About

 

Home is a pristine wilderness for Lin Barrie and Clive Stockil……….. a place where their passion for Conservation, African wild dogs, wine, food, art, creative writing and responsible tourism can be indulged to the full……………

The Save Valley Conservancy stretches along the upper reaches of the great Save River in the south east of Zimbabwe. Here lies Senuko Wilderness Area, embracing Senuko Safari Lodge, which will be re-launched as a luxury tourism lodge in the near future. This is home to artist and writer Lin Barrie and her life partner, conservationist and tourism operator Clive Stockil, winner of the Prince William Award for a lifetime achievement in Conservation, 2013.

The Gonarezhou National Park laps against the southern banks of the Save River and between the Save Valley Conservancy and Gonarezhou nestles the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. These three celebrated wildlife areas form part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, (GLTFCA)- a unique wilderness jewel which is home to the “Big Five” (endangered Black and White rhinos, elephants, buffalo, lion, leopard) and the ”Little Six” (Klipspringer, Suni, Duiker, Steenbok, Sharpe’s Grysbok and Oribi).

Endangered African wild dogs, Cheetah, Brown hyena, Bat-eared foxes, monumental Baobab trees and a host of unique birds  contribute to the immense variety of this ecosystem.

Translucent pink Sabi Star flowers are impossibly delicate jewels, adorning the squat succulent stems of the Adenium plants which are endemic to this wilderness.

Communities around the GLTFCA contribute to innovative partnerships with National Parks and the private sector, forming a sound base on which to manage social, economic and environmental issues. The adjacent Shangaan (MaChangana) communities share in private enterprises  such as  Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge, an exquisite lodge hanging on the edge of a dramatic gorge over the Save river. http://www.chilogorge.com

The Mahenye Community Project:

 

This evolved out of conflict between a local Changana community and the Gonarezhou National Park over natural resource use and competition for SPACE. The concepts that emerged out of this conflict later became the core principals incorporated in the CAMPFIRE programme, which now has seen over forty other districts in Zimbabwe implement this programme. Indeed many of the concepts have been copied or modified by other southern African countries.

Whilst there will always be new challenges we need to appreciate that this is evolution in progress in the quest of achieving sustainable development.

What has been recognised is that this experiment turned conflict into cooperation for the benefit of both man and beast through coexistence in a fragile environment.

Mahenye River Lodge, nestled on an island in the middle of the Save river, is yet another tourism venue to be re-opened.

Wildlife and community conservation, and responsible tourism in ecologically sensitive areas, are abiding interests for Lin. Combine that with a love of culture, good wine and good food, and you have the ‘recipe’ for an interesting blog!

Expressing her hopes, fears and love for this special ecosystem with oil and acrylic paints on canvas, Lin Barrie believes that the essence of a landscape, person or animal, can only truly be captured by direct observation.

Lin Barrie states: “Through my art, and my writing, I feel an intimate connection with the natural world, and from my extensive field sketches of wild animals, people and landscapes, I create larger works on canvas.”

Lin’s art catalogue can be viewed at : https://wildlifeandwilddogs.wordpress.com/art/

Lin’s work is in various public and private collections in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, England, Canada, Sweden and the United States of America. She is represented by galleries in South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Kenya and Florida, USA.

 

 Lin’s blog, wineandwildogs: https://wildlifeandwilddogs.wordpress.com

 The Cape Gallery, Cape Town: http://www.capegallery.co.za/lin_barrie1.htm

 Cherie De Villiers Fine Art Gallery, Johannesburg: http://www.gallery.co.za/

 Zimbabwe Fine Art: http://www.zimbabwefineart.com/lin-barrie/

African Wildlife Conservation Fund: http://www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org/wildlife-paintings-for-sale/

twitter: @LinBarrie

http://pinterest.com/linbarrie/

Lin Barrie, Zimbabwe Mobile: 0772922148 or 0772 219204

 Lin’s facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/lin.barrie

linbarrie@gmail.com