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Great news!  The wonderful folks at Wilderness Safaris have just offered me a huge discount on my conservation safari to Namibia in September 2015 (next year).  However, it’s only for a limited time!   (more…)

You simply have to experience Namibia at least once in your life.  It’s like nowhere else on the planet.  The sense of space you get, and the deep desert silence, has to be experienced to be believed.  If you’re in the rat race this is the perfect escape.

Sunset in the Namib Desert (credit: Tammie Matson)

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Happy new year Africa-philes, elephant lovers and friends of the planet!

I’m kicking off the new year with some exciting news. It’s been in the works for a little while, and won’t be a surprise to many of you. This year I’m finally turning my love of Africa into a business. Many of you have been on safaris based on my advice on where to go and what to do in the past and some of you have even joined me on safari. Now you can actually book your African safari through my new company, Matson and Ridley Pte Ltd, a fully licensed travel agency, and join me in the land we all love for a very different kind of African experience.

The author’s husband Andy and then 1 year old son Solo on safari at Rocktail Bay, South Africa

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I’d been travelling to southern Africa for twenty years before I finally set foot in East Africa, taking my first foray into Kenya a few weeks ago.  And wow, was it worth the wait!

Cokes’ hartebeests

April is the wet season in Kenya, and so apparently not the ideal time to go, but let me tell you those vast open plains are right out of a Hollywood scene from ‘Out of Africa’ no matter what time of year you go, and the fact that they were covered in an ocean of knee-high grass didn’t mean we missed out wildlife-wise.  It was simply magical. (more…)

In all my years of running around Africa, I haven’t yet made it to Kenya, the country that so many people associate Africa with (think Karen Blixen and “Out of Africa”)…  I’m very excited to say that the time has finally come! (more…)

I love a family adventure…. I mean, let’s be honest, travelling with a rambunctious toddler in the far flung parts of the planet is not quite the same as when you’re travelling on your own.  You can’t take the same risks and there are things like killer ants and venomous snakes to factor in.  But there’s a lot you can do in the wild, as our intrepid son Solo taught us recently in Borneo. (more…)

I don’t know what it is about Zimbabwe, but every time I go back I simply don’t want to leave.  Animal Works’ first expedition to Zimbabwe a few weeks ago proved that it wasn’t just me who could be charmed by this magical part of Africa, as 10 Aussies from all walks of life bonded with each other and the locals, while experiencing some of the best wildlife the continent  has to offer. (more…)