Abeid Soka was born in a village in the Kilimanjaro Region, in the shadow of Tanzania's highest and most famous peak. But it wasn't this mountain that inspired his childhood dreams; it was the sight of planes flying over his home, bringing people from all over the world to visit his country.
Abeid had dreamt of being a pilot and of one day flying the planes that soared through the sky above his head. But it costs a lot of money to learn to fly a plane – money that his family didn't have. Instead, Abeid went to guide school so that he could join the ranks of the wildlife guides that meet the passengers off the planes and take them on safari. He improved his English, learnt how to drive a 4WD and studied to identify Tanzania's cornucopia of flora and fauna. He cut his teeth guiding in nearby Arusha National Park, gaining the experience and expertise to take visitors around the larger national parks of Tarangire and Mwanza, before he finally earned his place among the elite guides in the Serengeti. And it was only then that he finally got
