Tributes
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Writer: Mindy Roberts Photography: Time + Tide
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t is with a heavy heart I write this tribute after our family recently lost a beloved friend— longtime guide and mentor in the South Luangwa, Aubrey Njobvu.
A member of our family since 1999, Aubrey was a gentle man with a poetic soul and a dry sense of humour. His deep-felt passion for the bush spilled over to his immediate family, his team and all those of you lucky enough to explore the South Luangwa Valley with him.
Many of our lives were touched by him and his passing leaves our Zambian homes quieter and less colourful places. I was incredibly moved, after sending out the news of Aubrey’s death, when I received dozens and dozens of emails from past guests and our own team, sharing their stories, photos and memories of Aubrey. Email after email described a legendary storyteller and a gentleman, who was wise and patient, with a wonderful sense of humour and a deep affinity for the bush and wildlife. These quotes are taken from some of the emails... ‘He made us search through the dust to find a black and white zebra hair; he loved sharing all that was big or small’. ‘Aubrey encapsulated the spirit of the Valley and the permanent legacies of Norman Carr’. ‘I write to you and my eyes are brimming with tears, for this man was a king in his kingdom. In my opinion he was the best guide, the best teacher and indeed a kind friend. With a sparkle in his eyes, he left you feeling you were his most important guest’. Aubrey’s words were poetry, spoken calmly and softly: ‘Life is like a spider’s web. We are all spun into the same web; if you cut one strand, you just end up destroying yourself...life is precious’. ‘The African bush is written in pencil, not pen. There is always an eraser close by to change it at any second’. ‘The thing is, a game drive is like looking at the pictures in a beautiful book; a bush walk is when you read the words’.
‘He guided us on all six of our safaris with you and it was always a highlight of our trips to meet up with him’.
Abraham, a long-time friend of Aubrey’s and current Time + Tide senior guide/manager, shared this memory from Aubrey’s final weeks, ‘Though in pain, he was joking as always. He knew he was dying and openly talked about it in such a hilarious way, “My days to the fig tree are closing in.”’ Abraham explains, ‘He was referring to the sycamore fig tree which is a landmark at the graveyard in his village. He likened his situation to that of an old male lion ousted from his pride and being mocked and teased by prey grazing a few feet from him. I laughed and shed tears at the same time.’ I was lucky enough to work alongside Aubrey for almost 10 years and one of my favourite memories is a walk between the Sleepout and Time + Tide Kakuli. On the walk I asked Aubrey, ‘How likely is it to see porcupine on foot?’ to which he replied with his cheeky smile, ‘How else do you think you’ll see them, Mindy?’
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Kind, compassionate and wise, Aubrey leaves a lasting legacy and an absence that will be sorely felt. TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
We miss you, Aubrey.
