A snapshot

Maddie joins the Yellow Zebra team intent on working within safaris and Africa. She is both passionate and highly knowledgeable about the genre and the geographic location. She completed a degree in Zoology, where she studied African animals and experienced safaris from the perspective of a customer, and also worked behind the scenes in conservation.

African countries visited

Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Recent travel experience

Maddie's most recent African experience includes visits to Southern Africa in 2022, where she was lucky enough to visit Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Botswana. Visiting Victoria Falls in all its glory was a bucket-list item ticked off, as well as sighting her first cheetah in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

Prior to this, Maddie's travel experience seems to orientate towards conservation and volunteering projects. Most recently, in 2019, she joined a conservation project operating in northwest Madagascar. The work involved monitoring endemic species, such as sportive and black lemurs. During her time in Madagascar, she also worked with local projects across multiple islands to help achieve long-term conservation goals.

Maddie's most memorable experience

"I am privileged to have had many amazing wildlife encounters and African experiences, and it is difficult to choose a favourite. However, if pushed, I’d go for working at a white rhino survey in South Africa. A group of us tracked a trio of rhinos on foot, all the while moving with the wind to avoid detection. We came to a standstill in an open area and were observing the rhinos grazing from a distance, but the wind changed and the rhinos, with their incredible sense of smell, were quickly running in our direction. Having been told to ‘never run in the bush’, we simply stood, frozen. Thankfully, our guide used his years of experience and scared them off. Being so close to rhinos was such a unique and memorable experience, even if it was not necessarily intentional! This experience also brought home how fantastic it is to work with such skilled and knowledgeable guides when on safari."

Maddie's biography

From an early age, Maddie has been passionate about wildlife. Safari experiences in Kenya as a child allowed her to witness interactions between animals, capturing her imagination and eventually inspiring her to pursue a degree in wildlife and conservation.

Maddie’s studies at the University of Reading enabled her to learn about and observe many animal species. Her work included a dissertation thesis on the behaviour of South African predators. Her degree also gave Maddie the opportunity to travel to South Africa to work and run surveys within a small game reserve, taking part in activities such as tracking white rhino on foot, catching shark pups with a handheld dip net at night, tracking African wild dogs, tagging nesting hawksbill turtles, and even learning how to identify species of rhino from its droppings… a useful skill to have when living in the UK!

After university, Maddie headed out to work on a conservation project in the Seychelles. This involved the monitoring and protection of numerous species, including hawksbill turtles, lemon sharks, and Aldabra giant tortoises. She also indulged in a bit of island hopping on her days off, enjoying everything that the islands had to offer.

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