The trailblazers
EMMANUEL CHAGAMBA
Nobody knows the remote parts of the Serengeti better than Chagamba. After all, it's in his blood. Raised on the western edge of the Serengeti, Chagamba learned the bush from an early age and seems to have an internal GPS with an uncanny understanding of terrain. And he's got the experience with years, both as a tracker long ago for big game hunts in the Selous, and as a professional guide for some of Tanzania's most prestigious camps prior to joining us. Chagamba has been guiding for MTS for 12 years now and is an integral member of the team. On safari with Chagamba one not only notices his vast knowledge of biodiversity but also his calm personality, total reliability and his in-depth familiarity with the wilderness. Just what you want from a real bush guide!
GIAN SCHACHENMANN
The adventurer. Of Swiss origin, but raised in Tanzania since an early age, Gian has been an MTS guide for 15 years now. His resume speaks volumes of his passion for adventure and exploration. Paramotorist, maker of canoes, film-maker, photographer, mushroom farmer, rabid motorbiker, his enthusiasm is contagious. He can even be found these days crawling into volcanoes in Indonesia and Congo to film lava flows, and recently filmed most of the upcoming IMAX movie on the Serengeti migration, and its follow-up on Africa’s elephants. But above all, he is a first-rate guide, having led countless walking and photographic safaris and the first-ever Great Serengeti Traverse with Mark. Reliable, dedicated and always keen to explore new areas, a safari with Gian is always full of both laughs and adventure.
JAMES NASARY
James was raised on the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro, where he cut his teeth with the tough work as a mountain porter before proceeding to a mountaineering guide. With a local biodiversity club, he then traveled all over Tanzania, often venturing far and wide by bus and on foot, during which time he gained an extraordinary knowledge of bird species, making him an outstanding guide for birding trips. His impressive knowledge of wildlife behaviour led him to guide for one of the top safari camps in the Serengeti and Tarangire ecosystems before joining the MTS team. James is a great guide on safari, a fantastic photographer, a great spotter, and a lively and dependable guide, always keen to set off on foot into the backcountry to explore the bush.
MARK THORNTON
For 25 years Mark has been guiding walking safaris into the remotest parts of Africa. Well-known in the guiding circles for his creative thinking and contagious passion for wilderness and its conservation, Mark was of the very first to guide walking safaris in the remote interior of several national parks, including Serengeti. Mark also holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Management and serves on the board of a cutting-edge conservation organization. Outside of the safari world, he is a published novelist (Kid Moses, 2011 / Nothing is Wrong, 2024) and has consulted on conservation and development projects throughout Africa for UNDP, Conservation International, European Union, South African government and UNESCO.
GABRIEL KAYANGE
Gabriel has been part of our team since 1998! Gabs, or Gabe as many know him, is one of the original guides in Tanzania with a sharp sense of humor and a great knowledge of wildlife. Widely respected in the field (and known by nearly every guide in the country it seems!), he is an expert on the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara and Tarangire, and has guided film shoots, photographers and countless groups in search of high quality, high end wildlife viewing safaris. For serious game driving in the Serengeti wildebeest migration areas, he always knows some hidden corner of Serengeti better than most.
PAUL SWEN
As MTS’ very own in-house professional photographer, Paul is based in the United States but leads several photographic workshop safaris each year. He has traveled the world from Gabon to Borneo to Alaska, leading photographic expeditions and film shoots. But his passion remains in East Africa, where he did his first safari in 1998, and was with Mark on the Ugalla River exploratory adventure a year later. Paul serves on the board for several U.S. zoos, and his photography has featured in dozens of galleries and won numerous awards over the last two decades. Paul is both full of good laughs and hard-working in the field and a fantastic asset for any guest wanting an in depth, pro-led photography safari.
“We wanted to thank you for the incredible trip you planned. I really don’t even have the words to express how life-changing and magical the whole trip was. We are in awe of how smoothly and seamlessly everything came together. ”