FAVOURITE ANIMAL
Honey Badger
Born just outside Pietermaritzburg (KwaZulu-Natal), it was hard for Kris to not fall in love with the nature all around her. Her family of wildlife lovers imparted their passion for the wild with her brother and and her from an early age through pilgrimages to the Kruger National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. As Kris got older, her weekends were spent birding and fly-fishing or discovering new places hiking, camping and exploring.
After school, Kris took a gap year to explore her options, but it soon became apparent (after a short stint of secretarial work at a law firm) that her office was meant to be in the outdoors. She signed up for a wildlife photography course in the Makuleke wilderness area and her early passions were reignited. She then joined a year-long guide training course and subsequently worked in the Waterberg in Limpopo as guide intern and social media manager. Another year later, Kris successfully made the cut to complete the Inkwazi Ranger Training at &BEYOND Phinda. She was posted to Mountain Lodge where she has guided ever since, taking on the role of social media champion role for the reserve with relish.
Phinda is where Kris discovered she could make a difference to how others perceived the natural world resonating with Sir David Attenborough’s words: No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.
To Kris, there is simply nothing as special as the daily ritual of waking up before dawn, enjoying a cup of coffee and listening to the roar of a lion in the distance. The simple pleasure of appreciating the wild and its many intricacies is what she hopes to share with everyone she engages in her new role as the WILDwatch Virtual Safari Guide.
Join Kris as she travels to &BEYOND’s magnificent wildlife destinations and discovers the amazing stories of the wild animals that inhabit them.
“No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced”
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