Jo and Walter Baard Appointed Senior Operational Managers of The Bushcamp Company
We are proud to announce the promotion of Jodine (Jo) and Walter Baard to Senior Operational Managers of The Bushcamp Company, a role that represents the most senior level of operational leadership across our eight properties in South Luangwa National Park.
This appointment marks a significant and highly intentional step in the continued evolution of The Bushcamp Company. Jo and Walter assume responsibility for the full breadth of day‑to‑day operations across the portfolio, ensuring the continuity, stability, and standards that have long defined the Bushcamp experience. The business is in excellent hands.
Jo and Walter step into this role from their successful tenure as General Managers of KuKaya Lodge, where they demonstrated exactly the leadership, operational judgment, and cultural alignment required at this level. Their promotion reflects not only performance, but deep trust in their ability to steward a complex, multi‑camp safari operation with consistency, integrity, and confidence.
Importantly, this transition has been seamless. Our 200‑plus team of camp staff, maintenance teams, and some of the finest safari guides in Africa remain fully in place. The people, systems, and values that underpin The Bushcamp Company are unchanged. What this promotion adds is strengthened senior operational leadership — providing clarity, structure, and oversight across the entire portfolio.
Jo and Walter bring exceptional experience running large‑scale, remote, and logistically demanding hospitality operations. Prior to joining The Bushcamp Company, they served together as General Managers of Beqa Lagoon Resort in Fiji, a multi‑department operation with more than 100 staff and widely recognized as one of the world’s premier scuba diving destinations — particularly renowned for its high‑adrenaline “Cathedral” shark encounter. Leading a resort of this stature, in one of the most remote and infrastructure‑light regions on earth, required disciplined leadership, uncompromising safety standards, strong financial control, and the ability to deliver world‑class guest experiences under demanding conditions. This background directly complements their ability to manage and support the largest safari operator in the Luangwa Valley with confidence and consistency.
Jo’s leadership is grounded in people, purpose, and systems. With an academic background in Nature Conservation and extensive hands‑on experience across guiding, conservation fieldwork, and lodge management, she understands both the ecological and human dimensions of a safari operation. Jo is deeply committed to developing confident, empowered teams, believing — rightly — that exceptional guest experiences are built by staff who are supported, skilled, and proud of their work. Her passion for remote wilderness living and her operational discipline make her a natural custodian of The Bushcamp Company ethos.
Walter brings nearly three decades of operational and technical expertise across some of Africa’s and the world’s most respected safari lodges and resorts. His understanding of infrastructure, logistics, preventative maintenance, and remote‑systems management is as comprehensive as it gets. Calm, methodical, and unflappable under pressure, Walter ensures that every property functions seamlessly behind the scenes — an essential foundation for outstanding guest experiences in the bush.
Together, Jo and Walter form a deeply complementary leadership partnership. Their combined strengths, shared values, and genuine love for bush life uniquely equip them to lead The Bushcamp Company’s operations with confidence, continuity, and care.
The Bushcamp Company operates eight iconic properties within South Luangwa National Park, one of Africa’s great wildlife destinations and the birthplace of the walking safari. Our two gateway lodges, Mfuwe Lodge and KuKaya, ease guests into the rhythm of the bush, while our six bushcamps, set deep within a vast exclusive‑use area in the game‑rich southern sector of the park, define what a classic walking safari can be. Together, these properties form the Bushcamp Circuit — a carefully curated journey offering extraordinary wildlife, minimal vehicle movement, and some of the finest guiding in Africa.
For our trade partners, guests, and friends of the company, this appointment should provide complete confidence: The Bushcamp Company remains operationally strong, culturally intact, and exceptionally well led. We are proud to have Jo and Walter at the helm of our operations and excited about the next chapter ahead.
Please join us in congratulating Jo and Walter Baard on this well‑deserved promotion.
