Troy Photographer Leads Safari Trips

Bill Cowger is caught between two worlds and he couldn’t be happier.

Three times a year the Troy photographer leaves suburbia behind and travels to the East African nation of Tanzania. He takes his best camera gear and up to a dozen travelers on the African safari adventure of a lifetime.

Cowger can’t hide his passion for Africa when talking about the continent. He smiles broadly, his speech quickens and his eyes twinkle with memories of past adventures. “My true love and passion is wildlife and travel and introducing people to the wonders of Africa. It truly is life-changing and unlike anything you could imagine,” said Cowger, 65.

The tours are called African Photo Safaris, but they aren’t only for shutterbugs. 

“I knew people who had gone on these trips with Bill and they raved about them,” said Anna Maiuri, 52, of Troy, who went on the safari in 2009. “I thought, ‘That’s the perfect way to go, with someone who knows his way around.’ It was a wonderful experience.”

The trips last about two weeks, with the majority of time spent on safari in the Serengeti National Park, where animals migrate year-round. 

“You can see 30,000 to 100,000 animals from horizon to horizon, as far as you can see, and you can drive right in the middle of it,” Cowger said. “It’s truly a remarkable experience.”

Cathy King, a 62-year-old retired teacher who has gone on two safaris, said being in the park isn’t like going to a zoo. “You are seeing lions, cheetahs, hyenas, elephants and giraffes in their natural habitat, watching what they do, watching them hunt and kill, King said. “It’s just an amazing way to look at life.”

From Computer Geek to Photo Buff

Remarkably, it was Cowger’s years as a self-proclaimed computer geek that led him to the untamed African outdoors. As part of the international team for Detroit-based computer manufacturer Burroughs Corp., Cowger started traveling around the globe in 1970. 

“Back at that time it was the third-largest computer company in the world and it was based here in Detroit,” he said. “My first three years with them I did a million miles in 43 countries as a banking automation trouble shooter.” 

Soon after marrying Gail in 1973, the couple moved to South Africa, where they lived for five years. “That’s really where I got hooked on both Africa and on photography,” he said.

It wasn’t until returning to Michigan and leaving behind the computer business and his personal consulting firm that Cowger turned his photography hobby into a business. At 52, Cowger started Acacia Photography and led his first group to Africa in 2004. He has led 21 tours since. 

Barbara Fowler, who went to Africa with one of Cowger’s groups in 2010, said the trips allow explorers to see the reality of nature. “Cheetahs made a kill right next to the Land Rover we were in,” said Fowler, the superintendent for the . “It’s incredible how close you are, yet they pay absolutely no attention to you.” 

More Than Wildlife: Meeting the People

But Cowger’s trips don’t just focus on wildlife. All of his explorers meet some of the people of Tanzania. Groups visit a Masai village and the Usa River Primary School in Arusha, Tanzania.

“They have over 900 students in 10 classrooms. They sit four kids to a desk,” Cowger said. “There’s no running water or electricity, yet they show up every day in a clean uniform. They pay attention so closely you could hear a pin drop.”

Travelers are encouraged to donate money or supplies to the school.

Back in Troy, Gail Cowger has expanded her husband’s efforts to help foreign students by raising money and gathering supplies at , where she teaches fourth grade. “I saw how little they had, compared to how much we have in Troy and I thought we’ve got to do something," she said.  "We collected two huge crates of supplies and some money and helped make improvements in the school."

Cowger developed a relationship between the Rotary Club of Troy, of which he is outgoing president, and the rotary in Arusha Tanzania to help coordinate the incoming donations with volunteers.

This September, Cowger will take group No. 22 on yet another safari and there will be many more to come. 

“I guess you could say I’m living my life’s dream,” Cowger said, smiling. “People are paying me to go to Africa.”