Chris McIntyre

Our first post-Covid guide saw Susie and I return Zambia, which is close to our both of our hearts. This edition we focused more on the national parks, wildlife and safaris - and we were able to include many more colour pictures in the book.

It’s nearly 20 years since my wife, Susie, and I wrote that first Zanzibar guide. Now the islands are more commercial and popular, but we’ve tried to ensure that our book also covers the more interesting, individual and offbeat places.

Namibia's profile has grown immensely since my first guidebook to it 30 years ago, as have the options for visitors there. So research for this edition was a huge undertaking; I was particularly grateful for help of many of the Expert Africa team.

This 5th edition of my Botswana guide came out mid-2018 and, as always, putting it together was a team effort. Researching in 2017, it was great to see how well Botswana is doing, both for its people and its wildlife - a real success in many ways.

As with Northern Tanzania, my wife, Susie, and I input to this guide as well as being responsible for the 'Zanzibar, Pemba & Mafia' guide published at the same time.

My wife, Susie, and I have written the Zanzibar guide since researching its 6th edition, in 2005. Since then, the island, and the scale of tourism there, has changed immensely – but at its best, it’s still a very magical place.

This Northern Tanzania guide has long been Phillip's book - but my wife, Susie, and I took responsibility for the islands, and helped across the parks, thanks to the experiences of our travellers there, as well as our our own.

I backpacked alone to write the first Zambia guidebook in 1996, when Zambia was unknown territory. Now Edition 6 is a team effort: Freddie & Eleanor from the Expert Africa team also headed off to research far-flung parts of Zambia for this edition.

I first travelled to Namibia in 1989, pre-Independence. I expected problems but found none. Just a captivating country which was, even then, very easy to travel around. Many editions later, it’s even easier to travel there and just as captivating.

Botswana is always an interesting book to research and write as the concessions and areas change relatively slowly, which gives me time to explore some of the areas in depth each time - and that's always a real pleasure.

For this 3rd edition of the Northern Tanzania guide, my wife, Susie, and I took responsibility for the islands and input across the parks, with help researching from Angela & Eleanor in the Expert Africa team, plus many comments from our travellers.

Zanzibar had changed a lot in the two editions since my wife, Susie, and I took over this guidebook, so it was great to for us to cover the ground again, seeing the changes first-hand, updating our understanding - and finding a few real gems.

My first significant contribution to a guidebook on Tanzania built on a great existing base from Philip Briggs, and the help of research from several of the Expert Africa team, not to mention many of our travellers' comments.

The 5th edition was large, around 550 pages, as tourism to Zambia had grown. It's a magical country of owner-run lodges, serious safaris and great walking guides. Expert Africa's Claire, Eleanor & Lucy all helped with research and immense expertise.

Researching my Botswana guides has always been an adventure and this 3rd edition was no exception - a great privilege and pleasure to take a 4WD to reach and research some of Botswana's most remote corners.

Zanzibar's relatively small in size, but there's a lot of places to get around to research a guide like this and the speed of change is high. This guide took months in-country, and longer at home to write - but it's a privilege and worth it.

After a big expansion for the 3rd edition, this 4th edition needed more remote travel to offbeat areas, and lot of work re-visiting for updates. As now the norm, it was a team effort, with colleagues working for Expert Africa playing a huge part.

The first edition of Botswana was still a very strong guidebook, so updating it for this second edition was a very straightforward task. I consolidated and thoroughly updated it, including the sprinkling of new lodges and developments.

With over 500 pages, this comprehensive third edition captured the expanding array of options available in Namibia. These needed more extensive research, but the trips remained captivating as travelling in Namibia has always been a real delight.

My wife, Susie, and I took over this guidebook which needed researching, re-structuring and re-writing. Hard work, with almost two months on the ground - but it was a privilege to get to know these stunning islands in real depth.

For this third edition of Zambia I branched out further, driving around on several extended research trips to reach and map some of Zambia’s wilder areas. The result was a step-change in the book’s size, and the areas covered in detail.

After nearly a decade of organising trips to Namibia, this edition incorporated many travellers' experiences as well as research by myself and my Africa team. Fly-in trips to Namibia were gaining popularity and great new conservancies were emerging.

My first solo Botswana guide was a labour of love. With unprecedented access, I explored and studied the region’s remotest corners, got the full picture of its private concessions and then committed my understanding into this encyclopaedic guide.

Totally different in style from my usual guidebooks, this full-colour guide allowed me to recount in depth about adventures across the Kalahari, Namib and Skeleton Coast. Such a privilege to be able to spend this time in Africa and write about it!

The ground-breaking first edition successfully raised awareness about Zambia. It also provided the springboard for me to delve deeper and write more comprehensively. As a result, this second edition became a stronger, more authoritative piece of work

Namibia inspired and kick-started started my African writings, but it seemed an age before I wrote this first, stand-alone guide. The country had changed hugely, but I made up for lost time: lengthy research produced a really comprehensive book.

I backpacked, hitched and bussed around for months in 1995, reseaching this first Zambia guidebook. Help by some amazing pioneers of safari - Norman Carr, Jo & Robin Pope, Grant Cumings and others - it was a privilege as well as an adventure!

I co-authored my first guidebook to Namibia & Botswana in 1990 and a second edition in '94. Both were basic by today’s standards, with line drawings, sketch maps and few pictures, but as the first full English guide to these countries, they did well!