I just finished a stint in the bush of Hluhluwe National Park in South Africa working with the Wildlife ACT Foundation. The purpose of the work was to track wild dog and conduct a leopard census with camera traps.

Everyday we were out on the roads of the safari park before dawn searching for the one pack of 5 wild dogs that inhabited the area. Neighboring UmFolozi National Park has over 20 packs which makes it much easier for volunteers to find and track (Side Note: I would recommend going there).

However, HluHluwe (pronounced Shlu-Slu-wee) only has one pack in its 960 square kilometers which made it impossible to find the one dog that was collared in the 5-dog pack. Everyday we set out, morning and night, using radio telemetry to scan the areas that were possible to scan to no avail. For two weeks straight we did not have a signal and Wildlife Act had to take the helicopter up to try to find them from the air. They got a signal, but no visual which apparently happens a lot at Hluhluwe. It was a big disappointment not to see Africa’s most endangered species, which is why I recommend the other parks. South Africa has less than 400 dogs and I believe there are only a few thousand left in the world. Luckily I’ve seen Wild Dog on my other adventures, but some of the volunteers never had, so that was sad for them.

The other task we were deemed with was monitoring camera traps at 20 different sites throughout the park. The camera traps needed to be downloaded to a USB stick and have the batteries changed every other day. So for days we bounced around on the back of a pick-up truck for 12 hours/day on bumpy- I mean really bumpy-management roads in the park. It was exhausting, hell on your body and extremely tedious.  All of us volunteers dreaded camera days- which was more often then not.

So why was this such a great experience, you ask?? Sounds terrible right? Well the actual volunteering work wasn’t that fun or exciting. Apparently the other parks Wildlife Act works in have really great volunteer opportunities, tracking all sorts of animals, and volunteers walk away changed for life.  Two of the volunteers that were with us had just come from Tembe National Park and said that was 1000 times a better experience than Hluhluwe. We were unlucky to be placed in Hluhluwe where that kind of experience wasn’t available.

So why was it so great?

Because of the people! The other volunteers and I were able to bond on such a fundamental level as we all  became so delirious with the everyday tedious tasks. When you bounce around with someone for hours on end for two weeks straight without a day off, you have a sort of unspoken connection. LOL. We were able to turn the torture into humor and we would laugh so hard our stomachs would cramp and tears would pour out! I can’t remember ever laughing as hard as I did during those two weeks and it was so nice to be around such amazing women. When I had to say goodbye to them, it was a very sad moment and I miss them still.

The other amazing thing about this experience was the fact that I did get to see a lot of another endangered animal: Rhinos! Both Black Rhinos and White Rhinos! That was one thing I had a hard time seeing on Safari as they are very shy, so what an amazing experience to see so many daily! I have so many pictures, but its terrible to post them online as poachers use social media as a way to find Rhino and kill them. So I can only show you them in person unfortunately.

So I guess the moral of this story is that even when the experience is not what you expect or even worse, the people who touch you along they way can make it the most meaningful experience ever! Thank you so much Fabiane, Szandra and Emma…. I wouldn’t have made it without you! Love you all!!! xoxo!

The difference between this opportunity and the work I did in Tanzania is huge! First of all, because this is a proper school, the students are actually there to learn, which makes teaching so much easier. I know it sounds crazy, but in Tanzania, the schools were treated more as daycare, so the kids didn’t have the intention to take anything away from it.

Also, the kids at Rippon have a pretty good working knowledge of English, with their first language being Zulu. Being able to sit through a story without screaming and tears was such a welcomed relief! I actually really enjoyed the teaching process. I was lucky to do it with an amazing woman, Janet Downes, who was a teacher previously. She was so wonderful with the kids and magical in her ability to explain things in a simple way. Even at story time, I was captivated by her and couldn’t wait for the page to turn! haha… I felt like one of the students.

But the thing that I loved the most about this experience was the connection to the children. There is something so innocent and beautiful about these kids and I am so excited to work with them again!

Momma Anna is HIV positive and has dedicated her life to helping kids who have been abandoned by this epidemic. She is such a wonderful spirit. I was so moved by her efforts that I chose to sponsor two girls middle school education this year at $350.00 each. $350.00! That’s all it takes to make sure a child goes to school, has a uniform, has lunch for the year, transportation and all the books and supplies. I was blown away by how cheap it was. I also decided to use some of the donation money I have received to help them out with other expenses like sugar, gas, porridge for the kids, etc.

If you feel called to donate, please contact me or make a donation through my gofundme.com/alexmasterson website with a note attached as to where you want this money to go. There are several kids who just ‘hang around’ because they don’t have any money to go to school. Please let me know if you want to sponsor a kid or help Momma Anna out in any way. Thank you!!!

Me and Momma Anna

Let me set the stage for you… Tanzania is hot. I mean very hot. Not Palm Springs hot with a warm breeze every once in a while while you sip on a mojito in between a round of golf. I’m talking African desert hot. Lion King hot. There are no cold drinks, ice is a myth, and forget about AC. Even the refrigerator pathetically tries its best to produce a semi-cold environment.

The only thing that was actually cold, was the FREEZING cold shower that only worked when the power was on- which wasn’t very often. How the sewer lines managed to keep this water at arctic temperatures baffles me still. It was the kind of cold that actually makes your heart stop for a hot minute as you body overcomes shock. The kind of cold where you have to put one arm in, one arm out, then the other arm in, the other arm out in some sort of funny hokey pokey that was not funny in the least. The worst was when you had to wash your hair, which often would be put off until you couldn’t handle your own smell anymore. Having icy water slide down your hair and back as you tried to catch your breath wasn’t the best way to start the day.

Oh yeah- The shower also doubled as a toilet. So if you were one of the lucky ones who happened to take a shower after someone used the loo, you were in a for a treat!

The volunteer house we stayed at was decent- actually the nicest house in the neighborhood. We were lucky because we did have running water, a flushing toilet and beds with mosquito netting.

Everyday I had to walk on a dirt road for about 20 minutes, then catch two dalla-dallas (minivan taxis) to our placement. Now a word on the dalla-dallas… in the US these would be illegal. Period. Dalla-Dallas are like volkswagon buses that seat about 15, but usually are packed with 25-30 people. We are talking people sitting on each other, squished in like sardines. When someone had to get off, all 30 people would move off and then re-pack in.

Now remember, its ridiculously hot and everyone is sweating buckets. So you are not only geting squished, but your nose is overcome with the most horrific body odor. When you exit, lucky enough not to get ripped off and called a Muzungo, you are covered in all kinds of body fluids. But you get used to it.

My trip each way took about an hour. So that’s two hours of traveling total with four dalla-dalla rides and 40 minutes of walking in dry, dusty conditions. My lungs were the most upset with me- constantly inhaling a fog of dust and/or the burn-off from the trash burning in the street. No wonder I was so sick the whole time!

Anyway, so those are all the physical discomforts I had no idea I had to endure. But the mental and emotional ones had more to do with technology and the comfort of connecting back home. I was quite surprised to discover how attached I was to technology. I mean, in the US when I’m in my comfort zone, its no big deal if there is no internet or my computer is broken. But when all my comfort boundaries are challenged and then my one means of communication to the mother land is cut off, I turned into a complete baby!

I mean really- I’m surrounded by poverty, AIDS, orphans, unemployment, hunger, thirst and I have a complete meltdown because my $2500 computer isn’t working!?! Really Alex? Well yes. It happened. I’m woman enough to admit it. I was ready to pack up all my bags and couldn’t take another minute. But something wouldn’t let me leave.

Actually it was someone…. about 20 someones. The kids at Kitiluzo that I grew to love and bond with. I still miss their smiles and constant screaming, “Teacher! Teacher! Teacher!”.

Now I’m not an educator; I’ve never been eager to answer kids questions let alone interact with them. My biggest fear on this adventure was that I wouldn’t know what to do with the kids. I was afraid I wouldn’t know how to interact with them. But from the very first day, these attention starved kids just jump on you and attack you with hugs and kisses that you have no choice but to melt into open heartedness. It was this daily greeting that made all the physical discomfort and emotional breakdowns so worth it!

That’s not to say that the teaching part was all peaches and cream. It wasn’t. The kids did not speak English and we did not speak Swahili. So communication was so frustrating, especially when 3-6 year olds are running and screaming and hitting and biting and crying and laughing and…

But you learn fast. Simple commands like ‘stop’, ‘share’, ‘sit’, ‘here’, ‘write’, ‘say’ all become your best friends. And you wing it! We figured that these kids won’t even get a chance to go to school, so anything we can teach them is better than nothing. In the end, all these kids really need is attention and love and that’s what we gave them!

Check out all the pics!

If this isn’t a story for a major Hollywood romance film, I don’t know what is! Read on if you want renewed faith in love, serendipity and finding a soul connection when you least expect it!

The story begins two years ago when my dad met a nice South African man at a Polo Match in San Diego, California. The two hit it off and quickly became friends over dinner and drinks at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. The South African was named Richard and was at the end of a 3-month trip to San Diego. The two exchanged facebook contact info and stayed in contact.

Now I remember this encounter very vividly, not because I was there, but because my dad raved about this great guy that he met and how we must go to Durban, South Africa and visit him. I believe the raving was also followed up with a day’s long internet search for possible flights and web-surf dreaming.

As time went on, whenever anyone would mention South Africa, my dad would always be quick to jump in and mention he had a great friend from Durban and he was going to visit him of these days.

Well, time went on and I sort of forgot about South Africa. But when I scheduled a year long trip to Africa with one of my stop-overs incidentally in Durban, my dad insisted on a meet-up.

“Oh you have to look up Richard! He will show you all around,” he said. But the last thing I wanted to do was hang out with one of my dad’s old man friends in Africa. But nonetheless, I facebook friended the infamous ‘Richard’ and we set a date to meet for dinner.

But little did I know that Richard was actually not an old man. He was a young strapping water polo player in his 20′s! His profile photo on facebook was taken with his uncle, so I didn’t even think that it could possibly be the younger guy, because who carries on with my dad at a polo match and Ruth’s Chris that is under 45 years old anyway? Apparently Richard does.

Meanwhile, my dad had been messaging Richard as well, practically telling him to take out his daughter and show her the town. Nonetheless, we were both pretty aggravated at this forced interaction and went along begrudgingly.

So the time came and I awaited the pick up in the hotel lobby and low and behold a young man I vaguely recognized from a photo walks in and says his name is Richard. WHAT?!?! My head starts spinning and I can’t tell if its because of the confusion or how handsome he was.

Well what began as an obligation quickly turned into a romance and we spent the rest of the week dancing on clouds,  gitty with how funny life can be. The last thing I came to do in Africa was fall in love. It was the last thing on my mind. And somehow it found me. Or rather was forced upon me…lol. In any case, I’m excited to see how this will all turn out.

I’m still planning on completing my year of volunteering and I’m off to Tanzania. But love is in the air. Anything can truly happen when you follow your heart and leap! I woke up one day and felt pulled to Africa. Perhaps this is one of the reasons.

*****************

UPDATE: So I finally met last night the man who I thought was Richard in the profile pic- Richard’s Uncle! The big joke is that he is the real reason why I came to Durban… so funny!

My First Month In Africa

Its amazing that it has only been a month! A Month!!!! It feels like its been a year already! Can’t wait to see what next month has to offer

Thank You Kali Video

This video was made for Kali because she sponsored a day on my journey this year in Africa. This was my first day at Harnas/Noah’s Ark and these are some of the guests I encountered! We learned all about feeding and the tasks we would be doing for the next two weeks. Thank you Thank you Thank you Kali for all your kind support and generosity! It means the world to me and I could not be here without you!!! xoxoxoxo!

So, if you aren’t up to speed on the events that unfolded, please read Part I. Sorry that its so long- just a lot to express. Here is what happened afterwards…

On Monday I met with the booking office, feeling very guarded and expecting to receive the same resistance to my refund request. However, they had a completely different attitude, much to my surprise. The booking lady, Marika, was extremely concerned and upset at the events that unfolded. I almost cried because I felt ‘heard’ for the first time in several days. The man called Frikkie that yelled at me at the petrol station appeared and apologized sincerely for his behavior. WOW. I was shocked. Almost catatonic!

Marika ensured I would receive a refund and pleaded with me to try another program they offer called the Exclusive program. Its meant for the older crowd (50′s + age), but you go with Frikkie step, by step and have an exclusive interaction on volunteer work. She was offering it to me for free, because she wanted me to have the true Harnas experience; the one I received apparently was not what Harnas was about.

I was extremely hesitant to go back as you can imagine. I was angry with everyone. I was wounded and hurt. I also had this new found fear of animals that I never had before! I didn’t want to go back and face my persecutors again. I didn’t want to hear the snickering as I walked around. I didn’t want to experience the looks and attitudes from the scarlet letter of justice I had to carry.

But in the end, I figured if they were big enough to make a true apology and extend an olive branch, then I was big enough to accept. I would face the persecution as it was only for 4-days. And I would do it with a smile on my face and love in my heart. I called upon all the great martyrs from Jesus to Ghandi to Mandela to give me the strength to hold my head up high. And they showed up for me.

Although the program is 14 days long, I could only stay for 4 because my adventures take me to Tanzania next. But these past 4 days have been such a different and amazing experience- the experience I intended from the beginning. The staff made a great effort to make me feel comfortable and accepted. They apologized in a more sincere way and Frikkie made a special attempt to include me in many back-scene experiences that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

For example, I went with just him to encounter a lion that wasn’t eating while a German Film crew filmed. He had to approach her, give her food, touch her and check her out to see if she was ill. In the end, she was fine, but the experience is branded into my heart.

On the first day we were having animal encounters immediately and I was treated like an actual person! I forgot what that felt like. I actually think that I had to experience this to truly understand the plight of the black population during Apartheid. I’ve been feeling so much sympathy for them, but now I have a new found respect and empathy for the Black struggle in South Africa. I only experienced a minor version for a few days! They had generations of disrespect and belittling. How tragic and humiliating! I can’t believe people can recover from that and still hold their heads high- but they do. Their strength is such a beacon of light. I am truly humbled.

Frikkie also gave me the opportunity to touch cheetahs and sit with lions as the sun set below the African trees. Every morning we made the rounds and fed the cheetahs, the lions, the leopards, the baboons, the ostriches…

It was really a beautiful experience and such a lesson that from the sour can come the sweet. I also learned that standing up for your beliefs, for your truth is the most important thing you can do. Not only for yourself, but as an example for others. I don’t know what they think of me, or what they are saying now that I am gone. All I know is that I saw injustice and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I fought for the experience I wanted, and in the end I got it! I didn’t give up.

I’ve also learned that I’m never running from a fear again. I guess I had to learn it in the literal way of running at top speed for 45 minutes, scared for my life. LOL. But next time there is a hyena loose (where figuratively or literally), I’m not listening to anyone except myself. I’ll stay and fight and die if I have to, but I’ll never run. I will never be a sheep, following the crowd because its too painful. I’d rather go down being ME, then running like everyone else. Thank you God for this horrific, but HUGE lesson.

Bottom Line: If you want the “real” Harnas experience (which I recommend!) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE only do the Exclusive Program. The regular volunteer program is terrible and you will not get what you want out of it. Or if you do, its a long road! I’m planning on coming back with friends for the Exclusive Program and only if Frikkie is there. I suggest you do the same! Maybe you can come with me! xoxo!

Here is more info on the program:

http://www.harnas.org/exclusive-voluntourist/?doing_wp_cron=1360322070.1633810997009277343750

I cannot tell you how horrible this volunteer experience has been for me here at Noah’s Ark aka Harnas! It has been probably one of the most personally challenging and humiliating experiences of my life and I’m still in shock over the horrors that have happened to me within a few days. The biggest lesson that I’ve learned from this is experience is: BEWARE OF HUMANS.

When I first found this volunteer experience, I was gitty with excitement to experience a program where love of animals is the main focus since I’m such an animal lover! Actually, it was this program that motivated me to pursue other volunteer programs throughout Africa. I fell in love with the mission of rescuing abandoned, mistreated and orphaned animals and rehabilitating them to be re-released into the wild when possible. What a great purpose and I was so excited to start!

What I soon learned is that this experience for me was not about the animals, but standing up for what is right, no matter the persecution or the resistance. I was shocked to find that from the beginning, before I even stepped on the property, I was treated with great disrespect and humiliated. Read on if you dare…

On my first day, I was picked up from Windhoek, Namibia and started on the 3-hour drive to the Harnas property. There were about 10 other newbie volunteers on board as well, all swollen with hope and excitement. The driver was carrying a sick falcon that hadn’t eaten in 2 days and the staff wasn’t sure it would make it.

We stopped in Gobais (a small town about an hour outside of the property) to refuel and we realized the bird had died. It wouldn’t take any water and wasn’t moving. How sad. We all felt terrible, but before mourning could set in, a man in a violent rage came up to the van and started wailing his hands in the air and screaming. He was saying ‘How the fuck could you do this?’, ‘ I raised this bird from very small’, ‘You can’t leave a bird in the car’- just going completely crazy.

I actually thought that he was joking at first because it was so erratic, but then I soon realized he was very angry and aggressive. I told him that it wasn’t our fault that the bird died and that it was sick to calm him down. He redirected his anger at me, screamed that I was a liar and said the bird was not sick. Then he slammed the van’s sliding door very hard and stormed off! I was humiliated and very confused that a stranger would be so crazy. The driver then told me that he is the new Volunteer coordinator for the program. WHAT?! I couldn’t believe that he was part of Noah’s Ark (or now called Harnas as I found out later), would be managing me and that I was paying to be treated like this! It was unbelievable and I was very upset.

But we continued on, and entered onto a dirt road for the remaining way to Harnas. We were on the dirt road for no more than 10 minutes when a rock kicked up and shattered the back window. No one was hurt thank god. But the driver insisted we drive in the dust for another hour and a half. Large amounts of dust filled the van cabin, to the point that our lungs were aching and we couldn’t stop coughing. It was really bad. I asked if they would call another car to pick us up since there were people with asthma were on board. A car did come, but it was to pick up the dead falcon and then left. No one came to help us volunteers. Ok.

When we arrived at the property, we were greeting by a few volunteer coordinators. I immediately told them about the angry man at the petrol station hoping for some retribution or consolation. They said that he was the boss and he can do whatever wants. Basically ‘tough shit’.

To top it off, they continued to be very rude as they began the introduction of the program. A phrase like, “If I catch you doing this, I will personally pack your bags and kick you out” was often used rather a simple, “It is against the rules to do this… it is very dangerous so please don’t do this.” etc. It was as though we were stupid children that needed to be threatened to keep in line. This sort of disrespect is not what I signed up for. We were given rules about how to behave which seemed like any normal adult would understand. For example, one rule was to not discriminate against how other people used a fork and knife and to not engage in sexual relations with other volunteers. I couldn’t believe that we were being told to act like adults.

I was very confused and insulted. The staff was bossy and it felt very much like they were dominating school teachers, to rule over uncontrollable children. Actually, it was the first time in my life I’ve ever felt like a 2nd class citizen.I tried to put it behind me, focusing on the reason I was there. I tried not to let my ego get upset, knowing that the greater good was for the animals. However, I soon realized why the staff was so rude…

The ‘Noah’s Ark’ program at Harnas is meant for kids 18-22 who are in their gap year (the year after high school where kids are expected to go wild, travel and sew their wild oats). We joined up with about 50 crazy kids for dinner, hooping and hollering, playing tag, flirting, creating a ruckus. I felt like I was in a bad high-school movie. Jeez… when does this program get good? Why am here? Ok… the animals, the animals. Keep positive I kept telling myself.

I endured three days of juvenile behavior before I could finally work with the animals. And it was glorious! I was so excited, fed a few of them, but I still was not allowed to interact with them. I was told that I have to earn that with a few more days of work. Ok no problem. I was there for two weeks so I had time. That night the kids were having a BBQ and that is where they were serving dinner, so I attended reluctantly but hungrily.

What happened next was the straw that broke the camel’s back if there were any camels there

At about 8/8:30 it was quite dark even though there was a full moon and we are sitting around the camp fire. I finally was relaxed and felt ‘ok’ being the only adult in the group. All of a sudden, we hear a woman scream bloody murder in the distance.

We all get quite and scared and one person shouts to a staff member to alert him to the screaming. A voice comes over one of the staff member’s radio, screaming that a big hyena got into the ‘village’ (the exact place we were at and where our sleeping quarters were). The woman screams for help for about 5 minutes, her yells echoing through the quite bush. The staff quickly yells for about 6 men to run with flashlights to find her in the bushes and see what’s happening.

Two men find her as she is screaming and they carry her to the car that was about 100 ft from the bonfire. We find out that she is a fellow volunteer who was walking to her cabin and got attacked by the hyena that was loose in the village. Hyenas have the strongest jaws in nature and can tear off a leg in one swift movement. We were horrified as we didn’t know the extent of her injury.

The staff leader tells us all to gather around the fire because we won’t get hurt there, so we all huddle, quite scared around the fire. His radio goes off again and something is said in Afrikaans and then he screams to us, “Run! Run for your life! Get up and run and don’t stop!!!!”

Shocked, frightened and panicked I start to run for my life and so do the rest of the 35-40 people present. I throw on my backpack that is half zipped and hold my camera in one hand while I fight not to get trampled on. We all start to run down the runway which is out in an open field and about 1.5 miles to an enclosed building. I am in complete panic. People are pushing me and at one point I trip and get pushed around by by a few people.

But I’m running for my life, so I just continue to run at the urgency of the staff members screaming RUN! I’ve never been so scared in my life, so frightened. The staff is screaming and terrified and so are all the volunteers. One staff member screams that she has never seen so much blood from a wound and the other keeps yelling ‘run for your life’ so we run.

The woman in the car who was injured is driven up next to the runners, screaming and crying. We can’t really see her, but we are panicked. The staff keeps telling us to keep in groups, keep up, don’t stop running. We get to the building area and the staff, instead of letting us in, say the hyena has moved close now and we have to run back to the fire because that is where we will be the safest. At this point my lungs are in overdrive and I can barely breath but I don’t want to die. Half of the people are not in shape to do this, including myself, but who wants to get eaten alive?!? I don’t even dare to stop running- no one does.

So we run back, I run for my life literally. We get back to the bonfire and I feel a little relief. I have to vomit, but I don’t even dare because I’m still too scared to let down my guard so I swallow it down. I whip out my flashlights and in doing so realize that my bag was open the entire time I was running; I no longer have my inhaler, my small waterproof camera nor the hood to my $5000 camera. But I can’t think about that right now cause I want to make sure I don’t die. I frantically search the woods for the hyena, trying to calm my breath so I don’t hyperventilate. We are yelled at to keep all flashlights on the trees, its a group effort. Make sure you look for eyes and I see eyes everywhere.

My adrenaline is through the roof, my heart is pounding out of chest and my asthma is over taking me. I think to myself, “If I get out of this alive, I’m so outta of Harnas. All the disrespect and now my life is threatened?!? F THIS!”

After about 10 minutes of frantic searching of the surrounding bushes, the staff starts laughing. It was all a joke- a prank for the newbies. WHAT?!?

I couldn’t believe it. One girl who was in my cabin also had asthma and was puking all over the place, while the staff laughed. I couldn’t believe this could be something to joke about- safety! I was horrified.

They asked me if I was ok, and I said “Absolutely not”. Who jokes about life or death? You dont go scuba diving and start yelling shark! You don’t go on a plane and even whisper the word, ‘Bomb’. But this was oka??!? And what kind of prank makes people with heart conditions and asthma run like hell for their lives?

I was LIVID. My health was at risk, I lost about $400 of items in my bag and I was deceived by the very same people who were supposed to ensure my safety and comfort as a volunteer.

And to top it off, the staff just laughed at me when I told them that I have never felt more unsafe and disrespected in my life. Then the other 40 plus people joined in laughing at me! I was mortified. Now I know I’m in a bad high school movie!I can’t even recall a time that I was mocked in public by a large crowd! WOW!

I took one of the laughing staff members aside and asked her how she could think this was a joke. She told me that I shouldn’t be upset because it was only a Hyena and it was funny because Hyenas don’t attack people so I shouldn’t have believed her! WHAT?!? So now I’m being ridiculed because I listened to the emergency directions of a trained staff member? What is going on? I said I wanted to speak to the owner immediately and they told me to wait until the morning. I told them I demand a refund and I wanted to leave. I did not want to be in a place where safety was a joke, especially around dangerous animals. Isn’t the point of a non-profit to improve lives not jeopardize them?????

All night I couldn’t sleep, I was up wheezing and coughing trying to slow my breath. Trying not to panic. I had to go to the bathroom, but because I was in so much fear, I refused to leave the quarters and walk to the outside bathroom. I was forced to hold it in all night I don’t care if the situation wasn’t real- It felt really real for me and for the other newbies in my cabin.

I met with the same staff the next morning and basically re-told them the exact same concerns above again. They insisted that it was a prank and that its okay to prank about safety. They do it with lions and leopards. They do it all the time for the newbies. Its a tradition at Harnas.

After making my points again and again they finally gave me a small apology for the way I reacted to it and one of the staff members said they won’t do that kind of prank anymore. I felt a little better but still felt deceived and unsafe- I wanted to leave immediately. They said I had to wait a couple hours until Marietta, the owner, was available to discuss refund and my transport back to Windhoek.

When I met with Marietta, she said that I was the only person who ‘freaked out’ at the prank and therefore I must be an anomaly and it was my own problem, my own reaction. I told her that the three girls in my cabin were traumatized and another male volunteer told me he also had never been so afraid for his life. I knew the young girls wouldn’t speak up because their parents paid for them to be there and who wants to be laughed at when you are 18? The other gentleman was leaving the next day and didn’t care to speak up.

I was the only one who was saying anything! She sort of dismissed me. I was quite shocked that she thought joking about safety was okay. I guess that is the motto of Harnas????

There is something fundamentally WRONG with an organization that feels its okay to terrify people and make them feel completely threatened for their life and then just laugh. There is also something fundamentally WRONG with an organization who is honored by volunteers and entrusted to keep them safe, yet tricks them into feeling unsafe. There is something fundamentally WRONG with an organization who feels that they can joke about safety in the evening and the scold about safety in the day. There is something fundamentally WRONG with an organization who expects volunteers to know when they are joking about safety and when there is a real threat. I am utterly appalled at everything about this experience.

My life has been put at risk, I have been disrespected, I have lost equipment, have been yelled at, I have been laughed at and I have been ridiculed. This has been the most traumatic and horrific experiences of my adult life. This is not the experience I paid for nor wanted to experience in Africa.

I have a meeting back in Windhoek in a few days to discuss everything again with the booking office. Fingers crossed I’ll get a refund. I’ll keep you updated on what happens next. Read Part II…

I arrived in South Africa two weeks ago today and have had one amazing experience after another; enough would put an adventure novel to shame! I’ve walked with lions, safari’ed on elephant-back, stood in front of the thundering mists of Victoria Falls, cruised the Zimbaze River, felt the energy in Nelson Mandela’s home, driven through the post-apartheid townships like Soweto, videoed dancing Tswana children, hiked to the most southern, western point of Africa, and sipped wine while watching the sunset in Cape Town’s swankiest bars.

But everything I did, I did because it was the most exciting thing I could do at the time. I put aside worry about money or time or fear or expectations. For the first time in my life, I did exactly what I wanted to do- no compromise. And guess what? My bucket became full, overflowing!

Wow! How I have been blessed! I’ve realized that these amazing experiences needed to happen to fill me up with so much love, so much opportunity, so much appreciation for life that my bucket was gushing before I ventured out into my volunteering services (the first one which starts tomorrow). Because I’ve received so much from the Universe, my soul is itching to give back! And I now have the energy to do it!

What a valuable lesson to learn that it is only when we are full of all of our own pleasure and excitement that can we truly give back in a pure and fun way! This is the flow of life- we receive and then we are able to give, and then we are able to receive again and so on.

But sometimes, somewhere along the line, we get stuck in either giving too much of ourselves therefore running on empty all the time or we become too self involved and never get to experience the fulfillment of giving. Either way, we are not in the flow, and therefore become unhappy and unfulfilled.

So the key to happiness is to let yourself receive all the gifts of the world all the time! Follow your highest excitement always. Only then can we give without resentment or looking for acknowledgement and therefore are in the flow. This is unconditional love of self and of others. This is the warm, gooey-liquidy comfort we all long for. This is the key to happiness!

I urge you all to make your own excitement be your number one priority all the time!!! Let me know how it goes!!!
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For all of you interested in the programs I’ve come across and would like to give back, here is some more information by country:

ZIMBABWE
Lion Encounter: http://www.lionalert.org
This organization is dedicated to re-populating the African lion species which is on a rapid decline. If you go to Vic Falls, Zimbabwe you will be able to walk with lions as well! Please donate and check it out!

Falcon Safariswww.falconsafaris.com/
This group will help you book the elephant ride, the Victoria falls & Livingstone Tours and the Zambezi Cruise.

SOUTH AFRICA
Joberg Cab/Tour Driver: Elias +0766553469
This guy is great, prompt and will drive you all around the city to various tours for very affordable rates. Great English! Does Airport Pick-ups as well.

Cape Town Cab/Tour Driver: Abdi Barre +0781611832
He is a Somalian refugee and is a great guy to drive all around the cape. Does Airport Pick-ups as well.

Tswana Dancers
They are currently looking for people to help promote them. I’ll be creating a website for them. Let me know if you are interested in helping out!

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I was up all night tossing and turning because my body refused to cooperate with a  time difference of 10 hours. I got up around 5am restless and began to get ready for the day. I had breakfast alone in the hotel, without reading or playing with my phone, which was a little unnerving at first. But I settled in, ate up and decided to call the company just to confirm the booking. Much to my surprise, they didn’t have it because they don’t check email on the weekends even though they allow you to book weekend tours on a weekend day.

So in an attempt to keep my business, he offered me the Johannesburg tour instead, for which I sort of cringed in return. I was also super grumpy from the jetlag, but when I heard the description I was bummed. It was a shuttle bus tour around the city stopping at various city elements, but I didn’t come all the way to South Africa to see the city!  It seemed I had no other choice unless I wanted to spend another 24 hours in my hotel room. So I agreed.

The tour was exactly what I expected it to be, but nonetheless, it was good to be out and about. Fiftieth floor views at the ‘Roof of Africa’ building, driving past Nelson Mandela’s house, visiting Constitution Hall and other city buildings were all quite interesting in a tourist kinda way, but nothing near the AFRICAN experience I desired. But I was okay with it and told myself that I will have the real Africa on Tuesday when I go to Kruger Game Park and hang with the Big 5. And so I went with the flow, not thinking much of it.

On the last stop of the tour, we visited Stadium City, where the World Cup was. Since I’m not a sports fan and even less of a ‘taking pictures of sports stadiums’ type of person, I snapped a few memory shots and walked quickly back to the shuttle. And then it happened…. I heard African music, drums, singing echoing through the empty property. Could it be true? My heart sped up as I saw a group of maybe 10 children doing incredible African dancing in the distance, just outside the property. I nearly ran people over trying to get there! And what I saw was AMAZING!

These kids were cracking me up with their intense and playful gestures, movements and facial expressions. They put me and my party guests to shame when we attempted African dance at my going away party no more than a week ago. These kids were the real deal, the real Africa. A group of tourists encircled them and for a half hour they danced while a production crew filmed. Of course, I made my way over to the production crew and quickly became friends with the staff.

I learned that the group was called Bana Ba Nkw’e Tota Cultural Group and they performed traditional African dance throughout South Africa. Half-way through my history lesson in broken English, the main camera man ran out of battery on his Canon! A videographer or photographer’s nightmare. I offered to film the rest and send it to them to help out and they were eternally grateful! I became an instant hero to these people.

Within minutes after the shoot finished, I had 20 kids jumping up and down on me, touching my face saying ‘What a Smile’,  yelling ‘I love you!’ and blowing me kisses. They wanted pictures with me and to hug me and I felt a reassured sense of mission about my whole trip. The group’s leader offered me their DVD, something they use to fund their project, and he told me to call him no matter what, if I ever need anything. I instantly had a family with these people. This is the Africa I came to see and experience. This was the tour I wanted!

I silently thanked God as a trail of kids followed me back to the shuttle saying goodbye. I held up my tour and my fellow Swiss German tourists aboard weren’t too happy about it, but I didn’t care. I got to make a difference by happenstance and I couldn’t stop smiling on the 30 minute drive back to the hotel!

This experience was  just another affirmation for me from the Universe that I am on the right path. I’m gitty with delight and excitement to be in the real Africa, with the natives, the kids, the dancing, the drumming, the pure of heart and the powerful Earth. I feel so full of love and fulfillment. I’m looking forward to next unexpected adventure!

So the moral of the story is: When you go with the flow, you always get what you want in the end! Thank you God!

Click On Video to Left or Check Out Pics Here