View from the window of the airplane at sunrise. Landing in OR Tambo, South Africa

Our first impression of this wonderful country was set during the Lobamba tour. Sanele, an All Out Africa Tour Guide, guided us through the village where local people would kindly welcome us and offer us a sip of their traditional beer. I must admit it was not exactly tasting like the beers I´m used to drinking in Belgium, but it sure was an experience, without any doubt. Another great happening that day was our visit to the national museum to get to know the history of this country with its culture and traditions better before starting the volunteering adventure.

Anna, Simona, Alex and myself sharing traditional beer during our Lobamba Tour

The day after this so-called ´Orientation Day´, the six of us (Eleanora Cimadom, Anna Vanhaeren, Linde Colle, Simona Mambrin, Sabrina Miniotti and myself) woke up early to begin our trip to the Kruger National Park. For me, this was my first safari. I can tell you with great confidence, there´s not a single doubt in my mind that this was my last. I fell from one amazing feeling into another. To see wild animals in their natural habitat from that close gave me shivers all over my body. It was magnificent to be able to spot The Big Five and many more. I will forever remember the early sunrise game drives with our coffees in one hand and our blankets in the other to keep us warm in the jeep, or the many great stories and even greater laughs we shared at the bonfires in the evening. Tired but with hearts full of gratefulness, we returned to eSwatini to initiate what we´re here for in the first place: volunteering.

Eleanora, Anna, Linde, Simona, Sabrina and myself on a safari game drive.

I was placed on the Childcare Project at the Ezulwini NCP, together with Simona Mambrin from Italy – who had already become such a good friend of mine over this short period. We got lucky to volunteer in teacher Gugu´s class. She has the purest heart and truly cares about the children she teaches. Every single day we would arrive at the NCP and get overwhelmed with the sweetest hugs from the children. I will never forget the sentences “teacher, teacher, pick me up!” or “teacher, I missed you so much!”. In the blink of an eye, I had fallen in love with every single one of the little kids I got to teach. It´s unbelievably rewarding to see the kids grow through the exercises and to be able to be there with them through their journey. Especially when being able to help the ones who need your assistance the most, it´s such a heartwarming feeling to see their faces light up when congratulating them on their good work.

Writing exercise at the NCP

Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, the volunteers would go all together to the Elangeni NCP to help older students individually with their homework. First, we would do at least one hour of homework with them, and after the homework is done, we would play games. Some days, we would invent a whole quiz with different types of games: some educational, some just for fun. The girls were always enthusiastic to see us and at the same time, so eager to learn from and with us.
During our free time, we did a whole bunch of activities in the region. For example, we visited the handicraft market, the Swazi Candles factory, the Yebo Art Gallery, went for a biking tour at Mlilwane National Park, hiked the Sheba’s Breast, participated in karaoke at the restaurant near Lidwala Lodge, went for a spa day with the girls, to the movies, to the cute coffee shop nearby, and so on… We also signed up for the ziplining on our second weekend. Such a memorable experience! I felt like a bird flying through the mountains, so freely and without any worries on my mind. No worries, only good vibes and fully enjoying the moment we live in.

Myself, Eleanora and Simona at the peak of Sheba’s Breast

Every year, the people of eSwatini celebrate the Umhlanga or Reed Dance ceremony. When I first heard about it, I got so excited to see it with my own eyes! I felt so lucky to be in the country during this impressive ceremony. Dressed in traditional clothes, I showed up there and immediately got overwhelmed by the number of girls dancing and singing together. Everyone was so enthusiastic that I just could not manage to stop smiling. There was such a nice atmosphere of people in the crowd hyping up the girls that were dancing and singing. All the bright colours of their beautiful clothes together were just amazing to see. Right when I thought it couldn´t get any better, the king showed up. This was such a memorable day for me.

Simona and I during the Umhlanga or Reed Dance ceremony in Eswatini.

Last but certainly not least was the trip to Tofo, Mozambique. Being there felt as if I had just entered some hidden paradise. I am very much a beach person, so my first swim in the Indian Ocean was for sure a core memory for me. I enjoyed every single second of my time there. On our first day, we cruised by sailboat to Survivor Island. Let me tell you, it´s not given this name without a reason. People there live in a very primitive manner, but not a single person is complaining. I got my hair braided and drank out of a fresh coconut; I even climbed a palm tree – although I have to admit that I wasn´t even close to reaching the end of the tree to grab some coconuts. The next days were filled with an ocean safari where I snorkelled together with a whale shark only approximately 2 meters under me. As you might imagine, the adrenaline rushed through my body. At that exact moment, I realized I was dealing with a once-in-a-lifetime experience here.

Eleanora and I drinking coconut water in Tofo

The surfing lesson afterwards was also so much fun. Since it was my first time, my only goal was to just stand up on the board for more than a split second before losing my balance and falling off. In fact, I underestimated myself and managed to surf until the point my board reached the sand again. Such a good feeling! We ended our last evening with a sunset cruise and were able to look back on some unforgettable days when we got to meet the friendliest people. Tofo: I will be back one day to expand my surf skills!

Taking off for an ocean safari tour in Tofo

Written by Elisabeth Sucaet, who signed up for Kruger to Coast 

Where are you from?

I’m from Denmark.

What project did you sign up for?

I did sports development with kids in the age of 2-6 years old. We played games and did some sports with the kids at the Neighbourhood Care Points and they loved it.

What do you do for a living?

I’m currently on a gap year, so I worked in a Day Care in Denmark before I volunteered in Eswatini. I loved working with kids at home, so being able to volunteer in the NCP’s in Eswatini was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.

What does volunteering mean to you?

Volunteering was an amazing experience. I loved meeting so many sweet kids and the fact that I was able to bring some smiles and happiness into their lives was amazing.

Reason for choosing All Out Africa?

I booked the program through a Danish agency and therefore I didn’t know about All Out Africa. But now that I do, I would definitely consider volunteering with All Out Africa again in the future.  It was an amazing experience.

Your experience as a volunteer, did it had any positive impact on your life?

Volunteering has given me the chance to meet new people, experience other cultures and to see the word from a new perspective. I enjoyed every moment of my stay.

Click here if you would like to know more about our SPORTS DEVELOPMENT

Today we are chatting to Adriaan Begemann, our Kruger Operational Manager, Adriaan love taking photos and an adventurous person, which is a great fit for what he does! Find out more below.

What is your favourite thing about your job?

Going to the Kruger National Park to do safaris.

Meeting new people and learning about their culture.

When was a time you thought to yourself “wow, I love what I do!”

Every time an animal, like lion, leopard, elephants or any animal walks by right next to my vehicle.

When I see a new place or experience something new and exciting.

Where is your favourite local hang out?

Home or Kruger National Park/ Lower Sabie.

What is your favourite wild animal and why?

Definitely LIONS!!!

They are the biggest cat in the Kruger National Park, and having one of these walks by your vehicle, where it is so close you could touch it, is the most incredible feeling and experience ever.

Their eyes are so intimidating and looks like it was made in hell, but the adrenaline rush you get is incredible.

When you’re not changing the world, what do you do for fun?

I love taking photos or travelling locally, doing all sorts of adventures.

When you wake up in the morning what do you look forward to most?

Seeing my dog Kruger and enjoying a cup of tea.

If you had a superpower what would it be?

Teleportation.

If you were on a tour with All Out Africa which tour would you sign up for? (and why?)

Kruger overnight safaris.

Because it is simply the best place in the world, with the best guides from All Out Africa (Adriaan & Ruben).

I love the Kruger National Park as I used to go to the Kruger with my grandparents and parents since I was a small kid. Reminds me of some great holidays.

Why is this of interest? Well, having killed or chased off most large animals (megafauna) from areas that we humans use (most of the planet!), investigating the change this causes is important in understanding the effects we are having on the planet. 

Why bother, you may ask? Did you know that the total mass of all wild animals on earth larger than a rabbit (that’s everything from porcupines to elephants and sting rays to whales) is less than 1/10th the mass of humans & domestic livestock? Did you know we are in the middle of the biggest extinction event since the dinosaurs were wiped of the face of the earth, and it is caused by humans? We are systematically obliterating natural life on earth to feed & house our growing population with an expanding appetite for consumption and if something doesn’t change we will unwittingly “cook the goose that lays the golden eggs” and send ourselves the way of the dinosaurs.

How do we prevent this catastrophe? We need to change mind-sets and actions, and to do this requires many small steps that multiply over time. Imagine a centre that enables field research to understand deeply the mechanisms of biodiversity loss and human induced ecosystem change in one of the most critical regions of high biodiversity and growing human population and development. Imagine this centre creates an ethos of collaboration and acting responsibly towards the environment through training and inspiring future conservationists. You don’t have to imagine it, we’ve already created it and it’s called the Savannah Research Centre(www.savannahresearch.org). Based at this centre working with UNISWA and the University of Florida, All Out Africa is implementing a long term investigation of how we humans are influencing the savannah ecosystem by studying the changes in biodiversity across a range of protected areas and other more intensively used landscapes. We do so by surveying rodents, birds, bats, ungulates, predators and vegetation using consistent methods in a repeated series of permanent sites spread out across the landscape. In the process we are also training and inspiring African and international students who will become future protagonists for the environment and conservation of wildlife. Could this create the change that’s needed to turn the tide on our seeping catastrophe? We certainly hope so!

The workshop held in Kruger was one step in this process, and an exciting one, which hopefully will bear fruit for our planets flailing wildlife.

If you would like to join with our current conservation efforts in Eswatini, check out our Savannah Conservation Project for more information about how you can become a volunteer!

https://alloutafrica.com/volunteer-projects/conservation-projects/savannah-research-and-conservation-volunteer-project/

Written by Kim Roques | All Out Africa Co-Founder