Wendy Rippon

Wendy Rippon was born on a farm in the Grahamstown district of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Growing up on a farm with two older brothers, Wendy was quick to learn and appreciate farm life and the beauty of the Eastern Cape landscape. Wendy spent her school days at Diocesan School for Girls in Grahamstown. She completed her Bachelor of Commerce Degree at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.

Wendy spent a year overseas travelling in the UK and Europe, and funded her travels with temporary work at a personnel recruitment company in London.
On returning to South Africa, Wendy worked 8 years for a motor car manufacturing company, and gained experience in the production plant, purchasing department, advertising and marketing, and corprorate sales department.

When she and her husband Warne Rippon were ready to start a family, she resigned from the corporate world, and joined Warne in his steel business. Allied Steelrode is today a successful world class service centre providing steel products in South Africa and exported in Africa. Wendy and Warne are executive directors at Allied Steelrode.

Warne and Wendy are both born and raised in the Eastern Cape, with a love for the bush and outdoors. What began as a small 800 ha farm purchase in 1999, Buffalo Kloof has expanded and grown into a 20 000 ha conservancy. Stock fences have been removed, and Buffalo Kloof is now an amalgamation of 10 farms privately owned and operated by the Rippons. Their vision is to protect the habitat, to provide protection for endangered species to roam free, and to be sustainable by balancing wildlife utilisation and eco – tourism.