Expeditions
Primary Rainforest, Sumba
Sumba Expedition Indonesia 1992
As part of my undergraduate degree I was lucky enough to take part in a conservation data gathering expedition to Sumba, part of the Indonesian archipelago NTT, studying local flora and fauna
ACEER Camp, Iquitos, Amazon, Peru
Amazon Expedition 1995
In 1995 I was invited to give a short lecture at the 1st Pharmacy from the Rain-forest conference in Iquitos, Peru, at the ACEER Camp, organised by the American Botanic Council.
Fishing Village, Lillongwe, Malawi
Malawi 2009
In 2009, I traveled to Malawi to finally see a Kigelia plant growing int eh Wild, Mvunguti is the local name for the plant, I met the ‘Anamed’ NGO team and learnt about their great work on antimalarial’s and Artemesia
Manna Pools, Zimbabwe, 2010
I was lucky enough to be invited on a short expedition to manna pools in Zimbabwe, on the banks of the Zambezi river, such a wild unspoilt paradise, a whole scattering of Baobab trees and Kigelia a great place for a Botanical Safari
Manna Pools, Zimbabwe, 2012
We was lucky enough to be involved in the Manna Pools Game count in 2012, a gathering of volunteers for one day only each year gather to count all the different species of animals in the nature reserve, Elephants, Lions, Impala, Hippos to name but a few.
Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe, 2012
Lake Chivero is not far outside of Harare in Zimbabwe, but it still feels a World away, you can find Crocodiles, Hippos, and even the odd Giraffe so close to such a metropolitan city, this was the start of our African Botanical Safari
Mavourhadonna, Zimbabwe, 2012
I was first introduced to Maourhadonna by James and Janine Varden who ran a Horse safari there, it wasn’t long before we turned this into a horse backed botanical safar
Mavourhadonna, Zimbabwe, 2013
I just couldn’t keep from going back to Mavourhadonna, so many plant species and so many interesting medicinal uses of the plants
Chingorongodzi 2015
This is the township of Mavourhadonna, we met with the local healer / chief of the village to get permission to start a project to grow some Kigelia trees in the village.
Expedition Zambezi
I was taken to see an NGO’s mobile steam distillation unit in situ in the fields of Tagetes a weed, that also happens to have an essential oil used as an insecticide in animal flea preparations and in the perfume industry.
Expedition African Botanical Safari
Botanical Safari in the Harare Botanic Gardens, it was the first time John had seen a Kigelia flower