The Wild Dispatch – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Robin, Fred Hammer, and Robin Gratz spend three action-packed days trying to land an African monster. This is no small feat. Historically South Africa has always been packed with high caliber apex predators: Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, hyenas, packs of African wild dogs etc. As a result antelope have developed an incredible skill-set that helps to keep them alive. So, getting close with a bow in hand is sometimes laughably difficult. Nevertheless they manage to close the distance, and let arrows fly. 

A big thanks to Fred Hammer from Bowhunting Africa for his fantastic guiding services, and Robin Gratz from Daggaboy films for capturing the adventure. 

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

To this day, the legend of Dick Proenneke continues through his journals and wonderful footage. However, we were surprised to discover that Dick’s sourdough starter also lives on! What better way to celebrate a life-lived-wild than with sourdough pancakes made with the trusty sourdough jar from his cabin? In this episode, Robin and his wife Hanneke sit down with the cabin’s previous caretakers for 19 years: K Schubeck and Monroe Robinson. They share some of their fondest memories of Dick, while we enjoy his pancake recipe, even topped with wild blueberry jam picked at Twin Lakes, Alaska. Once again, a huge thank you to K and Monroe for such a treat on so many different levels.

You can find Monroe's fantastic book, 'The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke' at Lost Art Press 

Find more conversations featuring Monroe and Dick Proenneke in EP43, EP51 and EP73 

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

Today We are traveling across the world and back in time to Namibia in the South West of Africa... 300 miles from the nearest grocery store, Lyn and Mike Methley raised their family while helping to build the first road through the area in the 1960’s. They lived side by side with the lions, impala, crocodiles and the enormous, but sadly extinct, desert elephants. Living close to the Northern border with Angola, they also had more than a few encounters with guerrilla fighters during a particularly turbulent time. This one’s got a bunch of bonkers stories folks so buckle up and never let off the accelerator.

A huge thank-you to Lyn and Mike for their time and stories today!

And thanks again to Callum from @kuduhunt for the introduction.

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

Back in Episode 11 Ejler shared some memories of farm life on the rural island of Bonholm, Denmark. One story that really struck a chord was the existence of a food called Head-cheese, a magical substance created from the boiled remains of whatever comes out of the head of a pig. Never one to turn down a challenge, Robin provided the head of a wild boar the very next chance he had to harvest one. In this Episode Robin and Ejler reminisce about the sequence of events that brought them to the mysterious flavors of Danish Wild-Boar head cheese. While eating this magical dish they also catch up over their recent adventures in South Africa and Northern California.

A huge thank you to Ejler for the great conversation - and for remembering his mother's old recipe.

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

Today we are sitting down with writer and modern day explorer Riaan Manser. His adventurous journey began the day he decided to quit his job and go for a bike ride... around the entire continent of Africa. This was done without backup, and before personal gps and smartphones were in public circulation. Riaan has since become the holder of numerous world records: first to ride 42000km around Africa, first to lap the islands of Madagascar and Iceland in his kayak, and first to row from Morocco to New York in a 18ft row boat. All this to say having survived through landmines, multiple kidnappings, wild ocean storms, starvation and extreme dehydration — Riaan has a story or two to share with us today.

Once again a huge thankyou to Riaan for sharing his time with us!

Check out his books and adventures at Riaanmanser.com

And give him a follow on Instagram and Facebook!

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

In this Episode Robin takes a seat with Monroe Robinson - author of 'The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke' to chat all things wilderness living in Alaska: The relentless nature of maintaining a homestead and your gear in such a harsh environment, building a greater connection with nature and the sometimes tragic consequences that come with it. 

A big thankyou again to Monroe for sharing his time today. You can hear more of Monroe's personal story in EP43.

You can also find Monroe's fantastic book - 'The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke' at Lost Art Press.

If you'd like to get hold of a signed copy, you can shoot an email to monroe@mcn.org with the title: The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke.

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

The fallow deer rut is an all-bows-blazing non-stop action-packed month that’s firmly marked in every South African bowhunter’s calendar. It’s a magical time that testosterone in the fallow population bubbles over and the thickets of the Eastern Cape descend into mating season mayhem. This episode we follow Robin from @thewilddispatch @williamdonian from Wellington Farms and Callum Methley from @kudu_hunt as he experiences the fallow rut for the very first time.

There are also many surprise appearances from previous guests on the podcast, see if you can pick them all out.

A big thanks again to everyone who contributed!

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

An immensely talented bowhunter-spearfisherman from South Africa –Jandre has been honing his skills since the age of 5.

Wherever you're from, when it comes to sourcing protein, there’s an easy way, and there’s hard way… Then there’s Jandre’s way.

An anomaly in the South African hunting community, Jandre hikes many kilometers deep into the mountains to areas with no roads, and no backup. Although he’s harvested many African animals with his bow that would make a talented rifle-hunter blush, it’s the non-native fallow deer that gets Jandre properly fired up.

Robin managed to sit down with Jandre just a few days before the beginning of the fallow deer rut.

A big thank you again to Jandre for fitting us in before a three week mega-trip chasing giant croaking bucks in the mountains.

Give Jandre a follow on Instagram

Check out his YouTube too - lots of new content coming soon.

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

Lama Nasser-Gammett and her husband Matthew are owners of The Forest People, and supply a large area of the Mendocino coast with cultivated mushrooms. 

Building their business from the ground up at a time when there was very little information available, they taught themselves exactly how to make mushrooms thrive in a controlled environment. Chefs and natural grocery stores appreciate their attention to details, knowing it’s the little things that make a great looking and better tasting mushroom.

In this episode Lama shares her story, along with many essential tips on how to cultivate delicious mushrooms for yourself too.

Thanks again Lama for the stories and wisdom today!

Be sure to give The Forest People a follow on Instagram and check out their website too!

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...

This week it is Violet Warman's 97th Birthday. She was born in 1928 — Rather a lot of wild stuff happened since that day... 

In this episode Robin was lucky enough to hear some of Vi and Ray's memories from the past: The moment WW2 was declared, being evacuated, watching dog fights in the skies above... and trading bike rides to American soldiers for enormous amounts of pocket money. 

In this episode takes a leap from the urban world of East London, and escape to the English countryside.

Happy Birthday Violet! And thank you both for sharing your time and stories today.

-----------------
Subscribe to this podcast so you're always up to date. Even better - share us with a friend who loves the outdoors.

Follow Robin & The Wild Dispatch on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook...