facebook.com/openskieswild   

As always, get in touch with us about anything you hear on our podcasts or anything safari related on [email protected].  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bretthorleysafaris/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrettHorleySafaris 

Website: https://www.bretthorley.com

Some would say Tayla McCurdy was born for her role on SafariLive where she guided virtual game drives live-streamed to tens of thousands of listeners around the globe. She is entertaining, quick-witted, kind and energetic.  Her (one-sided) dialogue with various animals she encounters in her life as a safari guide makes her Instagram stories addictively amusing, but there is no mistaking her authentic knowledge and passion for nature and wildlife. We sat her in the hot seat for episode 2 of Campfire Conversations, and next to her was Ale Olivieri, who tolerates Tayla as both a friend and a colleague (kidding, T!) 

Ale Olivieri is the founder of private safari company called Wandering Thru and while that it familiar territory for us, she is by far the most exotic guest we will have on this show! Half Italian and half Venezuelan, Ale also speaks four languages fluently, as well as Russian, Latvian, Afrikaans and Shangaan conversationally. She is a leopard expert and a baker of delicious things. Her academic qualifications are something to be admired, and her modesty even more so. 

Last, but certainly not least is Brenden Pienaar, who is a great friend and mentor and trails guide Ninja! What we learned was that to many school peers, Brenden was known as Bots and nothing else. Growing up in Botswana and South Africa, this man has stayed true to the African roots he was born with. He is obsessed with primitive wilderness trails and is undoubtedly THE person you want to get lost in the bush with. His professional qualifications make him the best in his business, which is the well known and superb walking safari operator, Lowveld Trails Co. 

We thoroughly enjoyed sitting around a fire with these legendary humans and recording this episode. Please take a seat and let our campfire conversations entertain you!

Show some support for today's guests and follow their shenanigans on Instagram:

Tayla McCurdy: @tay_mccurdy @tayla_in_real_life

Ale Olivieri: @wanderingthru @aleolivieris

Brenden Pienaar: @loweld_trails_co @africa_trails_co

Walking up the coast of South Africa in a sarong with a 28kg backpack has been a highlight of Footsteps Through Africa founder and safari guide Jo Cooper's career so far.  His life and death moments from the journey made for some epic fireside stories to kick off this FIRST episode of Campfire Conversations, hosted by Brett Horley! Sitting alongside Jo is Michael Grover, co-director of Activating Africa and consultant for conservation initiatives that boost socio-economic development in African communities living alongside wildlife areas. Both these guys do incredible work and as good friends we were so thrilled to have them as our first ever guests! Pour yourself a drink and listen to our chat around an African campfire. 

Find Jo at @footstepsthroughafrica on Facebook and Instagram and at footstepsthroughafrica.com where you can read about his overland safari tour itineraries and the community projects he is supporting through his safari business. 

Find Mike at @ActivatingAfrica on Facebook and track his inspiring work with various conservation organisations initiating community engagement in conservation.

Watch this episode with video on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/_yQDIB4gRDs 

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @bretthorleysafaris