the essential
SERIES 11/12. As part of our series on the Tarnais at the end of the world, close-up on David Rey, a Mazamétain who swapped the hills of his childhood for the immensity of the African savannah. This photographer fell in love with the incredible diversity of southern Africa.
2025 marks David Rey’s 30th anniversary in Namibia, a country in southern Africa that has become his home. The photographer and safari guide, a child of Mazamet, fell in love with the vastness of the Namibian desert, its landscapes and its wildlife.
If nothing predestined this Tarnais for such a trip, the taste for elsewhere has always inhabited him. When he was 24 years old, the young man finished his military service. And there, for him who dreams of Africa, it was the trigger: “I told myself that it was now or never”.
He packs his bags and leaves Mazamet, heading to Kenya then Tanzania. Unfortunately, it fails to take root. So he returned to France and, in 1995, he heard of an opportunity. Namibia, independent for barely 5 years, wants to develop its tourism.
David, keen on photography and animals, jumped at the chance and launched his safari business. And, very quickly, he was exploring sublime landscapes in a 4×4 with his clients, camera in hand, immortalizing lions, rhinos and giraffes. The verdict is instant: “It’s a good country to live in”.
Endless spaces and spectacular diversity
Between Mazamet and Windhoek, the Namibian capital, there is a divide. A chasm. However, as soon as he arrives, David falls madly in love with the city and the vast wilderness that surrounds it. Once you leave the capital, the hinterland is almost empty.
If Namibia is 1.5 times the size of France, it only has 3 million inhabitants, including 300,000 in Windhoek. A density so low that the country is the penultimate in the world. Which doesn’t displease David… “Basically, I still came for the animals,” he jokes. And when he and his clients leave the tourist trails, it’s a real slap in the face.
Before leaving, David only knew Etosha Park, seen in documentaries. It was upon his arrival that he discovered incredible diversity “in landscapes, ethnic groups and animals”. As a result, the ex-Tarnais speaks English, Afrikaans, and even a little Herero, the language of the traditional villages where he stops.
With its mountains, the red dunes of its desert, and its Atlantic coasts, Namibia is plural, a kaleidoscope of colors and ecosystems. “You can see the elephants in the morning, and the sea lions in the evening!”, summarizes David.
And very often, this surprises his clients, to whom he makes travel thousands of kilometers, punctuated by periods of contemplative waiting to capture the moment (and the perfect shot). The guide tries to explain this magic in France, but he admits that often “people don’t understand”.
A new house
In Namibia, David built much more than a career: he built a life there. There he met his wife, a French teacher, and had two daughters with dual nationality.
Return to the country? The idea doesn’t even occur to him. “France is for vacations, but not really my home anymore,” he confides. David spends two to three weeks there a year to see his loved ones, before inevitably the call from Namibia becomes too pressing.
He admits, when he is in the Tarn he “quickly wants to leave again, to see people again, to do safaris again”. What does he miss when he leaves Mazamet? “Charcuterie, especially from the region,” he jokes.
But it’s not enough to make him give up this country he loves so much. 30 years after his arrival, at 55, David is as in love as the first day. The adventure has become certainty: he is at home under the Namibian sun.
