Expert

Mark Eveleigh

Member of the SafariBookings Expert Panel

Country:: United Kingdom
Expert Reviews:: 43 Reviews
Website:: www.markeveleigh.com

In 1992 Mark spent six hours reviewing his life while swinging from the end of a fraying cable in the world's highest cable-car, in Venezuela. The psychological shock of this experience was enough to send him plummeting down the slippery slope into the shadowy world of freelance travel journalism.

He led the first expedition by foreigners into Central Borneo's 'valley of the spirit world,' (researching his book Fever Trees of Borneo) and has since returned to those unexplored valleys on several occasions. He grew up in Africa, and returned in 1999 to trek through northern Madagascar with a zebu pack-bull. The full story was told in Maverick in Madagascar (published by National Geographic). Although based in Spain he returns to Africa frequently, and says that his perfect assignment is any story that can only be covered with an expedition-prepared 4wd and at least 3 weeks in the bush.

He has travelled the world (and 20 African countries) on assignments for more than 80 titles, including BBC Wildlife, BBC Earth, Esquire, Geographical, The Guardian, CNN Traveller, Sunday Times, CNN Travel, BBC Travel and Travel Africa.

Undercover assignments have taken him from Zimbabwean farms to Bolivian prisons, but charging elephants and a randy Peruvian llama taught him the real importance of journalistic footwork.

Expert Reviews 43 – Written by Mark Eveleigh

Botswana

Botswana country review

5/5
Desert and Delta diversity...and leopards galore!
Central Kalahari Game Reserve

5/5
The pans and endless savanna of CKGR offer one of the best safari experiences in Africa!
Chobe National Park

5/5
Spectacular landscapes, wonderful wildlife sightings and the 'gnarliest' elephants in Africa
Khutse Game Reserve

4/5
Khutse is the most accessible part of the Botswana Kalahari from South Africa
Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

4/5
World of extremes where the Okavango meets the Kalahari!
Mashatu Game Reserve

5/5
Location for some of my best safari experiences ever
Moremi Game Reserve

3/5
Best access point to Botswana's great wetland wilderness
Northern Tuli Game Reserve

5/5
Incredible leopard country on the picturesque banks of the Limpopo
Nxai Pan National Park

5/5
Where delta meets desert
Okavango Delta

5/5
Africa's greatest waterborne safari venue!

Eswatini

Eswatini country review

4/5
The Unknown Kingdom
Hlane Royal National Park

4/5
Eswatini’s Royal flagship park
Mkhaya Private Game Reserve

4/5
Black rhino haven
Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary

4/5
A chance to get your feet/wheels/hooves into the African dust

Kenya

Kenya country review

5/5
Home to ‘the greatest wildlife real-estate on Earth’
Amboseli National Park

5/5
One of Kenya’s most picturesque parks with spectacular views of Kilimanjaro
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

4/5
A highland paradise on the slopes of Mount Kenya
Masai Mara National Reserve

5/5
Big cat country par excellence!
Nairobi National Park

5/5
Unspoiled savannah in the shadow of the concrete jungle
Samburu National Reserve

5/5
Amazing predator territory
Shaba National Reserve

4/5
One of Northern Kenya’s desert gems
Tsavo East National Park

5/5
Kenya's biggest park is one of Africa's great 'lost worlds'
Tsavo West National Park

5/5
Perhaps Kenya’s greatest unexplored wilderness

South Africa

Kwandwe Private Game Reserve

4/5
Eastern Cape’s best Big Five safari location…with its share of special sightings
Madikwe Game Reserve

4/5
Fantastic rhino and leopard sightings at marvellous Madikwe

Tanzania

Tanzania country review

5/5
As a safari destination Tanzania has it all!
Lake Manyara National Park

4/5
Lake Manyara NP is famous for its tree-climbing lions and astounding views over the lake
Ngorongoro Crater

4/5
As close to guaranteed big 5 sightings as you can get outside a zoo!
Serengeti National Park

5/5
In northern Serengeti only the wildebeest travel in crowds

Uganda

Uganda country review

5/5
Fantastic wildlife and some of the friendliest people in Africa make Uganda unbeatable
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

4/5
Best gorilla safaris in the country
Kibale National Park

3/5
Classic, pristine central African rainforest
Kidepo Valley National Park

5/5
Uganda’s secret northern wilderness
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

5/5
A unique rainforest volcano reserve, in a golden triangle between Uganda, Rwanda and DRC
Murchison Falls National Park

5/5
Nile wildlife watching at its finest!
Queen Elizabeth National Park

5/5
Greatest collection of mammal species in Uganda
Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve

3/5
Fantastic highland views and thick rainforest

Zambia

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park

4/5
Swimming elephants amid churning cascades

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe country review

4/5
Once (and soon to be again) Africa’s most beautiful country
Hwange National Park

5/5
The Zimbabwean Giant
Mana Pools National Park

5/5
Zimbabwe’s flagship wilderness delivers even in the rains
Matobo National Park

4/5
Iconographic Zimbabwean scenery with its stunning kopjes
Zambezi National Park

4/5
Great wildlife sightings within a stone’s throw of Vic Fall’s extreme sports Mecca