ECOVENTURER

I was born in South Africa and although I now live in the United Kingdom my connection to Africa remains as strong as ever. I guess that so much of this connection has been strengthened by my passion for wildlife which stemmed from my father and his creation of an amazing game reserve called Shamwari, located in a province in South Africa known as the Eastern Cape. 

Shamwari was conceived when my brother and I were at a nearby boarding school back in 1989. Dad stumbled upon a small remote piece of barren and degraded land and decided that he’d turn this into a retreat for weekend getaways for the family. Fast forward a few years and he’d suddenly acquired a bunch more adjoining land and before we knew it he’d rewilded this sparse countryside with Lion, Leopard, Elephants, Rhinos, Hippo, Giraffe, Buffalo and many other species. 

And so through our families involvement in conservation since the 80’s I’ve been fortunate enough to have met some incredible people involved in conservation on this journey from the late Dr Ian Player to the iconic Sir David Attenborough. 

I feel that it’s now time I stepped up to the mark, and so I’m now committed to launching my very own media platform to help spread the word of the amazing work that so many people from all walks of life are involved in, within the world of conservation and eco-tourism. 

One of my other missions is to convert those that have big influence (but know very little about conservation) into ambassadors of the conservation movement. I’m going to reach out to many of these amazing individuals and challenge them to come and experience wildlife with me and my family like they’ve never experienced before. 

In a time where biodiversity is under major threat and the danger of a sixth mass extinction is inevitable, it’s time to react and to react really fast! I’m going to introduce you to the unsung heroes, I’ll meet and chat to the real conservation heroes and while converting those with massive reach and influence.....have some good Paul Gardiner fun along the way.....