Hello I'm Taryn Gillson and I'm with the Mantis Education Division.
Part of Mantis is, 'Mantis Impact Experiences'
These are experiences designed for trailblazer-type travelers who want to
experience something new something immersive and get behind the
scenes with us we do allow that especially in the world of conservation.
Our latest project is in Kestrel Valley. I think this is
so close to my heart because I know how we're influencing
young minds that come out, and they normally gap year students,
come out and they have a conservation experience, and this experience as Taryn
will tell you, is available all over the world and
especially with the new division which we're just opening
in Mauritius and it's just sad that the Covid stopped the opening there but
it's a program that I think everybody's going to enjoy.
So in January of 2019 Adrian Gardiner put me on a plane to Mauritius to go look at a
property called Kestrel Valley to assess whether this project was going
to be suitable as a base for a student conservation
program.
Here we are Kestrel Valley which is on the south
eastern corner of Mauritius, and first of all Mauritius is a small
island, quite a small island, in the Indian ocean which has something up to
around 75% endemic species, or it did have in any
case, and so within the last hundred years or
less than that quite rapidly within the recent past, the island has
really changed a lot it's been
it's been taken apart and things have been brought in and the biodiversity
is hanging on a thread. Well Kestrel Valley and the island of Mauritius as a whole
was undoubtedly one of the best experiences of my life hands down.
Everyone's idea of a project or Mauritius
is island vibes, blue waters, turtles, and our experience was the real
introduction to conserving the biodiversity for
Mauritius which is from source to sea which starts in the forest.
So it was great to get down to literally ground level get our hands
dirty. The amazing things about this volunteer project at Kestrel Valley is
you get hands-on and you're able to help
protect and help maintain and help to grow the natural
fauna and flora. It's so amazing to be able to
visit such an extraordinary project whose
focus is actually on reforestation because
there was less than two percent of native forests
in Mauritius and between Kestrel Valley and other projects they're
busy working to restore this. You're the one taking the plants out the ground
that shouldn't be here you're the one who's planting the trees that should be
here. Because without the endemic species
from plants, you're not going to get the the animals to come back,
a great example is the Mauritian Kestrel and the Mauritian Fruit Bat.
We did the most incredible monitoring of the Fruit Bats and particularly the
Mauritian Kestrel which we are lucky to have seven
nesting boxes on-site at Kestrel Valley. The fact that we were able to go
actually monitor turtles in the bay and do coral farming it was such an amazing
experience to actually be part of making a difference. I'm at
Kestrel Valley, we have done a range of activities and we
just went coral farming in Mauritius and it was absolutely amazing.
We first went out and we harvested some coral and
they showed us how you take it off of the reef and then we went out to these
beds at the bottom of the ocean and we actually attached the coral to these
beds and then we cleaned it up, and it was so incredible. The Aldabara
Tortoise was pretty phenomenal, I mean where do you get to meet a
80 kilogram giant tortoise that looks like
something out of Jurassic Park. Yes Kestrel Valley is
amazing and our accommodation, our bungalows
was just the best you know and the fact that there's wildlife all around you
and you kind of 'one' with wildlife and then going back up to the top,
and we just was so looked after. If you're interested in wildlife, if you're
interested in coming to a part of the planet which is
so incredibly special because you know most of the things you don't
find anywhere else at all. If you're interested in being part of a
special movement or protection and aiding
what little biodiversity we have left on the planet in this project
is for you!
Our Rhino Conservation Experience centers on endangered rhino species.
You'll meet several White Rhinos including a poaching survivor
as well as Munu a critically endangered Desert Rhino.
He's a rare subspecies of Black Rhino. If we don't intervene in nature
what is going to be left for us, we know how the population's growing
we know the abuse of our planet, you know what we've got to do, it was our gift,
our responsibility, we've got to do something about saving the planet,
and if this is just one small way in that we can educate a number of people
how important it is to save the species on the planet, because we all know how
many are extinct, how many species are extinct because of
the cleverest animal in the world, the human being. I look at him as being a
child like a special needs child, would you put down a human because it's
blind, a human adapts and a rhino adapts.
You'll get to learn directly from conservation leaders about what is being
done to save these iconic animals and why it's so important. You gain
exposure to how we combine traditional wildlife
protection methods the latest technology based on
artificial intelligence. Guests enjoy game drive safari is based
on Founders Lodge, where it all began.
The experience includes assisting with wildlife monitoring, getting involved in
alien vegetation control, and learning all about how we actually manage
a natural area within a game reserve and also learning about the intricate web
of life in this unique ecosystem, from the small
Dung Beetle, to the elephants and also some lessons
in wildlife tracking, and what would a true African safari
experience be without camping under the stars for a night,
stargazing and listening to folklore stories around the campfire.
We plan to launch this experience in October 2021.