Rodney Nombekana - From the Streets of Soweto to the Pride of Lions

I grew up binge-watching nature programming on television, dreaming I’d one day be a cameraman filming encounters with wild animals, like elephants and lions. To this day, as a documentarian, I like to gain an intimate understanding of my subjects by getting up close and personal with them. 

My guest today? His family didn’t even have a television when he was growing up. Rodney Nombekana grew up in the South African township of Soweto, known notoriously as the area where the white apartheid government of South Africa centralized the bulk of the labour force needed by Johannesburg, namely a concentration of black families.

Rodney’s earliest fascination was to save birds that had fallen out of their nests. Soon he was bringing home injured and stray dogs. His mother once told Rodney that they didn’t live in a zoo. The truth is, Rodney wanted to make his home a zoo. His main goal was to grow up and work with animals, especially the large predators of eastern Africa, like lions and leopards. 

Today, Rodney is one of the foremost apex predator guides and wildlife photographers in east Africa. But, the path to achieving his career wasn’t easy. It took ingenuity, dedication and hard work.

Today, Rodney shares his love of apex predators and animals large and small in the Kruger National Park in east Africa, a place he’s come to love and call home. 

Rodney’s story of arrival at his career is beyond inspiring. I know you will be glad you met him.

Listen and be inspired!