Mike Exelby

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, sculptor Mike Exelby cultivated a keen interest in wildlife and the outdoors at an early age. Hiking in the Matopo Hills and classifying skulls in the bowels of the Bulawayo Museum always took precedence over doing school work, and it soon became evident that Mike was destined to work in the natural sciences. In 1969 Mike flew to the USA to begin his studies in wildlife science at Texas A&M University. On his return to Zimbabwe it was back to the bush, but this time under very different circumstances.
In 1976 Mike was appointed founder manager of the Wildlife Society’s Umgeni Valley Project in South Africa; it was there that he met and married Carol (Gower-Jackson), and together they have raised three children.
After leaving the Wildlife Society in the early 1980s Mike established himself as a sought-after eco-architect, and he has spent the past four decades designing and establishing safari lodges, bush camps, bird hides and homes that are sensitive to the surrounding environment. He has an unusual gift for seeing exquisite potential in nature, and for conceptualising designs and plans that blend effortlessly into a natural setting. It was inevitable that Mike’s talents and interests would lead him to...