Interview: A Man of the Valley - Phil Berry

A MAN OF THE VALLEY

Phil Berry

Phil Berry is rightly regarded as one of Zambia’s most experienced naturalists. He is immensely respected in his field, beloved and idolised by his clients, and has been involved in the Luangwa Valley for 55 years in various capacities. Now, together with his life-companion, Babette Alfieri, Phil runs Kuyenda Bush Camp, which he founded in 1992. At the end of 2017 Phil and Babette completed their 26th safari season at Kuyenda. A very private man and a reluctant interviewee, Phil eventually agreed to take time out to talk about his life and experiences in Zambia, and in particular his time in the Valley, to Andrew Muswala.

1. 2. 3.

When where you born and what brought you to Africa in the first place?

I was born in England in 1941. My father was in the British Royal Navy from which he retired in 1946 and thereafter brought our family to Cape Town to resettle.

How did you end up in Zambia?

In 1948 we moved to Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), where my father entered government service employed as a marine engineer responsible for the maintenance of government motor boats on Lakes Bangweulu and Mweru and the Chembe motor ferry on the Luapula River. We lived first at Kasama then later at Fort Rosebery (Mansa) and Ndola where I completed my secondary schooling at Llewellin High School.

Can you tell me how it all began?

At an early age, living in the bush stations in northern Zambia, I became increasingly interested in wildlife and was determined to become a game ranger. I persisted in trying to join the Department of Game and Fisheries and was finally accepted at 18 in 1960. I was still too young to be a game ranger so I began as a clerk, learning all aspects of administration and staff matters plus field work under the headquarters game officer,the distinguished ornithologist Con Benson. In 1962 I was posted to Mpika as a relief ranger for three months, and eventually promoted to the post of chief ranger. I remained with the Game Department for 12 years, and so began my involvement with the Luangwa Valley which has lasted for 55 years!

By the early ‘70s, the only tourism enterprises in Luangwa were the three government lodges (Mfuwe, Chichele and Luamfwa), operated by the Zambia Hotels Corporation, and four self-catering camps (Lion Camp, Nsefu, Big Lagoon and Luambe) that were managed by the Game Department.After leaving the Department in 1973, I joined the Zambia National Tourist Bureau (ZNTB) as safari manager at Mfuwe.In this capacity I established ZNTB’s walking safarisinside the South Luangwa National Parkand sited and built Tundwe Camp as the base serving the five tented walking camps. In addition to operating these ZNTB walking safaris, I was also assigned to oversee and allocate the guides and Land Rovers for game-viewing at the three maingovernmentlodges and to manage the four self-catering camps that had been taken over from the Game Department. I left ZNTB in 1976 to join Norman Carr as manager of his Chibembe Lodge and Wilderness Trails walking safaris.At this time his was the only private tourist enterprise in Luangwa, having been established in 1961 in the Chibembe area. By the mid-to-late 1970s an epidemic of rhino and elephant poaching had become rampant in the Valley. Shortage of funding, vehicles and manpower hamperedthe ability of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife’s ability to control the poaching which was devastating these two iconic species. Norman Carr, the pre-eminent conservationist in Zambia, devised a joint scheme withthe Zambian Government and the World Wildlife Fund to establish an NGO to help combat the poaching. This NGO became the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT)in January 1980 and Norman offered me the opportunity to lead the anti-poaching field operations. Consequently, our assignment was to cover the South and North Luangwa Parks as well as Luambe and Lukusuzi, a vast area just under 17,000 square kilometers. It was a daunting responsibility with such limited resources, and although we ultimately lost the Luangwa’s rhino, I believe we did make a positive impact for the elephant. After more than four years I left SRT anti-poaching to manage SRT’s Chinzombo Safari Lodge where I was also a professional guide.During these years we established two walking safari camps, Chamilandu and Kuyenda, which were rustic seasonal camps along the lines of those I had built for the Tourist Bureau in the ‘70s. In 2000, the two camps were acquired by The Bushcamp Company, where they are to this day, in an exclusive portfolio of six

4.

beautiful and stylish remote walking camps.I amstillbased at Kuyenda where we have just completed our 26th season. So, I have been very fortunate to spend my entire working career in the service of wildlife in one form or another: conservation, anti-poaching, guiding, and lodge/camp management.

Is tourism in Zambia growing? What are your general thoughts?

Yes. Zambia’s appeal as a unique safari destination has continued to steadily expand over the decades, largely due to the consistent political stability of the country. Zambia is perceived as a safe destination offering a quality experience to the visitor, in addition to possessing outstanding natural attractions, superb photographic opportunities, and the excellence of walking safaris, highlightingin particular ourZambian guides.

Because these activities are a major source of foreign exchange, the government will hopefully be encouraged to continue developing tourism in well-planned and sustainable methods without jeopardizing the quality of the wilderness experience. In recent years, the prevailing thought in African wildlife conservation policy has recognized the need for local communities to benefit from the wildlife resources if conservation of these areas is to succeed in the long term. Zambia is a model in this regard, in particular The Bushcamp Company and its sister, Mfuwe Lodge, which have become pioneers and leaders in this objective. Amongst their many contributions are the drilling of over 60 boreholes since 2014 to provide clean water to the villages outside the South Luangwa Park. Also, the building of school class rooms, dormitories, ablution and toilet blocks, and teachers’ houses, plus the provision of a daily free meal to over 2500 school children in three schools, and scholarships for 350 children at local schools.

How do you think the industry will evolve in the future?

That is hard to predict. In the short term, tourism should continue to expand provided the global economy and Zambian politics remain stable.In the long term, however, the inevitableincrease in human populations throughout the world will cause everincreasing pressures on wildlife resources everywhere, most especially in African countries, for space,food andprofit.We are witnessing the diminishing numbers of many of the world’s most iconic species today, in particular the rhino and elephant, with the heightened possibility of their extinction in our lifetimes. Very careful attention will be needed by government to ensure the survival of currently protected areas that are at the heart of tourism’s growth tomorrow.

TL Z 6.

7.

PHOTO CAPTIONS (left to right):

1. & 2. Kuyenda 1993 and today (established in 1992 under Chinzombo Safari Lodge) – (photo credit: Babette Alfieri, The Bushcamp Company)

3. In a 1981 rhino rescue we managed to save this female when she was caught in the drying mud of Mfuwe Lagoon. Rhino were frequently seen in the main tourist areas in South Luangwa until they were eliminated by poachers by the late 1980s – (photo credit: not known).

4. A 1980 Save the Rhino Trust patrol with a grim discovery of a recently poached rhino with horns removed – (photo credit: Ian Murphy)

5. (Upper) Phil Berry on safari in the Kuyenda area in the recent past – (photo credit: Ken Foster)

6. Phil Berry in 1982, registering ivory brought in from our Save the Rhino Trust patrols – (photo credit: Babette Alfieri, The Bushcamp Company)