Brian Griffiths, founder of Les Safaris Afrique Decouverte, was born in North Wales in the UK moving to Natal in South Africa in 1977. His employment before Afrique Decouverte was with the export departments of companies producing Agricultural and mining equipment both in commercial and technical capacities.
Brian joined Bell Equipment Manufacturing Company based in Richards Bay, Zululand in 1989 in a technical capacity and was responsible for trouble shooting and dealer training for their range of agricultural, forestry and mining equipment in various areas of the world. Apart from certain periods such as two years as Bell's Technical Director South East Asia based in Singapore (where he met and married wife Lisa) and five years on contract as Technical Director Bell Madagascar, Brian spent 6 weeks a year visiting Bell's dealers in the Caribbean and also spending time every year in Mauritius, La Reunion and Madagascar.
After many years travelling the world for other manufacturers, Brian was aware that people in his line of work either took a real interest in the people and places they visit or spent their lives in restaurants and bars. Although a lover of good wine, Brian chose taking an interest in countries visited rather than the alcahol based alternative.
With the locations he had to spend his time visiting, Scuba diving was the obvious interest and 1989 saw him through his CMAS 1 and 2 star and a lifelong passion had begun. With less than 50 dives under his weightbelt in late 1989 whilst diving 9 Mile Reef at Sodwana, Brian looked up to see a very large shark approaching him at speed and passing within centimetres of him.Having not previously studied sharks, Brian and dive buddy Len Olivier could not identify it and made sketches of the shark for the Parks Department shark specialist who identified it as a Zambezi (Bull shark) telling Brian and Len that (at that time) it was unknown for a diver to be approached by a Zambezi and live to tell the Tale. Brian's fascination with sharks was born at that very moment.
After completing his 5 year contract in Madagascar in 2001, Brian decided to make his passion in to his business and to offer shark diving trips to overseas clients. In 2001, there were no TV documentaries creating interest in sharks and fellow divers told Brian in no uncertain terms that divers wanted to be assured that they would NOT see sharks rather than the alternative. In fact, on visiting the Salon de la Plongée in Paris and explaining his planned Safaris with the Indian Ocean diving specialist of one of France's largest tour operators, she assumed Brian from his accent speaking French to be Belgian and informed him that there was no scuba diving in South Africa as putting a toe in the sea water there guaranteed attack by a Great White !! How times have changed.
Brian's sons Peter (born in Richards Bay South Africa) and Ralf (born in Antananarivo Madagascar) both learned scuba diving in the family swimming pool at around 7 years of age using a Fireman's cylinder wrapped in a towel to hold the cylinder in Mom's BC. From being allowed by PADI to dive in the sea at 10 years of age, Peter within months was diving with Bull sharks and Tigers and, in fact, stroked his first Tiger shark at age 11. That was the day he decided that Shark Diving was going to be his profession and he has never regretted that decision.
Brian and Peter now run the Safaris together and as well as Sharks and other marine life, they are both wildlife guides specialising in the 'Big 5' (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and Rhinoceros) offering photographic safaris, horseback safaris with big game and walking safaris with big game. They also offer Big Game fishing and happily arrange specialist Adventure holidays such as Whitewater rafting, skidiving, surfing – all the exitement that their beloved Natal province offers.
South Africa 
