5 quick questions with jungle trekker, Tanie
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Tanie Van der Wolk signed up as an Animal Protector in 2006 because, she says, “World Animal Protection can protect animals in ways I am not able to.”
Recently, she decided to raise extra money to help protect animals by signing up to our World Animal Protection Jungle Trek in Sumatra. We sat down with Tanie to get to know her a little better.
What’s your most memorable animal encounter?
I’m an immigrant, so this may sound cheesy to an Aussie… but here goes. I was sitting on the back step one evening when a possum dropped down into my little courtyard. When she (or he) was about half-a-meter away, her brush tail stopped, her head turned and she looked at me. I looked back. We stared at each other, black eyes to green eyes, for what could only have been about 10 seconds, but felt like much longer. In that short encounter, I felt an energy connection to the natural world.
What animal best represents you?
I’m such a typical Taurus! Bulls are slow to change, but once they do, they commit. They’re resilient, trustworthy, stubborn, loyal, fair, generous, cautious, intelligent, impatient and a perfectionist. A pretty perfect animal, really!
Do you pamper your pets?
Yes! Just ask the little grey princess sleeping on a pillow next to me as we speak!
Chameleons can change colour and the mantis shrimp can see colours humans can’t. If you could have an animal strength, what would it be?
Animals are pretty happy in their own skin, even when they have the ability to shed it or camouflage themselves. The ability to know who I am, and be content with that knowledge, is what I want most.
What made you sign up to the Sumatra trek?
Along the way, I have received a lot from this world. Being an Animal Protector is my way of giving some of that goodness back, but now I want to give back something extra. I love nature… I live in a noisy inner city suburb, so my little garden is my sanctuary. I love hiking… moving on my feet in the quiet of natural surrounds feeds my soul. And, of course, I love animals!
Be part of something extraordinary
You have the chance to join a team of extraordinary people, travel to extraordinary places and see extraordinary things.
In February 2017, animal lovers like you and World Animal Protection Ambassador and former Collingwood AFL premiership captain Nick Maxwell, will journey to Sumatra in search of orangutans in one of their last remaining natural habitats.
This 10-day trip is your opportunity to raise funds for animals in need and connect to a cause you truly believe in. Tanie Van der Wolk has been an animal lover since 2006 and has decided to see firsthand how her support is moving the world to protect animals. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do, but I know I would never go to Sumatra on my own. So now there is a team of Animal Protectors going, it’s inspired me to sign up. I’m really looking forward to being with a group of people who really care about animals and the
In 2016 we helped protect all eight species of pangolin, the world’s most trafficked mammal