Remembering Alex Douglas, Tour Guide, Friend and Colleague
29th July 2020 – five days prior to Watatunga opening, an email landed in the brand new Watatunga inbox that started like this…
“Good morning. I have read with great interest about the opening of your unique and exciting Reserve. The photos of Roan, Blesbuck and other antelope and deer species together with the Great Bustard have struck a chord in my heart. I worked for 15 years as a guide in South Africa, predominantly taking people on open vehicle guided experiences in the Kruger National Park – what I would have given to be able to share a sighting of a Roan with my guests! Whilst not knowing all the species that you have on your Reserve as well as I do the African species I am wondering whether you may have an opening for a guide with the experience that I have. I am now living in Attleborough and have hoped that maybe an opening that will allow me to share my love of wildlife – flora, fauna and avian – my passion for conservation and importantly education would ever occur. I am a firm believer that edutainment is the way to encourage and foster a love of nature in all its forms and this way we can spread the message of protection and conservation, not just saving species but, crucially, the environments with which they live. I would be interested to hear if there may be an opportunity for me within your organisation. In the meantime, I wish you all success”
…what were the chances? A ready-made tour guide, already living in Norfolk and with exactly the experience we needed – we could not believe our luck. And so, in 2021, Alex Douglas joined our tiny team.
As we got to know Alex, her fascinating life story began to unfold. After university, she had taught for several years before embarking on a career as a Marketing Executive. At this point she had moved to Africa, working for the Department for International Development before training as a Tour Guide in her forties.
For the best part of 17 years, Alex took great joy in guiding people through the Kruger National Park, Hluhluwe and KwaZulu Natal Park in South Africa. Sharing her knowledge about the places, people, natural habitats and environments she experienced became a well-honed skill. Whilst Alex might be seeing something for the umpteenth time, her gift was to make one feel that she was seeing it for the first time too. Describing the relationships within a natural ecosystem and habitat, the detrimental effect of inter-breeding, the effects of overpopulation and habitat destruction were all part and parcel of the holistic picture she sought to create.
And so, when Alex visited Watatunga and spoke to us, what shone through was her excitement. She understood that Watatunga could offer a wide range of people the opportunity to see different species that they may never see in the wild. But more importantly, she understood the importance of her guiding role. It is a real skill to impress upon people the importance of managing natural resources, conservation and ecological threats while at the same time creating a memorable and lasting experience. She not only knew that she could do this, but there was a gravitas to her approach which made a real impact on visitors. She saw it as her responsibility and privilege to share her knowledge with those anxious and interested in knowing more.
“My ultimate aim is for a client to leave a tour knowing more than when they started but having had ‘fun’ in getting hold of that information – edutainment. It is a pleasure to start a client on a journey of future discovery and understanding. We can all play our part in that and we need to, so that future generations can understand the mistakes of the past and avoid going down those routes again.”
From the outset, her tours garnered immensely positive feedback. Her enchantment with the site was contagious – she brought people with her, encouraging them to pause and take a deep breath as they entered the reserve and to set aside whatever might be occupying their minds in order to immerse themselves in the tour. Afterwards, she would happily spend time leaning against her buggy digging deeper into guests’ queries, sharing memories of Africa with others who had lived there and learning from experts who came to Watatunga.
A crushing diagnosis of Stage 3 Rectal Cancer in February 2023 did not diminish her spirit. By May, Alex was post-operatively easing back into guiding and was frank and open about the importance of nature and being outside in the burgeoning spring in helping her overcome the shock and ongoing anxiety of her diagnosis. She wrote eloquently and openly about this tricky period in a blog for Mental Health Awareness week, read more here.
“I am not diminishing what is going on with me but I can look forward to immersing myself in the trees, grasses, mammals and birds that comprise this unique wildlife reserve. It provides me with a wellness, a peace, a restorative sense that I cannot imagine finding elsewhere. It restores my mind, it restores my body it helps me deal with stress and anxiety without doing anything different to that which it exists to do.”
Perhaps most importantly, beyond the serendipity of finding her when we needed her, Alex was the voice of conviction and certainty in moments of doubt, when we questioned the value of what we were trying to achieve at Watatunga. She did not suffer fools gladly and her expressive eyebrows left one in no doubt as to her views. She was a passionate advocate of Watatunga’s role in public education. She felt strongly about the importance of informing people about the wonders of the species we had here, of their plight in the wild and, while always remaining the consummate professional, she gave short shrift to those who felt differently.
Only five weeks before she died, Alex was doing what she loved best – guiding at Watatunga, surrounded by the animals and space that were her solace and our team who respected and adored her like family. She was optimistic about the future, only admitting that it was shorter than she had hoped mere days before she passed away at Priscilla Bacon Hospice in the loving care of her family.
We know that many of you will have shared the joy of experiencing the reserve through Alex’s eyes and that you will share our sadness at her death. We take comfort in the joy that she found at Watatunga and, as this spring unfurls we shall try and see it through her eyes.
“I can only speak for myself when I say thank you to Watatunga. Thank you for constantly changing but providing a continuity in the last months, thank you for always welcoming me and helping my mind heal. Thank you for giving me the strength to deal with what I have to. I am not special, I live a very simple life but if Watatunga can help me then I can only encourage anyone facing difficult issues to allow it to help them.”
Thank you dear friend – Fly well.
Our thoughts are with Alex’s family and her very many friends as we all mourn the loss of a very special person.
All quotes are taken from correspondence or blogs written by Alex over the last five years.
