WILDLIFE BLOG

It's been a while since I wrote an update from the South Luangwa on this blog. As always, this message comes with my sincere hope that you are all well and navigating these difficult times. The return to normality seems to be taking a lot longer than anyone foresaw and has been littered with unsettling bumps and unexpected delays, rather like a rarely-travelled African road. Throughout this pandemic, Nature has been a constant which has nourished [...]

In August last year, I took part in an adventure where a group of 9 walkers set off from Mutinondo -- on the western side of the Luangwa Escarpment -- and walked to Mfuwe in the heart of the Luangwa Valley. We weren't totally sure how long the journey would take, but we hoped 7 days, expected 8 days and planned for 10! This was a particularly attractive prospect for me as I know the base [...]

I have been away on a long road trip through Zambia and into southern Tanzania during the last month. I haven't updated my blog during that time, but there have been lots of interim updates on my Instagram. We are very fortunate to be able to travel during a time when many people have been confined to their homes. Was it sensible to undertake a trip such as this during the COVID pandemic? We thought long [...]

This year is racing, rushing and tumbling into its final weeks. November passed by in a blur of Sukey's school (which re-opened but was run from our homes to keep COVID bubbles small), preparing Tribal Textiles to move to its new site and following the news of COVID vaccines that might indicate better prospects for the world in 2021 -- not to mention the travel industry! The announcement of widespread vaccine roll-outs is the crack of [...]

The Luangwa received its first rains of the season yesterday....but it was little more than a shower. It's left us hot, sticky and longing for more! But the small amount has cleared the skies, settled the dust and left us with clear light and beautiful views. Trees and hills, which seemed so distant through the haze, appear closer and more detailed. Since returning from North Park and Mutinondo, I have been busy with end-of-season closing at [...]

As before, and with each of these updates, I send my best wishes to you and hope that you are well. To those in Northern European nations which are entering lock-down once more, I wish you all the best with the coming months. Zambia is beginning mass testing for COVID-19 and we wait, anxiously, to discover whether the virus is widespread or, as it appears, that this nation has somehow avoided the worst of the global [...]

While international travel to Zambia is open, many people's personal situations, their home nations' restrictions and the risks of travelling across the globe have continued to depress tourist numbers to Zambia. I have researched the option of running a couple of photo safaris towards the end of this year, but the risks of trying to co-ordinate group travel in a highly unpredictable world has encouraged me to err on the side of caution and look ahead [...]

As always, this monthly update from Zambia comes with the sincere wish that you and your families are well and weathering the storm of COVID with social isolation and the impending fear of a second "lock-down". As always, the discussion continues about why COVID appears to have hit some countries harder than others. Zambia continues to record very low numbers of cases and relatively few deaths. Of course, under-developed measurement, testing and recording could be responsible [...]

Conservation and Tourism go hand in hand; conservation efforts protect the wildlife and natural places that tourists wish to visit...and tourism provides the justification and funding for conserving wild areas. But COVID which has entirely frozen the tourism and travel industry, has heaped massive challenges on the shoulders of conservation everywhere. Conservation organisations have, against the odds, maintained their presence in our planet's special wild places. None more so than Conservation South Luangwa, an organisation of [...]

It's been a while since I wrote an update from Zambia. Apologies for my silence. In part this is due to being busy with photoshoots (for local companies and NGOs), in part due to a wonderful walking expedition that I joined (follow my Instagram from more on this) and in part due to the pressures that we are all feeling from this very challenging year. Supporting my family and getting through this upside-down year, with all [...]

Greetings from Zambia, where the weather gods have certainly decided that winter has come to an end! Temperatures by day are creeping into the high 30s and night-times are warmer, requiring a blanket only in the early hours of the morning. It seems ridiculous to grumble about the weather in a year when the world's status quo has dissolved, but it really feels like we didn't have a winter in Zambia this year and hot season [...]