Season Greetings
We hope this newsletter finds you well. If you are feeling anything like us, you are itching to get back out and explore again. It goes without saying that 2020 has been an exceptionally challenging year. For many of us, it has been a year of political turmoil, worry, loss, and unexpected isolation, as we transitioned to a lifestyle of sheltering-in-place, working from home, and greeting people from behind a mask. Who ever thought we’d run out of toilet paper!!! Luckily, we have found ways to stay connected, despite our physical isolation and we want to extend a huge thank you to Robin for her wonderful lecture presentations throughout the year. Her great talks have brought us closer together and kept us inspired for future adventures.
Every one of us has been impacted by COVID. There is a quote about how during this crisis “We are not in the same boat, we are all in the same storm, but each of us face a different journey”. Being an international travel company, our world has been thrown completely off balance, and the interactions we have had between our Wild Earth Explorers and all our industry partners and guides, have caused us to emotionally swing from hope and positivity, to sitting with our heads in our hands choking back tears.
Despite the news of vaccines being rolled out, we believe that international travel will only slowly resume, because each country has been affected differently and has taken different measures. Australia, being naturally isolated and having handled the crisis exceptionally well thanks to strict travel restrictions and tough lockdowns, will be guarding its borders closely, until vaccines prove to be successful and safe.
Our Wild Earth Explorers are global travellers and adventurers, and while our world may seem small right now, we must remember that our expeditions are not over, they are merely on hold. As our borders eventually reopen and airlines resume routes, we will be ready.
Personally, we have been restricted to our state of New South Whales since March, only escaping for a few good-old-fashioned road trips. We have enjoyed exploring the natural beauty around us, hiking nature trails, beach combing, splashing in water holes, photographing the birds in our backyard, and watching the migrating whales. Taking a deep breath from time to time and enjoying the simple things in life, has helped keep us somewhat emotionally balanced. We feel very fortunate to live where we do.
With all this extra time at home, we also finally accomplished a few things “one tends to put on the back burner”, like garden-, house- and business projects. We loved being able to spend more quality time with our 2 girls and were excited about the arrival of our happy little puppy dog “Buddy”.
Lisa made the bold decision to leave the desert of Egypt to move her life to the tropical island of Bali, Indonesia. We were all excited about the new opportunities this would bring, with her living ‘just across the pond’ from us and the additional benefits this would bring to our many Indonesia expeditions. However shortly after the big move, COVID lockdowns kicked in. Despite the many challenges she too has faced this year, she made the most of her new home! She managed to dive with her first ever Mola Mola (we were only a tad jealous!), completed volcano treks and explored the incredible marine life and dragons of Komodo. Like all of us, she is chomping at the bit to reunite with our Explorers on exciting adventures, although we are a little nervous as to what we will find, as Muay Thai has become her new favourite pastime!
Thanks to the promise and news of vaccines, we all hope life will be a little more normal by mid next year, so we can get back to doing what we love doing most, exploring our wonderful oceans and planet with you.
We remain immensely grateful to our Wild Earth Explorers continued support. We thank you for keeping your trip deposits in place for rescheduled expeditions. This has helped our small company tremendously during these troubled times.
We encourage you to visit our website and talk to us about future expeditions and hope that you have the confidence to consider making plans with us for more Wild Earth adventures in the near future.
We are excited to soon be heading off on a month-long family van-adventure to explore our South Coast. You can follow our journey through our Facebook or Instagram pages. @WildVanClan
From all of us at Wild Earth Expeditions, stay safe, stay positive and have a happy festive season.
From your Wild Earth Team ~ Thomas, Natalia & Lisa