It's that time of year again - and yet, it's a very different kind of Christmas this year for so many of us.  As Covid-19 continues to rise up across the world, we are thinking of our friends who are being forced to spend the festive season away from loved ones and in lockdown.  It's certainly been a year full of upsets in our travel plans, but with the vaccine making good progress we've come a long way from where we were at the start of the year as the virus began to roll out across the planet.

As we near the end of the crazy year that was 2020, a lot of us will be glad to see the end of it.  There's heartening news from Africa with a number of our favourite countries for safaris having re-opened to international visitors under strict conditions.  It's not business as usual, but the door is open and Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda are just a few countries that are welcoming international arrivals on safari.

The name of the game for 2020 is adapt and be resilient, but it's also been about working out how to pivot in our work or businesses to roll with the punches.  For Matson & Ridley Safaris, with our tours in Africa and Australia all postponed to 2021, and still awaiting news of when the Covid-19 vaccine will be in widespread use, we've been developing our conservation consultancy side and looking at ways we can contribute during these uncertain times for everyone.

The word 'safari' means journey and comes from the Swahili word 'kusafari' (to travel).  But for so many of us who live and breathe Africa, it's meaning is so much deeper.  What does 'safari' mean to you? 

The wild ride of the coronavirus pandemic continues to have its ups and downs around the world, but it is wonderful to see some countries turning a corner with this terrible virus.  I have been so inspired to hear the stories coming out of Africa from our partners on the ground, who in spite of ongoing costs without any tourism income, continue to support local communities and play the all important role of preventing poaching.

When I got back from Rwanda in early January, we had no idea the crisis that was about to unfold across the planet from the novel coronavirus.  2020 has become the year of the pandemic and all of us are adapting to it in our own ways.  Back in early March, my first response to the sense of fear and trepidation about the many unknowns that people around me were feeling was to think about how elephants might react if this was something that was affecting them.  The population in Akagera National Park, Rwanda that has been my focus for the last couple of years have dealt with trauma after trauma in their lives, and only in the last decade have things settled down for them and a peaceful existence made possible by the wonderful team at the Akagera Management Company (African Parks in partnership with the Rwandan Development Board). 

As we all ride this crazy wave that is the coronavirus pandemic, no doubt many of us are going through peaks and troughs of emotions.  

In the midst of the Covid-19 global pandemic, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and a bit hopeless.  When I was forced to postpone my upcoming safaris planned for this May and June to Tanzania and Botswana to next year, I must admit it was a pretty horrid feeling. Part of that feeling was purely selfish - I'm really going to miss Africa this year!  But I'm also worried about my friends working in safaris and conservation, and what this means for the people and wildlife of Africa.  But before I could even start to feel miserable about all that, emails started rolling in from our guests from all across the world.  No one talked about cancelling; everyone was just as keen as I was to make sure we get over to Africa, even if it is a year later.  I am so grateful for this - because Africa really needs us right now.

If there's a place on earth that shows that it's possible to recover from even the most extremely desperate situations and that proves the phenomenal resilience both of people and nature, it has to be Rwanda.  This December I spent a full month there and it reminded me how valuable it is to be able to spend significant time in one place really getting to know it better.