Safari Guide: Richard Pace

Richard Pace, the founder and president of Southern Sky Adventures, will enthusiastically leave his desk job behind to lead this Southern Sky Adventures expedition.

Richard's deep affinity for everything South African is both nature and nurture.

Nature in the form of his sharing a common ancestry with over 4 million South African residents, Afrikaners; as Richard's mother is Dutch. Nurture in the form of his father's keen interest in and personal visits to South Africa in the 80s; the inspiration which led to Richard's first visit to South Africa in the 90s.

Safari Guide

Charles Pace, Richard Pace & Table Mountain

Guiding trips to South Africa allows me regular entrance into a part of the world I do not want to leave. That is my sole motivation in having started Southern Sky Adventures and I am eager to share with you what I have seen and experienced in this fine country.

South Africa is called “The World in One Country.” Of all the vacation places in the world, the one which is most complimented to me by those who have traveled is The Republic of South Africa. It boasts everything the rest of Africa has (bountiful wildlife, magnificent vistas and exotic locales), but it has much more. It is home to a high level of civilization found nowhere else in Africa. It has the civilization of Europe or America, a population of five million Europeans, a tourist visitation of six million, a culture as high as any in the world and cities as sophisticated as New York. South Africa has one of the most beautiful and extensive seacoasts in the world, with restaurants, hotels and amenities superior to America’s standard. The people, white and black, are friendly and helpful. There are few bugs and no mosquitoes except in the northern regions. The food is luxurious. Cape Town, located at the tip of the African continent, was called by Sir Francis Drake, the most beautiful Cape in the world. Johannesburg is one of the world’s great cities, the industrial and economic king of Africa and Durban is the continent’s greatest port. There are vast areas of country and so many pretty villages that one cannot see them all.

Lions

For a person who likes animals the varieties are complete. South Africa’s Kruger National Park (200 miles from north to south) is the cornerstone upon which African conservation was founded. Breeding success in this park has led to the resurgence of many African species that were close to extinction. Whether on a photo safari or hunting safari on a nearby private game farm, it is enough to satisfy anyone. Africa’s Big Five (elephant, rhinoceros, lion, leopard and buffalo) can be seen in abundance.

For flower lovers there are wild ones of varieties in one country that to see elsewhere would require visiting many countries. There are some of the most famous botanical gardens in the world. There is Table Mountain, at the world’s most dramatic and famous cape, the 3,000 foot flat topped mountain overlooking Cape Town’s many white sand beaches. There is Cape Agulhas where one can see ships rounding from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. There is the long “Garden Route,” a coastal region to rival that of the south of France and California’s Highway 1, where one is endlessly entertained by magnificent vistas and refreshed by pleasant restaurants. There is the desert and endless mountains, the view changing with every bend in the road. Johannesburg is higher than Denver but so wide is the escarpment it is not noticeable. There is world famous surfing. The waters of South Africa serve as a feeding ground for Southern Right Whales and as the prime viewing area for nature’s greatest apex predator, the great white shark. In short, South Africa is an adult playground.

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