Book a call with a safari expert

phone icon

Client reviews

5 star icon
safari experts, since 1991
Book a call with a safari expert Book a call
Client reviews Client reviews
×
SEARCH OUR STORIES
SEARCH OUR SAFARIS
Subscribe to our newsletter and/or app
Unveiling a water pump the participants from the Elephant Ignite Expedition installed in Mndaka Village in Malawi © Blue Sky Society Trust

In September 2018, an all-female Journeys with Purpose expedition, called ‘Rise of the Matriarch’, will make its way through various southern African countries, taking a limited number of people to some extraordinary places and conservation projects.

Journeys with Purpose is an ecotourism fundraising initiative inviting people to join the Blue Sky Society Trust on expeditions through Africa, combining adventure travel with conservation projects. The aim of this upcoming expedition is to travel 9,000+ kilometres over 50 days, through four countries across southern Africa: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Participants can choose to join a leg of the 6-week journey, and take part in raising money for non-profit organisation, with a focus on human-wildlife conflict and youth conservation education.

The first expedition, ‘Elephant Ignite Expedition‘, took place in 2016, where the aim was to raise money and awareness for the poaching crisis that is currently affecting Africa’s wildlife and, in particular, elephants. The expedition focused on community upliftment, youth education, public awareness for wildlife crime and poaching, and a fundraising drive to support the organisations that are fighting the battles on the frontline.

Participants from the Elephant Ignite Expedition help with the treatment of an injured elephant cow © Blue Sky Society Trust

A group of 13 ladies set out on a 100-day journey from South Africa to Kenya, driving over 15,787 km for African elephants.

They visited 37 different organisations and handed out over 10,000 educational booklets to children in areas adjacent to conservation areas. In the end, they managed to raise close to R400,000 for worthwhile conservation projects.

Carla, the founder of the Blue Sky Society Trust at the Linyangwa School in Malawi © Blue Sky Society Trust
When, where, why, and how

This second expedition will run over the next two years starting in September 2018. The journey will take a total of 8 crew members at a time, through various southern African countries over a 6-week period. Each year a route will be plotted and various wildlife organisations and conservationists will be visited on that particular journey.

• 2018 involves travelling into South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe

• 2019 involves travelling further north into South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda

Departure date: 7th September 2018

There is a cost involved to be part of the Journeys with Purpose hand-picked crew. This is not an expedition for everyone and will involve crew members getting involved hands-on in daily chores – cooking, cleaning, camp set up, driving and helping with additional fundraising, etc.

The Elephant Ignite Expedition crew at Linyangwa School in Malawi © Blue Sky Society Trust
Highlights of the ‘Rise of the Matriarch’ expedition

• Visiting conservation groups, seeing the work they are doing with mitigation projects to help with the human-wildlife coexistence problem.

• Visiting schools and communities and interacting with them. Hearing their stories and the challenges they face.

• Handing out human-wildlife conflict educational booklets to children in areas adjacent to wildlife areas.

• Meeting anti-poaching units – these are the men and women that put their lives on the line every single day to protect our animals.

Follow the Blue Sky Society Trust Facebook page, or contact Carla Geyser, for more information about the upcoming Journeys With Purpose expedition!

Carla meeting Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, who subsequently passed away in March 2018, in Ol Pejeta Conservancy © Blue Sky Society Trust

To comment on this story: Login (or sign up) to our app here - it's a troll-free safe place 🙂.


Africa Geographic Travel
African safari

Why choose us to craft your safari?

Handcrafted experiential safaris since 1991.

Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early/late or a few kilometres off course, and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity?

African travel

Trust & Safety

Client safari payments remain in a third-party TRUST ACCOUNT until they return from safari - protecting them in the unlikely event of a financial setback on our part.

See what travellers say about us

Responsible safari

Make a difference

We donate a portion of the revenue from every safari sold to carefully selected conservation projects that make a significant difference at ground level.

YOUR safari choice does make a difference - thank you!

[wpforms id="152903"]
<div class="wpforms-container wpforms-container-full" id="wpforms-152903"><form id="wpforms-form-152903" class="wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form" data-formid="152903" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data" action="/stories/join-rise-matriarch-all-female-expedition-southern-africa/" data-token="c24ea7f74ec80b2161a9b32af2646f79"><noscript class="wpforms-error-noscript">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.</noscript><div class="wpforms-field-container"><div id="wpforms-152903-field_1-container" class="wpforms-field wpforms-field-email" data-field-id="1"><label class="wpforms-field-label wpforms-label-hide" for="wpforms-152903-field_1">Email Address <span class="wpforms-required-label">*</span></label><input type="email" id="wpforms-152903-field_1" class="wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required" name="wpforms[fields][1]" placeholder="Email " required></div></div><div class="wpforms-submit-container"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[id]" value="152903"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[author]" value="481"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[post_id]" value="104105"><button type="submit" name="wpforms[submit]" id="wpforms-submit-152903" class="wpforms-submit" data-alt-text="Sending..." data-submit-text="Subscribe" aria-live="assertive" value="wpforms-submit">Subscribe</button><img src="https://africageographic.com/wp-content/plugins/wpforms/assets/images/submit-spin.svg" class="wpforms-submit-spinner" style="display: none;" width="26" height="26" alt="Loading"></div></form></div> <!-- .wpforms-container -->