Eric John Mollel
Born in Kenya, Eric is married with four children. As a youngster, he always had an interest in the outdoors and joined the Cub Scouts. He attended school at the Olkejuado High School in the Kajiado District in the Rift Valley province. He later joined a specialized guiding college, where he obtained advanced certificate for guiding.
He worked as a mountain guide at Mt. Kilimanjaro, and gained experience climbing mountains such as Mount Meru and Mount Kenya. A favorite with Big Five Tours and Expeditions guests, Eric has been working as a guide for nine years but has been involved in the tourism for more than 15 years.
Today Eric can be found taking travelers on walking safaris through Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve, the Selous Game Reserve is Africa’s largest game reserve and one of our favorite wildlife viewing areas.
Click link to meet Eric
Elichilia Meela (Chili)
Elichilia, nicknamed Chili, was raised in a beautiful village named Mto wa mbu (Mosquito River) in northern Tanzania, close to some of Africa’s premier locations including the Serengeti National Park, Ngorngoro Crater, Lake Manyara National Park and Tarangire National Park. He grew up surrounded by wildlife, from monkeys and buffalo to wild cats and giraffe. He could hear many of the animals grazing nearby at night.
His father worked as a safari guide in the 1970s and 80s. He taught his son about the importance of saving the animals as well as the plants. So Chili to conservation early on as he learned how to keep the wild animals away from his family farm without killing them. “That is when I began to understand what my father was teaching us.”
After he completed his secondary education, he joined a hotel training program launched by Sopa Lodges. He worked in various departments picking up skills along the way. During his breaks studied how safaris operated. At the same time, Serena Hotels were opening in Tanzania. Hotel management from Serena successfully recruited Chili. All the while, he continued to pursue his interest in becoming a safari guide. He also married during that time.
Then, his life took a different direction when he was unexpectedly met a director overseeing Big Five Tours & Expeditions Tanzania operations. The director was impressed with his enthusiasm and invited him to join a short training held in his offices. It wasn’t long before he became a trusted and talented guide. He is living his dream following in his father’s footsteps and passing on his knowledge to his own five children.
Click here to meet Chili
