Two Weeks and Counting...

Jude and Kaye - Pom Pom Camp
Okavango Delta 2008

Kaye and I are flying to Southern Africa to begin our fourth trip to this amazing continent on Easter Saturday. That is exactly 14 days, 4 hours, 33 minutes and 22 seconds from now. Whoo Hoo!

In 2005 we went on our first ever overseas trip. We went camping for three weeks through the wilds of Botswana - Here is a naive and bouncy 'Trip Report' about that trip.

Falling head over heels and planning to once more immerse ourselves in Africa became our reason for living/working/breathing. In 2008 we super-sized and travelled for 60 days through Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.  There is a tiny selection of our 10,000 photographs from that trip here

In Zambia we visited Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust, a small NGO located near the South Luangwa National Park. We were amazed and blown away by the Wildlife Education Centre Anna and Steve Tolan had built in 2001- and their projects and programmes teaching local children the value of their wildlife so it may be conserved for present and future generations...

We decided on our return to do anything we could from here in Adelaide, South Australia to assist Anna and Steve in their work. graciously they allowed us to help out with some online activity - social networking,updating the website and assisting with funding applications and other admin work we can do from 11,000 kilometres away. 

                                                  
Three years later we are permanent volunteers and very much part of the Chipembele Team. 

We are heading to Chipembele in just a few short weeks to volunteer our time in helping Chipembele to celebrate 10 years of achievement of wildlife education excellence as the official "Cheer Squad" leaders. 


So we are kind of  Going for Good 

How very privileged and lucky are we to be  living at Chipembele? We will be close by to our good friends, Anna and Steve. We will awaken every morning in this beautiful landscape, living in a great bush house in the South Luangwa Valley. And the most exciting bit of all... with Elephants wandering by... *heaven!

We hope to be able to bring updates from the field...

So please watch this space as we share being...

At Large In Zambia...

*Of course, we can say 'heaven' because we won't be trying to grow our own food there. The local people, majority subsistence farming - are at the pointy end of the wildlife human interface. They live and grow their crops bang up against the beautiful wild and thriving South Luangwa National Park. Human wildlife conflict is inevitable and the Communities, Chipembele, South Luangwa Conservation Society, Zambian Carnivore Programme and  the safari tourism operations form an important coalition in protecting, educating, researching and conserving this rich and diverse eco-system. We so look forward to living and working in this community.