My first book launch has just happened in Harare, Zimbabwe at the Mukuvusi Woodlands. The Wildlife & Environment Zimbabwe [WEZ] (Mashonaland Branch) kindly organised the event, asking me to do a hippo presentation and then sell and sign copies of my book “A Hippo Love Story”.
81 people including staff of WEZ and committee members attended the event and I sold all the books that I took along with me. I had never spoken about the hippos at a public event for Zimbabweans. The talks that I have been invited to previously have always been in the UK, and once at the German Embassy in Harare.
WEZ had laid on a Marimba group to welcome everybody and organized tea and snacks as it was an afternoon event. I had a queue of book buyers for over an hour after the event and was told by everybody how much they had enjoyed the presentation.
I am adding just a couple of video clips of the event for you to get an idea of how it went.
We were honoured to have the former-director of National Parks Dr Willie Nduku as well as Dr Chris Magadza and Dr. Portia Chifamba who attended my presentation. Dr Portia Chifamba kindly introduced me to the audience. We were also privileged to have
the French Ambassador attending the talk and he hope to visit the hippos in the not too distant future.
I was extremely spoilt with three gifts given to me, one from a lovely girl Siobhan Black and her daughter Willow who I had met three years ago at the Turgwe Hippo Trust. She had come along to meet the hippos and we had got on very well. One of our discussions having been about Yoga, to my amazement the gift was the book on Yoga that we had spoken about years ago, plus from Willow a beautiful hippo ornament, that now has pride of place on my book shelf.
Helen Caps and her sister Jacquie Nell, who had just stayed with us at the Trust as Helen is an English hippo parent of Banky, were also at the talk. They spoilt both Jean-Roger and I with a gift of solar lights for our house and Belgium chocolates; guess who is eating all of those! Yes, I admit it, I am a chocoholic.
The last gift was presented to me by Dr Chris Magadza, who has a wonderful sense of humor and a British accent on a par with British Royalty. The gift was a thank you from WEZ for giving the talk: A framed picture by the Zimbabwe artist Eric Forlee and postcards of one of Zimbabwe’s beautiful birds, The Paradise Flycatcher, as well as a nice WEZ coffee mug. So I was thoroughly spoilt.
Jean-Roger was told by all that his wife’s presentation was fantastic. He had two people, both in their late seventies, tell him that it was the best presentation they had ever been to, and they both had attended hundreds in their lifetimes. So I was floating on cloud nine that all had enjoyed my talk.
I would like to give a big thank you to Tinashe Goronga committee member and Elton for setting up the event and for Lauren for organizing it all. A special thank you to Renee Lopes who asked me to give this presentation a couple of years ago and finally got me to commit.
So here are a few photos of the event, kindly provided by Lauren and Renée as well as the small video, which just gives you a little taste of what I had to say to everyone.
Love to everyone Karen and the hippos.
To buy tickets please follow the above link and select the donate in £'s. Donate the amount for the number of tickets required and Karen will forward them to you.
Hear about feeding wildlife especially the Turgwe Hippos and many other wild animals in severe droughts where they all would have perished. Presented by Karen Paolillo the founder of the Turgwe Hippo Trust.
Watch video footage filmed from trail cameras in situ at the feeding areas during the 2024 drought. See unusual and interesting footage of various wild animals that fed during that 10-month period. Hippos, Elephants, buffalo, warthogs, wildebeest, zebra etc.
Meet Anthony Martin CBE, of the AVM Foundation.
Watch 15-minute film created by Actor, Filmmaker and Producer Dan Richardson. Filmed on site in Zimbabwe in July at Turgwe Hippo Trust.
Meet Actor and Animal Advocate and Auctioneer for the evening PETER EGAN, After Life, Death at a funeral, Downton Abbey, Chariots of Fire and so much more from stage and screen. Also meet Actor Mark Bonnar, Shetlands, Napoleon etc.
Donate to a cause that helps not just the Turgwe Hippos but any wildlife in the area. Protecting them from poaching, sport hunting, and natural events such as droughts and floods. People that step in every single day to keep them all safe and alive in the wild.
Purchase one or both books, A HIPPO LOVE STORY or HIPPOS A MONGOOSE AND ME published by Penguin South Africa, written and personally signed by Karen Paolillo; memoir and stories about living and protecting hippos and other wild animals in a remote area of the African bush for over three decades.
Purchase ‘Legacy of Love’, a book that celebrates the relationship between animals and actors, artists, photographers, animal charity founders; this includes the Turgwe Hippo Trust.
Purchase the 2027 Turgwe Hippo Trust hippo calendar presenting some of the hippos of the Turgwe River or the 2027 wild animals calendar. Images for both calendars by Karen Paolillo.
Join all of us for an inspiring evening learning more about the hippos, one of Africa’s iconic species, and helping to protect the Turgwe Hippos to continue their wild lives in the south east lowveld of Zimbabwe within the Turgwe River.
Auction items:
1)Stay for 2 people with Karen and Jean-Roger at Hippo Haven, headquarters of the Turgwe Hippo Trust in Zimbabwe for 9 nights, which can include 2 nights in the Gona Re Zhou National Park at a rustic bush camp where you pay National Parks for that experience. Jean-Roger and Karen Paolillo will personally drive you there (2 hours from Hippo Haven) and bring and prepare the food.This does not include air tickets to Zimbabwe or travel by courier service Harare to Hippo Haven and Return. (5-hour drive).Jean-Roger and Karen Paolillo will pick you up at the entrance to the Conservancy which is 70 kilometres from Hippo Haven and return you to the boom at the end of you stay , where you will be collected by the Courier service.
Accommodation in Harare at your own cost, the Paolillo’s can suggest hotels and guest lodges. Dates this is available at this moment are between June to end of September, date to be arranged with the Paolillos by end of November 2026. Winter months in Zimbabwe i.e. cooler nights June to August. August and September hotter around 30 degrees in August in daytime but it can go as high as 36 degrees in September, climate change notwithstanding.You may be lucky enough to meet Max hippo, the Turgwe Hippo Trust house hippo if he is still visiting the house in 2027.
CHITAKE This is one of several paintings I have done of Zimbabwe’s Chitake Springs, one of the wonders of the wildlife world. The Chitake river bed itself is sandy and dry for most of the year, flanked on both sides by cliffs gouged out by the river over hundreds of years. On top of the cliffs the iconic towering baobab trees, perhaps a thousand years old, add to the grandeur of this gem of wild Africa. A spring wells up and is the only water for many miles. When myself and my family camp here the best times are when we are alone – just us with no noise other than those of a wild world that pays no attention to us. On the occasion of this painting the Cape Buffalo herd of over a thousand has not yet arrived, the lion pride of over 30 individuals is waiting patiently in the shade of the giant baobabs, and the elephant have ambled up for their midday drink. Small numbers of Impala are left after the main herd has finished drinking, Helmeted Guineafowl have arrived, and huge numbers of Cape Turtle Doves are milling around, drinking as fast as they can, then leaving in a flash of wings before the Lanner Falcons strike. This is raw untamed Africa at its best and a paradise for me as an artist.
Richard Symonds passion and commitment to wildlife spans over 20 years.
He has held a number of exhibitions and auctions in and around London including Christies and Sotheby’s and his work can be found in private and corporate collections worldwide.
In 2006 Richard hit the headlines with his life size oil painting of an African bull elephant which sold for a staggering $100,000 to a private collector. With a large donation from that sale going to the Born Free Foundation. Richard has always pledged to himself that whilst making his living from his wildlife art it only feels right to balance his success with giving back to the wild by raising funds through the sale and auctions of his originals and prints.
I've known about Karen's dedication towards hippos, warthogs and other creatures living locally to her area for a few years now and am happy to help through my art whenever possible. So when she contacted me recently about her latest event being organised for the Turgwe Hippo Trust, I chose this special framed print for her auction at the Royal Geographical Society. Having the THT patron, Peter Egan as the esteemed auctioneer will surely help as he's one of the good guys, involved in many wildlife charities.
Besides 'Hippo' being an embellished print, which means I have personally added many thousands of new pencil strokes over many hours on top of the print making it more dynamic and quite unique. It becomes much closer to an original drawing and this particular copy has also been co-signed by two shining lights of the conservation world, Dame Virginia McKenna and Rula Lenska.
I've been fortunate to have witnessed serene scenes like this many times over the past 36 years, in Kenya, Tanzania, Gabon, Botswana and most of all in South Luangwa, Zambia where hippos abound in their thousands.
Suzie’s animal sculptures have gained great acclaim over the last 35 years and she now has a loyal following both in the UK and abroad. She has undertaken many private and business commissions including sculpture exhibits for a museum in Taiwan and two public installations, one of Nelson the Seal at Looe Harbour in Cornwall, the other of Police Dog Finn at Layston Court Gardens, Buntingford, Hertfordshire. Her work reflects her love of animals and her fascination with their character and form. She often produces work to aid animal charities close to her heart and this has taken her to the Animals Asia bear sanctuaries in China and Vietnam as well as the Turgwe Hippo Trust in Zimbabwe. In recognition of her own four cats who double as artist’s models, Suzie is also a keen supporter of Cats Protection. Her initial work is in clay and her originals can then be cast in bronze resin and/or foundry bronze. All of her work is suitable for the home or garden.
The Turgwe Hippo Trust does its best to promote indigenous artists by suggesting to guests and volunteers which markets to visit. In Gift’s case many of the Trust’s volunteers have purchased his work as his talent shines through in the details and accuracy of the shape and look of the wild animals he sculpts.
We so look forward to meeting you all and hope you have a wonderful evening with us.
the French Ambassador attending the talk and he hope to visit the hippos in the not too distant future.
