Annekim Geerdes

Annekim Geerdes was already a world traveler by the age of eight, having called three countries home in as many years. From her early childhood in the gentle south of France, to the wide-open skies of the United States, and finally the homeland of the Netherlands, she has always been as adventurous as she is multicultural.

A passionate conservationist and animal welfare advocate, Annekim set her sights on a veterinary career early in life. After formative travels through Australia and Asia, she committed to becoming a wildlife veterinarian and, by 2014, had completed her Master’s degree in Veterinary Medicine. Soon after, she joined a six-month volunteer program in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, where she gained valuable experience as a part-time wildlife veterinarian while also serving as assistant manager at two safari lodges in the Greater Kruger reserves.

In 2015, Annekim was invited by a Zambian NGO to work as a veterinarian on a wildlife project. Over the next two years, she cared for orphaned elephants, pangolins, and many other species, further deepening her commitment to conservation.

Annekim’s journey has uniquely combined veterinary medicine, hospitality, and conservation. She went on to manage several lodges in both Kafue National Park and Lower Zambezi National Park, and she now resides in Mfuwe, in the heart of South Luangwa, Zambia, where she continues to work with the Zambian NGO Wildlife Crime Prevention and currently also with Dazzle Africa. She lives there with her husband and their two young daughters.