STAFF WRITER
Ultimate Safaris Tour Guide, Peter Nuugonya recently traveled to Baja California in Mexico for a three-week adventure with Todos Santos Eco Adventures.
Nuugonya, who grew up in a village near Ondangwa learned how to track animals at a tender age, won the award for top Guide 2025 by the company .
Nuugonya started his career at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge in the Namib Rand Nature Reserve where he began working as a barman but soon realized that guiding was the career he wanted to pursue.
Throughout his years of guiding in the desert, Nuugonya has developed his interest and knowledge in birding, star gazing, photography, and overall nature.
He says his journey from Namibia’s vast deserts to Mexico’s vibrant marine ecosystems was nothing short of transformative.
Nuugonya said he enjoyed the activities from snorkelling and scuba diving to whale watching and cooking classes.
Nuugonya said the trip helped him to host guests in future.
“it was a humbling and once in a lifetime experience,”he said.
He said while the cultural experience and meeting locals was the highlight of his journey his ‘mind blowing’ encounter with three species of whales (Blue, Humpback, and Grey), along with other marine biology, made him realise why people travel across the world, and that those experiences are also the reason visitors come to Namibia.
Nuugonya also reconnected with Axel Herrera, a Todos Santos guide who had previously visited Namibia through the same exchange program — reinforcing the mutual value and long-term relationships fostered by this initiative.
The guide exchange underscores a shared mission between the two companies: to empower guides, foster cross-cultural conservation practices, and celebrate the ecosystems they passionately protect.
Co-founder and Managing Director of Ultimate Safaris, Tristan Cowley, said “The guide exchange initiative continues to be a learning experience and a great opportunity for interaction between people on different sides of the world who may have differing geographies, wildlife, and weather, but who share the same dedication to conservation and community”.
Later this year, a Mexican guide will travel to Namibia for the next chapter of this growing partnership between Ultimate Safaris and Todos Santos Eco Adventures which represents a model for global collaboration in eco-tourism — building not only better guides, but stronger bridges between continents, cultures, and conservation efforts.
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