Graeme Lemon qualified with a Professional Guides license after a three-year apprenticeship within Zimbabwe’s prestigious Professional Guides and Hunters licensing program in 1989. He was part of the CAMPFIRE program working to develop community benefits from tourism in the early 1990’s. He also worked with the Zimbabwe National Parks department on their Rhino dehorning and collaring program in  Matusadona National Park in 1992.

He became an examiner for the Professional Hunters and Guides Association in collaboration with the Zimbabwe National Parks department, focusing on qualifying canoe guides on the Zambezi River. Graeme set up his own tourism product on Lake Kariba which involved walking safaris, tented camps and a small 12 bed lodge. He spent two years in Canada completing a diploma on Mountain Adventure Skills before guiding for a season in Canada’s remote Northwest Territories.

Graeme has spent the last fourteen years in Ethiopia taking clients to all corners of this diverse country. He has worked with Frankfurt Zoological Society in developing accommodation options and standards in Bale Mountains National Park. He has also worked with African Wildlife Foundation looking at Trail Development in the Simien Mountains National Park. He is currently part of the BIOME Project, developing a conservation and tourism plan for the more marginalized communities in the Omo Valley which is funded by USAID.

Graeme is the Managing Director of An African Canvas, a small bespoke safari operation working to develop responsible tourism in remote communities where the Omo Valley is the primary focus.