Into Africa

It’s 10 degrees outside with the wind chill as I write this dreaming of a warm African sunset…

Everyone has seen the movie Out of Africa, right? If you haven’t, as soon as you are done reading this post you should immediately download it off iTunes, snuggle up on your sofa with a cup of hot tea (or maybe a hot toddy. No judgement here!) and get ready to enjoy two and a half hours of pure beauty. Not just because of the beautiful scenic shots of Africa, but because it’s Meryl Streep and Robert Redford at their most gorgeous. I mean, really, who doesn’t love, adore and cherish the great Meryl? Every movie she does is her best work. It’s hard to decide which role of hers is my favorite, but I love her in Out of Africa. There’s a scene in which her character comes up with a story out of thin air to tell to Redford’s character to entertain him. In truth, she did improvise and made up the whole story on the spot on set as they filmed, apparently completely captivating Redford, the director and crew. Again I ask, who isn’t captivated by Meryl? Redford isn’t half bad either. I mean, come on, look at these two…

I think most people have a curiosity and an interest in Africa. It seems like one of the last places on this earth where you can really get a sense of mother earth and all her inhabitants at their best. And by inhabitants I of course mean the wild life as we know humans are not often on their best behavior. Whereas with animals you will always get honesty. Sometimes it’s brutal but it’s always beautiful. We’ve all seen the photographs of miles and miles of open and free land with beautiful wild animals slowly grazing along the plains with a bright orange sunset in the horizon. Who wouldn’t want to experience that in person?! Well, ok, while many people may be curious about Africa they may not have a desire to actually go there themselves. To each their own.

I have always wanted to go to Africa ever since I can remember. Lets be honest, I want to go everywhere and explore every place on earth possible. My parents are to blame for this. I was six months old when I got my first passport and I haven’t stopped traveling since. Everyone has their list of places they are dying to go and while every country on earth is on my list, they are ranked. New Zealand and Africa are on the top of my list. Right now you are thinking “Africa is a continent made up of 53 countries”… Yes, I know Africa is a continent but as far as breaking it down to which country I want to visit in Africa, I am an equal opportunity traveler. Though Madagascar and the Seychelles (obviously!) do stick out as extra special places…

But aside from loving to travel and explore, there is another reason I have always wanted to go to Africa: because of the wildlife. I have a soft spot in my heart for animals. Maybe growing up on a farm will do that to a person, or maybe it’s just the way I’m wired. Whatever the reason, the majesty of animals is something that’s always grabbed me. The plight and suffering of animals at the hands of humans has always caused me anguish. And especially so when we consider the amazing wildlife in Africa with rapidly declining population rates mostly thanks to humans. So I’ve always dreamed of one day going to Africa and doing my part to help save these majestic creatures. What that part was exactly and where I didn’t know, but I just always had this pull towards that part of the world. But for whatever reason it was a dream I sort of pushed to the back of my mind and something I didn’t really talk about all that much. There was some sort of fear holding me back from making a plan to go and I can’t really pinpoint to why… So I’ve held this dream in secretly for all these years… Until now!

This girl right here is finally going to go to Africa! And I am BEYOND excited! To be more specific, I am going to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe for TWO WHOLE WEEKS! Even as I write this I have a feeling I will end up wishing I would have signed up for the 4 week program…but who knows what may happen when I get there… the sky is the limit!

Back in November I (secretly) started researching volunteer opportunities in Africa. There are a ton, let me tell you. Any area of interest you have: education, sustainability, large cats, elephants, monkeys, rhinos, marine life, vet schools, farming, you name it and there is something out there for you. I was on the TUSK Trust website and through them found Worldwide Experience.

http://www.worldwideexperience.com

They have a variety of different volunteer opportunities to choose from in different locations but the one that drew me was the Nakavango Conservation Programme at the Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. After much researching, many emails and numerous Skype calls with Kathryn, the lovely marketing manager at Worldwide Experience, I finally confirmed Nakavango was the program for me. There are many different projects and conservation efforts on the reserve, but one of the big focuses is to increase the population of rhino in the area. The black rhino population has decreased dramatically to near extinction. It’s status on the WWF Species Directory is Critically Endangered, meaning if the situation continues as it is, the black rhinos next status on the list would be: Extinct.

http://www.nakavango.com

But it’s not just the fact that the black rhino, along with many other species, is near extinct, it’s the reason and way they are being killed off. The rhinos are being slaughtered by poachers for their horns. The horns which in Asian countries are thought to provide healing powers which scientists now have flatly & irrefutably denied. There are no medical attributes to rhino horns. Yet they continue to lose their lives in gruesome and horrific ways for their horns. Most of the times the horns are removed while the animal is still alive, then it is left to die a slow and painful death. Often leaving a baby calf orphaned and unprotected, therefore adding yet another dead rhino to the list. I am not going to shock you with a picture of a rhino with its horn brutally removed, but places like Nakavango are having to resort to responsibly and ethically removing the horns from rhinos to make them no longer attractive to poachers. The rhino loses its horn, but at least its spared major suffering and its life.

Thankfully there are indeed wonderful organizations full of wonderful people like Nakavango Conservation Programme hoping to reverse the situation to get rhinos, and other species, back to a thriving population. And that is why I am going. To do my part, however tiny it is, in helping to conserve these majestic creatures.

I didn’t tell anyone I was planning the trip until the program was confirmed and the plane tickets were booked. I was a bit nervous about telling my parents, not sure how they would react to their daughter traveling to Africa by herself, the cost of the trip, the diseases, etc. So I finally called up my mom after my first trip to the doctor to get the Hepatitis A shot that I needed. That really made the trip real so figured it was time to fess up. She was so caught off guard that after I finished telling her, her first question to me was “So how was your date last night?” I love my mother. I asked her if she maybe had some questions for me about Africa and she said she needed a minute to pick her jaw up off the floor so I should talk about my date in the meantime, then we’d go back to the trip. My father’s reaction was the exact opposite of the rational, financially responsible, protective father. It was borderline jealousy! Not the ugly kind of jealousy but an “Oh my gosh that sounds amazing I have always wanted to do that!” type. So apparently all my fears and worries were unfounded. And of course to anyone else who knows me, this trip makes perfect sense.

My goal with this trip is to not just be helpful while I am there, but to learn more about wildlife conservation to continue to be an aid to it when I get back stateside. I’m sure a very informative and maybe slightly soap box post will come out of it. Of course I plan to take plenty of pictures to share ad nauseam also for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, if you are curious about volunteering in Africa or would like to donate to some of the amazing and highly respected organizations involved in wildlife conservation, here are some helpful websites listed below. I encourage everyone to spend a few minutes reading and learning, you may find your heart calls out to do your part as well. You never know…

http://www.tusk.org/index/us

http://www.panthera.org

http://www.worldwildlife.org