On my way to Africa in one week!

Thousands of people volunteer in Africa every year and I'm about to become one of them.

Harnas Wildlife Foundation is located near Namibia's eastern border, about an hour and a half away from the nearest town. Namibia is an very dry country and enjoys roughly 300 days of sunshine per year - a big change for a girl coming from the west coast of BC, where all it does is rain. I'll be going during their winter and have been told to expect temperatures of up to 25 degrees during the day. Sounds great, right? It turns out the days are warm but at night the temperature often plummets below zero. This combination is making packing an interesting challenge. I'll be sleeping outside some nights and I don't want to freeze!

Harnas is an organzation that rescues and rehabilitates wild animals displaced, abandoned or abused by humans. There is a small group of animals, including lions and cheetahs, that can't be released for various reasons and are permanent residents. The rest of the animals that come through are rehabilitated and released onto the wildlife reserve. Volunteers help with the daily care of the animals, farm maintenance, and anything else that's needed. It's probably not always exciting but certainly always necessary.


When I leave Harnas in July, I'm heading to Australia. My plans aren't clearly defined yet but I'm arriving in Melbourne and leaving from Brisbane. Somewhere along the way I'd like to complete an Advanced Open Water Diver course but other than that I don't really know what I'll be doing. I'm trying to stay flexible. After Australia, I'm meeting my friends, Tina and Richard, in England. Tina and I will see the sights while Richard visits with family, then the three of us will head to Denmark to stay with some of Tina's family.

I should be home in mid-August. I've never been away that long before and I'm freaking out a bit. It's going to be a great experience, though. :)