Andy and I always said once our second son Shep turned four, we'd take the boys on a 4x4 journey in Namibia.  There are four years between our boys and our first born, Solo is now eight.  Solo had been to Africa three times by the time he was Shep's current age, and as much as we would have liked to give Shep the same early life experiences in Africa as his older brother, with two small kids, several country moves for our family to Asia, Europe and then back to northern Australia, plus a business that started just before Shep was born, that clearly wasn't going to happen quickly or easily.  So there had been much anticipation around Shep's first trip to Africa in June this year and when it finally happened, for both boys, it was just mind-blowing.  I don't think you can guess at what your child will get out of being in the wild until you put them out there.  Both Solo and Shep loved Namibia, but in different ways.

Let's be honest.  Riding on a moving and perhaps unpredictable animal through a habitat that is filled with other moving and unpredictable animals, some of which can eat you, others which can stomp on you and the odd one that might bite you, may not seem to some like the most sensible idea.  Frankly, my crazy younger days of taking serious and sometimes stupid risks are well and truly behind me.  I'm a mother of two small boys and I can't afford to die.  My safari guests are often my friends and I don't want anyone getting hurt.  No way.  Not on my watch.

We've all heard of the Great Wildebeest Migration in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, crossing over both Kenya and Tanzania, but did you know there is an even longer migration of zebras in Botswana?  I only recently learned about this incredible natural phenomenon myself, which spans from Chobe in northern Botswana to Makgadigadi Pans in the Kalahari Desert.  And this year, I got the chance to check it out personally with my safari groups.

What a fantastic night last Thursday in Sydney with the launch of M&R Wild and our first conservation project on the ground - the Akagera Elephant Project in Rwanda!  Thanks so much to all of you who came along to support the cause. 

Thanks to The Carousel for publishing my short piece on my new project in Rwanda on Akagera National Park's elephants.  If you live in Sydney you can join Andy and I to hear more about this, raise a few bob for the project, have a yarn about Africa and the great conservation work being done in Akagera to re-wild this amazing park, at an evening of drinks and canapes at Moorish Blue, MacMahons Point in Sydney on Thursday 17 May.  That's only two weeks away but we do still have space so don't dally to book. 

I'm no pro-videographer, but I did manage to capture some lovely moments with the mountain gorillas when in Rwanda last year.  The product, thanks to my awesome editor Chao from Daoyu Pictures, is what you see here.  

Before you press delete and pass on reading this blog, I'm going to tell you that this is a story of hopeful possibilities.  But it starts with a terrible tragedy, one that could well be repeated if we don't all do our part to stop it. 

I always love taking people to Namibia.  Twenty years ago when I lived in Etosha National Park studying the black-faced impala, it wasn't on anyone's radar.  But Namibia has grown in popularity for travellers, partly because it offers such a unique, wild and adventurous African experience but also because of the relative safety and stability of the country.  This is the kind of holiday that literally takes your breath away at times.  It's so different to anywhere else in the world that it's easy to forget that you have a life outside! To top it off, I still reckon Namibia's right up there with Botswana in terms of linking tourism to conservation impacts, another great reason to go there if you are an ethically-minded traveller.  Namibia has really led the way in terms of community-based tourism in Africa, with local ownership making a huge difference in combating poaching.  You'd be hard pressed to find a country anywhere in the world doing a better job of nature conservation than this.

2018 started with the fantastic news that China's ban on ivory trade had kicked in, a huge step that will make a difference for Africa's elephants.  As soon as President Xi made the announcement that this was to occur in 2015, we saw results, from the drop in ivory prices from a high of US$2000/kg to US$500/kg, to an 80% decline in ivory seizures in the country.  All of China's 172 ivory carving factories were closed in December.  Progress!  The fight is not over, but there is evidence of declines in elephant poaching in Kenya and Tanzania in the last year.  The UN has called for a global total ban on ivory trade, with Japan being the last major ivory consuming country yet to join in.  

As the end of the year approaches, it's a good time to reflect on where we've come at Matson & Ridley Safaris and what you can expect from us in the years to come.