What is Expedition Conservation?

WHAT, HOW & WHERE

We are driving through Africa, from west to east and south to north, to support wildlife conservation projects on our way. Then, we’ll head north through Europe all the way to the Arctic Circle, unwrapping the magical wilderness and wildlife of the north.

On our way, we visit many national parks, nature reserves, and wildlife conservation projects.

We’ll stop by World Heritage sites and jaw-dropping destinations where most tourists won’t venture. We go to the 4×4 trails that require guts and skills but that will take us to unbelievably beautiful and remote places.

We’ll showcase the incredible work that animal sanctuaries, orphanages, wildlife centers, and private nature reserves are doing – often with limited funding.

We share with you the magical encounters with wild animals and stories of rescued wildlife.

We give you the means to help and take part in conservation success stories throughout the African continent.

WHO ARE WE AND WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

We’re Piritta and Niina, a team of two animal lovers and adventurers who aim to help wildlife conservation projects all around Africa. Niina is a writer and marketer, who has worked as a strategist, copywriter, and marketing CEO for more than 15 years. Piritta is a wildlife and conservation photographer with a fresh visual eye and versatility in her work as a conservation visual storyteller.

We left our corporate careers in Finland years ago to fulfill our dreams of a life that looks 110% like us. We sold all our belongings and hit the road. First, we wanted to see the whole of Africa – with its animals, cultures, beauty, and struggles. We also wanted to help wildlife, and Expedition Conservation is our answer.

Our love for Africa began already in 2015 when we lost our hearts to this incredible continent after our first visit to Tanzania. In the preceding years, we ended up exploring seven more African nations from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Africa, slowly getting to know the real Africa in its fiery colors.

We were devastated to see the wildlife crisis all around us.

The habitat loss that squeezes animals into small protected areas, poached carcasses, and the despair of meeting the last male Northern white rhino called Sudan who has now passed away and left just two lone females of its sub-species on this planet.

At the same time, our hearts went out to the wildlife organizations, community-based conservation projects, and brave rangers who are risking their own lives to protect endangered animals.

We saw hope – and wanted to help.

With Expedition Conservation, we want to share that all with you in real time. The harsh reality of fighting wildlife trafficking, and remarkable success stories in wildlife conservation, which many times remain unknown in the western world.

The spell of Africa and its magnificent animals.

In 2018 we started seriously to plan our escape from “traditional” lives. It took us several months of intense planning and organizing to finally make this dream happen.

We’ve now traveled all over Southern and Eastern Africa for over three years and we’re still going without an end date in sight. During this time, the pandemic hit us, like everyone, but we were back on the road as soon as we could. Nowadays, we’re more flexible and resilient than ever – that is one of the most important lessons Africa has taught us. One other is that you should always try to enjoy the present moment to its fullest, it’s all we have.

We’re still confident that one day we’ll reach the Arctic, the Americas, and all other places that we’ve ever wanted to visit. It’s just a matter of planning and time. And we will make a plan!