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Meet some of the Lawson's guides, an ecclectic bunch with a deep love of nature as a common thread.
 Peter Lawson
Professional Birding Guide, Photographer, Conservationist and Naturalist.
Peter was born in South Africa and has been fascinated with birds since his early childhood. He has led bird-watching, photographic and wildlife tours since 1983 and has travelled and bird-watched throughout the sub-continent, in the process building up a wealth of knowledge regarding the region's avifauna and wildlife. He has a remarkable ability to share this knowledge and enjoys a reputation as one of Southern Africa's most experienced professional guides. In particular he likes to share his bird-finding and identification skills with foreign birders and beginners, but is equally at ease with those more familiar with African birds.
Peter is also an authority on mammals, reptiles and other aspects of nature and is an accomplished photographer and an Associate of the Photographic Society of Southern Africa. His photographs have appeared in numerous publications and he has been the recipient of several awards. Peter researches and plans each birding tour, ensuring that his knowledge and passion is passed on to the participants, even when the tour is led by other Lawson's guides.
Leon Marais
 Leon was born and raised in South Africa and is a THETA/FGASA (Level 3) and SKS Birding Specialist Guide. He studied for a Postgraduate B Soc Sc Degree at the University of Natal and then began his guiding career in the safari industry, spending around 6 years guiding at various game reserves in South Africa, where he developed a special fondness for African mammals and the predators in particular. He was introduced to the pleasures of bird-watching by his grandfather and has been looking at birds through binoculars since he was but knee-high to a Marabou Stork.
After leaving the safari industry he joined Lawson's as a freelance guide in September 2005 and then joined up full-time as the third partner in the business in March 2007. He is well-travelled, and has spent time in both the UK and the USA. He is also a widely-published freelance photo-journalist, with a special interest in travel writing. He enjoys hiking, running, tennis, art, DIY projects and gym.
Martin Benadie 
Martin was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, where his keen interest in birds began. After completing his degree in Financial Management he decided to rather follow his passion for birds and sharing this interest and knowledge with others. Martin has been involved in the avi-tourism industry since 2000, beginning as a local bird guide in the Nylsvlei Wetland Reseve (a RAMSAR Site) in South Africa and then moving on to co-manage a private lodge in a large conservancy adjoining the Kruger National Park. He now consults as a specialist birding guide and is passionate about locating difficult-to-find species and localised endemics. He is a qualified THETA/FGASA Level 3 and SKS birding guide, resides in Cape Town and is an expert on the Western Cape. He is also an extremely capable African birder, and has led many birding tours in South / Central Africa and Madagascar. Martin's favourite bird families include African raptors, larks and the bizarre Malagasy Vangas
Dave Steyn
 Dave has had a lifelong interest in nature in general and birds in particular. He has worked as a Forestry Research Officer for 42 years, conducting research for the South African commercial forestry industry.
Dave's other hobbies and interests are indigenous trees, fishing, running, woodworking and furniture restoration. He has worked as a freelance guide for Lawson's for over 6 years and is a tremendous all-round guide with excellent general knowledge on all things South African and capably leads our bird, mammal, dragonfly and butterfly tours.
Bert Palthe
 Bert is a long-standing registered South African Tourist Guide and has a wealth of experience, both in tourism and wildlife conservation. After qualifying as a specialist in Nature Conservation he went on to manage exclusive private game reserves in South Africa's Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces.
Bert is now a full-time tour leader based in the Magaliesberg. He has a passionate interest in wildlife, birds and nature conservation in general, and genuinely enjoys sharing his knowledge with others. He speaks fluent Dutch and is a favourite with our clients from Holland.
Nic Squires
Nic was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in Durban, South Africa. He achieved a Diploma in Nature Conservation and spent 12 years working in the area known as the Lowveld, which encompasses the Kruger National Park. Nine of these years were spent leading walking trails in the Kruger, which gave Nic an incredible amount of hands-on bush experience. It was during this time that he acquired an enviable birding knowledge, born out of being out in the field for days at a time. Nic is passionate about the Kruger Park, and its birds especially - his personal list for the park is 400 species - and has THETA / FGASA SKS Dangerous Animals and Birding qualifications. Nic has been a freelance guide for Lawson's for several years and is one of our leading guides when it comes to the serious list-keepers. He lives in Nelspruit and also enjoys golf as a hobby.
Mariana Delport
 Mariana was born and bred on a farm in the mountains surrounding the picturesque Tulbagh Valley in the Western Cape. As a young child living on the farm, she became aware of the beauty of nature and especially the Cape fynbos, Renosterveld and the few remaining patches of Afro-Montane forests, together with the birds, butterflies, reptiles and other creatures, large and small, dependent on these eco-systems.
She made a study of the natural history of the Western Cape and is a member of, among others, the Cape Bird Club, Tygerberg Bird Club, BirdLife SA, the Botanical Society of SA, Indigenous Bulb Society of SA and Field Guides' Association of SA. During her 5 years as chairperson of the Tygerberg Bird Club she organised and led many birding outings, mostly all of which ended up in natural history outings as many of her birding friends share her passion for nature. Becoming a qualified cultural and nature guide was the best thing that could have happened to her, as nothing makes her more happy than sharing her passion with visitors to our beautiful country.
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