After our last post on the sick calves at the CWRC we couldn’t wait to let everyone know the much better news that the calves are all recovering fast and doing much better.

Junmoni, Tora and Chandi Bandha have all begun feeding again, eating both grass and a food concentrate that is mixed with rock salt and soybeans. Grass is an excellent natural food for elephant calves and the CWRC is buying extra supplies. The calves also love banana stalks but these will have to wait until they all regain full health.  Although none of the three have regained their full appetite as yet, each day sees an improvement.   They are also all being given multivitamins to boost their health.

Overall the three calves are doing well although we would still like to see them put on body weight and get back to normal. They are given a physical examination each day and Junmoni and Tora have even started wandering in the Panbari enclosure again. They do tend to stay close to the fence, whereas once they would roam and wander for hours, but this is a positive step in the right direction.

Philip Dev, Rani Deepor and Lily Nunai are all doing extremely well. In fact Philip Dev has been leading the younger two around like a little matriarch! Even though he is a male his maternal side is definitely coming out! He has also started feeding on a solid concentrate of rice, motidana, dals, jaggery, mogu, chana, soya and mineral salts.

Just recently Philip has ingeniously learned how  to untie everyone’s shoelaces! In fact he has become quite obsessed with his new found skill and charms the keepers by untying their shoelaces when they are preoccupied! He has always been a rascal!

Rani is growing at a phenomenal rate and although she is younger than Philip she is taller! She is a calm little elephant although she gets impatient when she is hungry. She sticks very close to Philip and follows him like a little shadow.

For her first few months at the CWRC, Nunai had her keeper Bhinni to run to at any time of the day. This contact is now slowly being reduced and she is being left alone with the other calves for the majority of the day. Rani and Philip, being typically Rani and Phillip, aren’t completely gentle with her, however she follows them around everywhere. Sometimes she actually forgets to follow them and then all of a sudden realizes she’s been left behind which results in an almighty trumpet before she runs off to find them. The keepers say Lily Nunai  is the loudest of all the calves! Her midnight feeds have now stopped and she has 9 regular feeds a day along with Rani and Philip.

Just like Tora, Nunai LOVES the water and bathing is the highlight of her day. Unfortunately, due to the season, the water in the calves play-pond has dried up. Instead, they have to make do with a luxurious spray of the hose. This obviously only happens on pleasant, sunny days as when it’s raining the younger calves have to spend time indoors

Introducing Asha Kheroni

There is a new female calf at the CWRC called Asha Kheroni.  Asha was discovered  alone in the middle of a sugar cane field in Cheng-Cheng Bil, under the Kheroni Range of Karbi Anglong, on the afternoon of the 6th of April 2012.

The team tried to reunite the calf with her herd and to do so, her body was smothered with mud and elephant dung.  She was then kept in a makeshift enclosure in the jungle and monitored constantly. A herd approached her at 10.30 pm and broke the enclosure open however an hour later the little calf was found in a nearby village.

A second attempt to reunite the calf was made around midnight. While the team were traveling back from the village with the calf, they were cut off by a herd of over 50 elephants. The little calf then started calling out. The team, who were completely surrounded by wild elephants, had to reverse for safety. As soon as they were at a safe distance, they started to drive ahead once more, however an adult elephant cow approached the truck.

The team managed to leave the calf with the elephant cow and quickly retreat. They waited until the elephant herd had left the area and then instigated a thorough search for the calf who was nowhere to be found. Assuming she was with the herd, the team left.

The next morning the calf was back at the village. By this time she was weak and very stressed.  She was then immediately rushed to the CWRC for care and given some fluids en route.

Asha means ‘hope’ in Sanskrit and Kheroni is the area in which she was found.  She is approximately 4 months old and appears to be very healthy. She is also very quiet - and there have been no toddler tantrums (unlike Philip-Dev when he was brought in!).

A keeper named Raju is looking after Asha and after spending two weeks in quarantine she was  introduced to the younger calves last week. Raju is also taking Asha for small walks around the CWRC which she enjoys.  She also enjoys a little afternoon power nap and will take herself off to bed.  One afternoon the vet, Reetika, had a scare when she peeped into Asha’s stall to find the calf missing. Rushing inside she found little Asha lying fast asleep on her mattress.

Helping Hamren

In Manas National Park trackers sighted Tinku, Sikom and Soni on two occasions during the month of March. The three calves were still all together and, on both occasions, the calves were close to a wild elephant herd. Unfortunately there has still has been no sighting of Tikla and we can only hope to get some news of him soon.

Hamren was seen on 3^rd of March however he had fallen into a bog and was unable to pull himself out. Luckily he was spotted by forest patrol staff and people from Manas Maozigendri Ecoutourism.  Poor Hamren was clearly quite distressed but thankfully staff from the Assam Forest department managed to free him from the bog.  He was then seen again on the 5^th March in Garuchara , an area near the Indian – Bhutanese border and appeared to be doing well.

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When I first came back from Zimbabwe at the age of 15 I was besotted with Africa, but it was a passion I found hard to communicate because where I lived in regional North Queensland no one really seemed to understand why it had so gotten under my skin.  Almost twenty years on, nights like last night remind me that there are more and more Australians who share my love of Africa and who are generous and giving when it comes to doing something to help its wildlife survive.  It’s great to have you in my world and supporting Animal Works!  Almost $10,000 was raised (again!) through your generous support, all of which will help the anti-poaching teams in Save Valley Conservancy keep fighting for rhinos.

As for what went down on the night, the pictures say it all!  Special thanks to our fabulous authors Tony Park, Frank Coates and Ace Bourke for their inspiring words, to Epic Private Journeys for offering us a superb safari to Zimbabwe to raffle, to Nafisa for providing an exquisite elephant artwork for the art competition, to Ripples for fabulous food and service, and finally to our amazing volunteers, Andy Ridley, Shirley Minassian, Tessa Ferguson, Meli Souter and (last minute) Mirinda Thorpe.   I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did, now I’ll let the pictures do the talking….

But before I go, the very lucky winner of Animal Works’ and Epic Private Journey’s 4 night safari at Little Makololo Camp was a very excited lady by the name of Claire!  The surname on the ticket was ‘Winner’ which had us all a bit stumped…. but when she accepted her prize certificate Claire confirmed that she had just put that name down in the hope of actually winning, but it wasn’t her real name!  We are pretty sure that Claire’s real surname is Hamblin, so Claire if you’re reading this drop us an email!  Thanks to everyone who entered and supported this very important cause and better luck next time!

The authors

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Dihing

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s been a sad turn of events at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Assam. Early April found Dihing, Junmoni, Tora and Chandi Bandha all sick.  All four calves lost substantial amounts of weight and refused to feed regularly. Little Philip-Dev also showed signs of illness but to a far lesser degree. The cause of this affliction is still unknown but a thorough investigation is being conducted by staff.

Dihing became very ill on the 5^th and didn’t eat at all for the next two days. Sadly on the night of 8^th April he passed away. A post-mortem showed severe hemorrhagic enteritis. Tissue samples have been sent for investigation and we are currently awaiting the results.

It’s never easy to write about the death of a elephant calf, particularly one as lovable and mischievous as Dihing. He loved pulling down the electric fence around the enclosures and wandering off, a trait which endeared him to all the staff. He was particularly close to Junmoni and Tora and often led them out of the compound to join him in a little escapade.

Dihing had been found alone, in eastern Assam, when he was just six months old. He would almost certainly have died then if he had not been found and brought into the CWRC.  So although his passing is sad, he had, in effect, been given an extra 18 months of life in the company of other elephant calves a similar age and with keepers who adored him.

Thankfully little Rani Deepor and Lily Nunai are as strong and feisty as ever and there has also been a new arrival. This little calf is currently in intensive care and we will provide an update as soon as we can!

On a happier note two of the orphaned rhinos at the CWRC, Maju and Raja, have been transported to Manas National Park to start a new life in the wild. Maju was orphaned in February 2009, when his mother charged a team of researchers and had to be killed by forest guards protecting them. Raja was found in January 2008, dehydrated, weak and alone.

Both male calves were then admitted to the CWRC, where they were hand raised. They are now between 3 and 4 years old and both old enough and healthy enough to start a life in the wild as well as help in  establishing a viable population to aid long-term survival of the species.
“The current condition of the greater one-horned rhinoceros is like an ‘all-eggs-in-few-baskets’ syndrome,” said Vivek Menon, Regional Director South Asia – IFAW, Executive Director – WTI, and a member of IUCN-SSC Rhino Specialist Group. “They are found only in a few pockets in India and Nepal.  With this initiative we have an opportunity to return rhinos like Maju and Raja – who would otherwise be dead or have to spend life in captivity – back to the wild -more crucially, to Manas to help in establishing a new population there.”

Maju and Raja follow three other rhinos that have been relocated to Manas from the CWRC since 2006.

Want to win this?!

Animal Works is proud to support the great work of the CWRC in rehabilitating animals like rhinos and elephants for return to the wild.  We’re also supporting the anti-poaching effort in Zimbabwe to stop the last of this country’s rhinos disappearing altogether.  You can help (and stand to win a great prize!) by entering our Zimbabwean safari competition, sponsored by Epic Private Journeys, which will be drawn at tomorrow night’s Imagine Africa dinner in Sydney.  To win, get your ticket for $20 each or 3 for $50.  All proceeds support anti-poaching in Zimbabwe.  The prize is 4 nights at Wilderness Safaris’ Little Makololo camp in Hwange National Park, plus return road transfers to Victoria Falls, worth $5000!  Enter here!

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The itinerary is mind blowing and includes visits to two hand-picked elephant conservation projects that will be supported through Animal Works (and the donation which is included in the cost of the safari) – a behind the scenes experience at Daphne Sheldrick’s famous elephant and rhino orphanage and a visit to Oria Douglas-Hamilton’s Elephant Watch Camp which is linked to Save The Elephants (founded by the ‘father’ of elephant conservation, Iain Douglas-Hamilton).  The trip includes several of the places you might know from Frank’s novels, like the famous Masai Mara, Samburu and the Great Rift Valley.  Just like our Zimbabwean expeditions, you will have the opportunity to ‘give back’ to local people and wildlife while on your holiday, staying in high caliber lodges and camps in some of the best wildlife areas in Africa.

You might know Frank from his best-selling novels like Tears of the Masai and Softly Calls the Serengeti.  In 1989 Frank ran away to Africa and joined a UN team in Nairobi as a technical expert. It was a life-changing experience and Frank was hooked on Africa. In the following years as he consulted in countries from Kenya to Swaziland and Mozambique to Botswana and his passionate interest in the political and cultural history of East Africa grew- and his writing career began.  You really couldn’t get a better person to escort you through some of Africa’s most famous game reserves.

Get in touch now if you’d like to join us on an Animal Works expedition with one of Australia’s finest African novelists for the chance to get up close and personal on two great elephant conservation projects!  Contact us here for a full costing and the complete itinerary.  Special thanks to The Classic Safari Company who, with 20 years experience in African safaris, are taking care of the bookings and processing for this fabulous safari.

In other news, we’re still taking bookings for our expedition to Zimbabwe in late September, following our booked out safari there in June.  All the details are on our website here.  I’m told there are still 10 tickets left to our Imagine Africa dinner with Frank Coates, Tony Park, Ace Bourke and me (Tammie Matson) on Wednesday 18th April, so this is your last chance to get tickets!  Phone Ripples on 99603000 to book.

At the dinner we’ll draw the amazing safari prize donated by Epic Private Journeys valued at $5000 – 4 nights accommodation at Wilderness Safaris’ Little Makololo Camp in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, plus return road transfers to Victoria Falls.  If you can’t make it to the dinner, you can still enter the competition now online here – tickets are just $20 each or 3 for $50.

Happy Easter from all of us at Animal Works!  We hope the Easter bilby finds you….

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A few days after Animal Works’ first Imagine Africa dinner, one of our volunteers from Sydney, Shirley Minassian (right), flew to Zimbabwe to spend some time working at the Humani Primary School in the Save Valley Conservancy.  Shirley is an IT professional and a passionate animal lover, and she was looking for an opportunity to use her skills to help in conservation.  I’ve always believed that anyone and everyone can be a conservationist.  You don’t need to be a scientist, as I once thought as a budding wildlife conservationist twenty years ago.  That’s the path I took, but there’s a lot we can all do to help, whether you are an accountant, a computer expert or a preschool teacher.

I always find it inspiring when people take the plunge and dive into Africa.  It takes a bit of courage, but it’s always worth it!  Usually they return with the a flame lit somewhere deep in their stomachs that causes the highly contagious Africa-itis disease, (which I find is spreading like wild fire in Australia these days), as well as a new sense of perspective.  Shirley went to Humani in advance of Animal Works first (sold out) expedition there in June to do some setting up for us and also to help train Humani Primary School’s computer teacher, Fungai in how to use a laptop (left).  There are already four laptops donated by Animal Works’ supporters at the school for the kids and teachers to learn computer skills, and several more will go over with the group in June.  If you’d like to read about Shirley’s adventures and experiences at Humani School and see some gorgeous footage of the children at the school, click on her blog here.

There are still a few spots left for Animal Works’ expedition to Zimbabwe starting on 27th September, but places are running out fast and flight prices will go up, so don’t leave it too late to get in touch with us to book.   We will only run a couple of these a year, with a maximum of 10 people per trip, and the unique angle of our expeditions is that you get to ‘give back’ while you’re on the safari of a lifetime.  Read more here.

If you can’t make it to Africa this year, there are just 12 tickets left for the next Imagine Africa dinner on 18th April at Ripples, Chowder Bay in Sydney.  Funds from the night go to Animal Works’ fund for Zimbabwean anti-poaching.  And on that note, now for the BIG news!

After the success of the last Imagine Africa dinner, Animal Works is very happy to announce that our major sponsor for the second dinner, Epic Private Journeys is offering our supporters the chance to win another safari!

Epic Private Journeys is a boutique tour operator specialising in handcrafted itineraries to the world’s finest wilderness destinations. All trips are seamlessly operated with a total commitment to trust and care.

I LOVE Little Makalolo.  I have such fond memories of sitting in an open land rover just near the camp’s waterhole as dozens and dozens of elephants drank and little ones played around us.   It is simply a magical part of Africa.

Finally, on a more serious note, the fight to save Zimbabwe’s remaining rhinos continues…  Just last week Ox Hacking, the Save Valley Conservancy’s manager gave me this update, which I wanted to share with you:

“The Save Valley Conservancy lost 13 rhinos to poaching last year.  Of great concern is that since January 2012 we have lost 6 rhino already, 5 poached and a young calf died of starvation and exposure after her mother was shot by poachers.  This onslaught is as a result of poachers concentrating their efforts on rhino strongholds since most of our National Parks have very few rhino left. “

Even more disturbing to me is the recent poaching of a de-horned rhino in Save Valley Conservancy by these well armed criminal gangs.  Apparently the horn below the animal’s skin is still worth killing them for.  At US$65,000/kilogram, the anti-poaching teams have a massive fight on their hands to stop this onslaught driven by a commodity that is now more valuable than gold.  At Animal Works, we’re determined to help them save the last of Zimbabwe’s rhinos, most of which are now in private wildlife conservancies like the Save Valley Conservancy.

If you would like to help, there’s a lot you can do!  Come to our next Imagine Africa dinner (book direct through Ripples on 02 99603000), join the next Animal Works expedition to Zimbabwe in September this year, or buy a ticket or 3 in our safari competition .  Everything you donate goes to the field because Animal Works is run entirely by volunteers and donations are tax deductable.  Thanks for your support – that’s what keeps us going!

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Meli Souter, who runs Animal Works’ elephant adoption program, took a video camera with her when she visited the CWRC earlier this year and the result of that is her short video field diary. So we will let her introduce you to all the current elephant orphans, as well as some of the other residents, including a gorgeous tiger cub.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The aim is for these animals to go back to the wild to live a natural life. In January last year 5 elephant calves from the CWRC –  Hamren, Tikla, Tinku, Sikom and Soni, were taken  to Manas National Park for this purpose.

Soni had been brought into the CWRC in September 2007. Her herd had gone into a village to eat crops and when the villagers chased them away she was left behind. The villagers saw her in the jungle and took out their anger at their crop damage on her, injuring her trunk, but they also did something great – they handed her over to forest officials who handed her over to the CWRC.

Soni was hand raised for over 3 years and recovered from all her injuries to become a very healthy little calf. She formed strong relationships with the other orphaned elephants has now been living in Manas for just over a year.

On the morning of February 24th 2012, trackers spotted Soni (with both Tinku and Sikom nearby) mingling with a wild elephant herd. Here is some incredible footage taken by Wildlife Trust of India staff, showing Soni, once a baby elephant calf being hand raised, now living a natural life in the wild.  These are the kind of success stories that remind us why we have to keep our elephant adoption program going.  This is what your support helps Animal Works and our on-ground partner, the Wildlife Trust of India, to achieve.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Rhino at Humani (Shirley took this photo this week)

In just a couple of months, I’m off to Zimbabwe with Michael Jeh from Barefoot in Africa safaris and ten very excited people from Sydney.  This is not your average safari, you see.  Sure, we will be in Big Five areas among elephants, rhinos, African wild dogs and hippos, just to name a little of the wildlife we’ve got a good chance of seeing, but there’s so much more than that.  Animal Works expeditions are unique in that they are a safari holiday offering you the chance to give something back while you’re there.  A donation to our projects in the field which you visit while on the trip is included in the price and you can help out when you’re there.

Humani School (photo: S. Minassian)

On our expeditions in June and September, our group will be doing some painting at Humani Primary School in the Save Valley Conservancy, and perhaps even spending some one-on-one time with the kids showing them how to use the second hand laptops that have been donated by Animal Works supporters.  We’ll also spend time at Hippo Haven, where you will get closer to a hippo than you can anywhere else in a relaxed and safe setting in the wild.  And those coming on our trips who made it to the Imagine Africa dinner/s can go on anti-poaching patrols and see where some of the funding we raised that night is going to help stop the poaching.

You don’t need any experience, just a positive attitude and a desire to make a difference!

Shirley with buffalo being rehabilitated at Humani

Animal Works’ volunteer, Shirley Minassian is over there at the moment working with the teachers and conservancy chairman to ensure that our impact there is meaningful and really does make a difference.  Having spent half my life in Africa, I know that I always get so much more out of the place when I’m working with the locals for the benefit of local wildlife and people.  As a tourist on a standard safari, you just don’t get that same behind the scenes experience, and to me that  one of the great riches that Africa offers people from the west like me.  That’s why Animal Works’ expeditions are so special.

Of course, if you love animals, there’s nothing quite like places like Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, which is known for its huge populations of elephants (literally hundreds).  Hwange is the first place my husband Andy saw a lion in the wild.  We were in an open land rover at night and it walked right beside him, close enough to reach out and touch, close enough to smell yesterday’s zebra on his breath.

Lion (photo: T. Matson)

I wondered how Andy would respond, but he sat calmly as the lion walked past, not moving a muscle.  Perhaps there’s still something primeval in all of us that says ‘don’t move’ rather than ‘run’ (which is what you actually feel like doing!), but I told him afterwards I was impressed at his composure, because even now, having seen a lot of big cats in the wild, they never fail to raise the pace of my heart beat.  Was he really cool about being so close to a lion or was he actually frozen with fear?  I’ll never know, because although he looked pretty wowed at the time, he later shrugged off my suggestion that he might be anything other than 110% courageous in a defiantly masculine way.  Men, hey ladies!?

Anyway, I do love seeing those big cats when they’re not lying around sleeping (which is most of the time!), because there’s just something about hearing predators like them at night that makes you feel that extra bit truly alive.

Kudu at Humani (Photo: T. Matson)

There are still a few places left on Animal Works’ expedition for September, which is being run in partnership with The Classic Safari Company, starting on 27th and going for 10 days.  We start at Humani in the Save Valley Conservancy, then go to Davisons’ Camp in Hwange National Park, and finish up at the spectacular Victoria Falls.  It’s the trip of a life time and only 10 people can go to maintain exclusivity.  Why not invite your friends and make the trip your own or come and meet some new Africa-loving friends?  I hope you can join us!  The June trip is already sold out, so don’t wait – get in touch with us at animalworksaustralia@gmail.com now if you would like to come along in September and we’ll send you the complete itinerary and costing.

If you can’t make it to Africa on our expedition, there are still about 30 seats left for Animal Works’ next Imagine Africa dinner on 18th April.  They will sell fast so get in now and book your seats at Ripples by phoning 02 99603000.

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And the winner is…..   Congratulations to ANISSA LAWRENCE of Sydney who is taking home this fabulous piece of African art worth $1500!

To hear about all the great competitions we’re running this year, subscribe to our blog or ‘like’ us on facebook.

The prize: original art by Nafisa

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Nafisa, Tony Park, Tammie Matson, Peter Allison & Sally Henderson

A word from Animal Works’ co-founder, Tammie Matson:

It’s taken me a day to recover from the huge night that was Animal Works’ first ever Imagine Africa dinner.  Wow!  What a night!  I don’t think I’m the only one who just about fell off my chair hearing Peter Allison talk about the day he was stung by a scorpion, all to provide water for local wildlife in Botswana.  As for Tony Park, who regaled us with a story about a very close call with a rhino in Hwange National Park, and Sally Henderson, who shared her deep fear of spiders which led to her running naked through a herd of elephants, well let’s just say it was almost as good as being in Africa – not a dull moment!  What a terrific, fun night shared by Africa-lovers from Sydney & beyond, as far as Tassie, Brisie, Darwin and Melbourne!

Cynthia, Nafisa, Tessa, Sally, Peter, Tammie, Tony

The winner of Animal Works’ and The Classic Safari Company‘s $4000 African safari was Max Menzies of Sydney.  Congratulations Max!

Tessa Ferguson won an African elephant artwork of her choice by Nafisa & Lesley Phillips picked up the lucky door prize of a dozen books, both wonderful prizes.

Huge thanks to our fabulous volunteers Meli, Shirley, Tessa & Cynthia for their brilliant work on the night, as well as our MC Andy Ridley.

Thanks everyone who got on board and supported this fantastic cause, Animal Works’ anti-poaching fund for Zimbabwe.  The BEST news of the night is that we raised over $10,000!  This is enough to put boots on the feet of all of the game scouts in the Save Valley Conservancy, not to mention a few radios and GPS units thrown in.  What a brilliant result!

Ripples restaurant

If you missed this night, don’t worry, you can still book at Ripples on 02 99603000 to come to the next one on 18th April.  50 tickets have sold and only 50 left, so don’t leave it too late and be disappointed!  All the details of the authors attending the next dinner are here.

Tony & Peter exchanging books

Shirley and Cynthia, Animal Works volunteers

MC, Andy Ridley

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We’re offering the opportunity to you to buy tickets online now for $20 each or 3 for $50.  A maximum of 500 tickets will be sold and the draw will be at the ‘Imagine Africa’ dinner on 22nd February.  Just click here to go to our payment page where you can pay securely using paypal.  For other payment methods, contact Tammie at animalworksaustralia@gmail.com

This amazing prize includes:

1 night The Peermont Metcourt at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg

2 nights Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Victoria Falls Zimbabwe

3 nights Davisons Camp, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Includes:

• 1 x twin share room in properties as specified (or similar)
• Return airport transfers in Johannesburg and Victoria Falls
• Return road transfers Victoria Falls/Hwange National Park / Victoria Falls
• Breakfast only in Johannesburg and Victoria Falls
• All meals in Hwange NP
• All scheduled game viewing activities in Hwange NP

Excludes:

• ALL International and regional flights and all applicable departure taxes
• Visas – currently US$50 per person for Australian passport holders to enter Zimbabwe
• Comprehensive Travel Insurance – mandatory requirement
• All meals other than specified
• All drinks
• All items of a personal nature
• Departure tax from Zimbabwe
• Any optional touring
• Any item not specified

Blackout dates will apply (high season, Christmas, Easter and school holidays) and travel must be undertaken prior to 31 December 2012.  Maximum of 2 people sharing one room.  Minimum age 12 years (could be negotiated).

To those of you who managed to get tickets to the ‘Imagine Africa’ dinner on 22nd February, there will also be an exclusive raffle on the night for one of Nafisa’s magnificent African elephant artworks.  Tickets for the art raffle will be $10 each and only 100 will be sold.

If you missed out on the first ‘Imagine Africa’ dinner with African authors Tony Park, Peter Allison, Sally Henderson and Tammie Matson, never fear, you can come to the next one on 18th April!  Tony Park and Tammie Matson will be there, as well as 7-time African novelist, Frank Coates and co-author of “A Lion Called Christian”, Ace Bourke.  Book quickly to get your tickets as fantastic prizes are again going to be on offer for the second night, most of them exclusive to those who come!  Tickets can be bought by phoning Ripples on 02 99603000.  Don’t forget, it’s all for a good cause – anti-poaching in Zimbabwe.  $50 from your $95 ticket for a 3 course meal and wine goes to Animal Works’ Zimbabwean conservation fund.

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