Wild at Heart

So that’s where I am at the moment, sitting in a dilapidated little chalet in Seronga, a small town situated in Northern Botswana, on the side of the delta which tourists seldom visit. Painted a pretty picture right, ag it’s not bad, it’s extremely rural – picture majestic elephants roaming freely between the villagers at dusk and dawn; fetching water either from a manually operated borehole or a tap; getting to the closest town (110km) away by crossing the delta with a ferry and having local kiddies shout “kua” which means white person every single time you pass them. So as you can imagine, it’s a little different to what I am used too, but it’s Africa and I love it.  Although I do miss having a fridge and everything that comes with that. I’ve already warned the family back home that I’m expecting the biggest braai known to man when I return as I need to catch-up on all the meat I’m missing out on while living the dream in Botswana (only slightly sarcastic on that note). So let...

So on the 4 th of March off to Zimbabwe I went. It’s difficult to explain, but as soon as I got the sanctuary I knew that I didn’t belong there. Maybe it was the Lord telling me that it was not part of the plan or maybe I hadn’t moved on from Harnas yet, but I actually got emotional while there, especially when I spoke about Harnas and my reasons for leaving. Kinda crazy I know, I wasn’t forced to resign so I was just being silly. Zimbabwe is a beautiful country and the people are so friendly. The one thing I did enjoy about the sanctuary was the community work they did, especially for the pre-school children in the rural areas who are really struggling financially. That teacher could not thank us enough for bring a few supplies and teaching the kiddies about a few wildlife animals. I wish more people would be so humble. Some children even started crying when they saw a tortoise! It made me realise that we really do take things for granted. I mean, how many of us grew up seeing a tor...

So finally on the 20 th December, after a 22 hour busride, endless stops and a long wait at the border post, I finally arrived at Harnas! Those 3 months was an experience I won’t exchange for anything in this world. I met the most amazing people, some of whom I am lucky enough to still call friends and I would never have imagined myself working so closely with animals straight after University. A normal day involved tracking tame but  rehabilitated  cheetahs, taking naps with a baby vervet and baboon, milliepap fights, chopping up endless amounts of fruit and veg and witnessing breathtaking sunsets. How could one not feel at home? The plan was always to stay longer than 3 months, because to be honest, 3 months was just not long enough. So the night before I was to leave, the manager asked me if I wanted to come back. Without hesitating I agreed, how could I not? I was living my dream. I couldn’t imagine going back to “normality” back home. Unfortunately I ha...

Growing up in Kwazulu-Natal, surrounded by my country’s raw beauty, definitely played a role in awakening the environmentalist in me. When I was younger, I always dreamed about becoming a vet so that I could drive around with a minivan to pick up stray animals along the road so that I could care for them back home in my huge back yard. I would never be able to bring myself to euthanize an animal, so needless to say, that dream didn’t pan out.  Instead I studied BSc Conservation Ecology at the University of Stellenbosch. I still remember going to the University’s open day, walking around and spotting the conservation stand awkwardly alone in the corner as everyone was interested in the other stands but that one. I was instantly drawn to it. While at University, doing my Master’s seemed to be the logical next step after 4 years of undergraduate studies, however I got offered the opportunity to do volunteer research work at Harnas Wildlife Foundation in Namibia straight after...