Our world has been shaken.
We worry about our guests, many of whom have become close friends, in the US, Europe, Brazil and the rest of the world. We worry about our friends who own lodges in places like Madagascar and India, who no longer have guests visiting. We also worry about the increase in poaching that is now happening with no money to fund our rangers and no money to support communities who have built their lives around sustainable wildlife travel, rather than destructive wildlife trade. It is you, our guests who pay for this conservation, feed families and build schools.
We wonder how long this will last, but we do believe that this storm will pass, and we believe that travel will be dramatically different once it does. The trend towards more meaningful and mindful travel was already happening pre Covid-19. Seeing blue skies and clear rivers has pushed us to think more about our role in the environment and making our lives cleaner, this includes how we travel. We believe there will be a stronger move towards slow travel, responsible travel, travel in open spaces that contributes meaningfully towards restoring and protecting our planet.
We pray for our heroes on the frontline and for you our heroes, the travellers, without whom our wildlife reserves would not be possible. We will get through this together and we will be ready for you when our world opens up again. We will be stronger and it will be worth the wait.
Please keep safe, we need you back!
Warmest wishes,
Simon and Jen Bellingham
Photo credit: Star gazing at San Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana.
