Blog - Journeys by Design

International Wildlife Crime, Conservation and Sustainable Development Consultant Greta Iori visits Africa House

Friday, 16th November, 2018

Earlier on this year, I was introduced to Greta Iori, International Wildlife Crime, Conservation and Sustainable Development Consultant. Sounds like – and is – a superhero. We met in a London café during weather at the time coined ‘the beast from the east’, turning an otherwise one-hour train ride home into a six-hour ordeal. A most memorable day. A couple of…

Born Free’s Hitesh Patel: conservation and the importance of corporate partnerships

Tuesday, 13th November, 2018

I had the good fortune last week to catch up with Hitesh Patel, the enterprise director at Born Free. You may remember the time I met Dr. Liz Greengrass, Born Free’s Conservation Director, her work with Jane Goodall and living on the lake shores of Tanganyika near a population of un-habituated chimpanzees; and with Daniel…

Seven Wonders of Africa – Wrestling Big Daddy

Friday, 9th November, 2018

Those of you of a certain age, and from the UK, will remember a wrestler who fought under the moniker Big Daddy, wore a Union Jack wrestling suit, and regularly took on Giant Haystacks and other similarly marvellously named adversaries. Rest assured: the Big Daddy that is the subject of today’s blog is not that…

King’s Pool, Duba Plains and Jack’s Camp: the Almond family report on the most magical of trips

Monday, 5th November, 2018

One of the things we always ask of returning guests is that they let us know how the trip went. It’s important. The most recent visitors, they’re the experts, and are a rich source of information on everything from lodge to guiding to what to expect in terms of the experience as a whole. I’m…

Up, up and away: Emma takes a hot air balloon ride in Ruaha

Friday, 2nd November, 2018

On a recent trip to Tanzania, I was lucky enough to take a hot air balloon ride over Ruaha National Park with Serengeti Balloon Safaris. While well established in the Serengeti, where the wildlife is used to the sight of giant balloons floating above them, the operation in Ruaha was only introduced in June this…

The Seven Wonders of Africa: a guided walk through Samburu National Park

Tuesday, 30th October, 2018

Welcome to the fourth of our Seven Wonders of Africa series, as chosen by the Journeys by Design team. This time round, it’s Hannah Rayner. Having been to a variety of countries in Africa, I found it exceedingly difficult to choose just one highlight. I’m fortunate enough to have visited a lot of extraordinary places…

South Sudan: state of the nation

Friday, 26th October, 2018

I used to run a book club or study group or drinking social night – call it what you want. We would meet once a week. The reason for meeting was social, but the underlying aim was to take a country that collectively we knew close to nothing about and to discuss it. Between us,…

Remembering Great Apes: the launch, the book, and the fight against forgetting

Tuesday, 23rd October, 2018

Last week a group of us hightailed it to London, to Le Galleria, in Pall Mall, for the photography exhibition of Born Free and Wildlife Photographer United’s Remembering Great Apes, a coffee table book featuring the work of over 50 wildlife photographers. A kickstarter funded enterprise, with all photographs donated, it is the third in…

Seven Wonders of Africa: Sam Tinkler picks the Okavango Delta

Friday, 19th October, 2018

Welcome to the third JbD’s Seven Wonders blog. We are now practically half way through the series, but still have highlights to look forward to from Chris, Hannah, Jamie and Will. When we had asked Sam to contribute to the series, it took her only a split second to agree and tell us about her most memorable experience…

Welcoming Fatma Sivyer to team Africa House

Tuesday, 16th October, 2018

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting with Fatma, the newest member of the finance department. I’ll skip over the part where I speak of my customary surprise each time there’s a new member of the team. You may remember my blog that told of the new team members over the last 18 months, in which…