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Some things in life just make you feel good.  Like the smell of rain on dry soil after a long, hot dry season.  Like watching a herd of elephants running to a river and hurling themselves into it with complete abandon and joy at sunset.  Like laughing, barefoot kids in Africa.  (more…)

Last week’s report by WWF International on the illegal trade of rhinos, tigers and elephants and the countries who most need to step up to combat the problem really brought into focus how interconnected the world is – and how much we’re going to need to work together to save our species. (more…)

Sometimes life throws curve balls at you.  Everything happens really fast and you’ve just got to work out how you’re going to catch that damn ball and not drop it.  The last month or so has been like that for me.  The ball is still in the air but I’ve almost caught it – I think!  This blog is to let you know that I’ve decided to move on from Animal Works and leave it in the hands of the organisation’s co-founder Nafisa Naomi and the committee.  It hasn’t been an easy decision, but let me explain… (more…)

Andy, Solo & I in the Blue Mountains near Sydney

It’s with some sadness, and admittedly, a degree of surprise that I will be leaving Sydney after five years here in just a couple of weeks, bound for yet another place that I never imagined I would live – Singapore.  It’s funny how life takes surprising turns and opens up all sorts of opportunities that you didn’t see coming.  In my experience, even when you have low expectations new places usually turn out to have their own sources of inspiration.   Back in 2007, after a decade in the bush in Africa, I didn’t think I’d survive my first few months in Sydney when I moved here to take up a job with WWF.  In those days, high rises and traffic were completely foreign to me and I was much more comfortable in the company of a dung beetle in the middle of the desert.  But there you go, five years later, it’s been a really good thing to live here and I’m moving on with a husband, a gorgeous little 2  year old boy, and much more conservation experience under my belt.  We’ll be leaving some wonderful friends and family behind and will miss having them in our daily lives. (more…)

There’s a nip in the air in Sydney.  It’s just arrived, serving as a reminder to me that over on the other side of the world (the side I’m most interested in) the safari season is just about to get interesting.  The dry season is when it’s all happening in southern Africa, when the rain dries up in the bush and the grass dies off, turning custard coloured and perfect for hiding lions, as well as enabling brilliant game viewing.  The wet season is a nice time to be there too with all the baby animals and all that green grass (and of course, less tourists), but the dry season is when you get some of the best game sightings, like the big concentrations of animals at Etosha’s water holes. (more…)

It’s not that often that opportunities to visit Kenya with a best-selling novelist who knows the place (and its history) like the back of his hand, so when Frank Coates and I first got chatting a couple of months ago about him leading an Animal Works expedition I was pretty excited.  And I’m even more excited today to be able to announce that Frank will be leading an Animal Works expedition to Kenya in June.  Yes, this is just a couple of months away so you’ll need to get in quick for this one!  We need a minimum of 6 people to fill this trip, 12 at most. 

The itinerary is mind blowing and includes visits to two hand-picked elephant conservation projects that will be supported through Animal Works (and the donation which is included in the cost of the safari) – a behind the scenes experience at Daphne Sheldrick’s famous elephant and rhino orphanage and a visit to Oria Douglas-Hamilton’s Elephant Watch Camp which is linked to Save The Elephants (founded by the ‘father’ of elephant conservation, Iain Douglas-Hamilton).  The trip includes several of the places you might know from Frank’s novels, like the famous Masai Mara, Samburu and the Great Rift Valley.  Just like our Zimbabwean expeditions, you will have the opportunity to ‘give back’ to local people and wildlife while on your holiday, staying in high caliber lodges and camps in some of the best wildlife areas in Africa.

You might know Frank from his best-selling novels like Tears of the Masai and Softly Calls the Serengeti.  In 1989 Frank ran away to Africa and joined a UN team in Nairobi as a technical expert. It was a life-changing experience and Frank was hooked on Africa. In the following years as he consulted in countries from Kenya to Swaziland and Mozambique to Botswana and his passionate interest in the political and cultural history of East Africa grew- and his writing career began.  You really couldn’t get a better person to escort you through some of Africa’s most famous game reserves.

Get in touch now if you’d like to join us on an Animal Works expedition with one of Australia’s finest African novelists for the chance to get up close and personal on two great elephant conservation projects!  Contact us here for a full costing and the complete itinerary.  Special thanks to The Classic Safari Company who, with 20 years experience in African safaris, are taking care of the bookings and processing for this fabulous safari.

In other news, we’re still taking bookings for our expedition to Zimbabwe in late September, following our booked out safari there in June.  All the details are on our website here.  I’m told there are still 10 tickets left to our Imagine Africa dinner with Frank Coates, Tony Park, Ace Bourke and me (Tammie Matson) on Wednesday 18th April, so this is your last chance to get tickets!  Phone Ripples on 99603000 to book.

At the dinner we’ll draw the amazing safari prize donated by Epic Private Journeys valued at $5000 – 4 nights accommodation at Wilderness Safaris’ Little Makololo Camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, plus return road transfers to Victoria Falls.  If you can’t make it to the dinner, you can still enter the competition now online here – tickets are just $20 each or 3 for $50.

Happy Easter from all of us at Animal Works!  We hope the Easter bilby finds you….

Hi friends and Africaphiles,

This week my blog is about all things Zimbabwe and the inside word on rhinos.  Click here to go directly to my blog at Animal Works’ site.

In just a couple of months, I’m off to Zimbabwe with Michael Jeh from Barefoot in Africa safaris and ten very excited people from Sydney.  Read all about it and find out how you can join me in September on the next Animal Works’ expedition to Zimbabwe in my latest blog by clicking here.

Read the latest and see the pictures of Wednesday night’s fantastic Imagine Africa dinner by clicking here.  Apologies for cross postings.

I don’t usually go on about things this much, but this is a rare opportunity for you to enter a competition to win a 6 night safari in Zimbabwe worth $4000.  I thought I should let you know that only about 50 tickets have sold so far so the odds to win are VERY good.  It’s all for a very good cause too – Animal Works’ anti-poaching fund for Zimbabwe.  We’ll draw Animal Works’ and The Classic Safari Company’s safari competition on the Imagine Africa dinner on 22nd February, less than a week away.  Tickets are $20 for 1 or 3 for $50.  Your donations are tax deductible.  Enter by clicking here and pay securely through paypal, or contact me if you’d like to know about alternative ways to pay.  Thanks for your support!