Anna Calia

I split my time between two very different projects, Phinda Wildlife Research Project and Umsele Field Conservation Project, and I think that contrast ended up being one of the best things about the trip. 

Phinda is such an established project, with dedicated research already running, such as the pangolin work, that you're thrown straight into a well-oiled routine. There were long game drives twice a day, digging in the soil, monitoring rhinos, and enjoying amazing sightings.

Umsele felt completely different. It's much more grassroots, with management asking, in real time, how many sightings of wild dogs, brown hyenas, or lions we were picking up, and whether animals were moving between reserves. 

We'd go out for two drives with a longer break in between, counting animals, counting trees, that kind of thing. It was a more relaxed pace, but just as interesting, and it was genuinely fascinating hearing about a meeting between neighbouring properties trying to work out shared rules and where things were heading.

My monitor at Phinda was brilliant, really knowledgeable and good fun. At Umsele I had two monitors, and they were just as fantastic. What stood out to me there was how much you learn even when you're not seeing any wildlife. 

Sometimes we'd drive for hours and mostly just see impala, but instead of that being a let-down, it turned into learning about trees, grass, and birds instead. Understanding why thorn trees matter, or how certain plants relate to water usage in a water-scarce region, genuinely changed how I see the whole ecosystem. 

Choosing a highlight is genuinely difficult, because the two projects gave me such different experiences. I got to see a rhino horn trimming, a rhino translocation, observed pangolin tracking, and I also saw elephants and hippos up close, which was incredible.

I now understand, in a way I don't think I fully appreciated before, how much the small contributions matter. Sitting on the back of a vehicle counting animals might not feel like a huge deal in the moment, but that's the data that can feed into decisions about vulture and elephant populations or where water holes or fencing get placed.

If I had to say anything to someone considering a trip like this, it would be: do it because you're excited to be there and want to learn, not just for the ‘big’ moments. That attitude is what makes the whole experience feel special.

I've always loved being outside and have always been interested in conservation, so getting a month to properly live that, rather than just fit it in around normal life, has been an incredible experience, one I'm already trying to work out how to repeat!