Cody Salzberg

Student at the International School of Amsterdam

Spending time out in the African bush, completely unplugged, with no Wi-Fi or phone signal, is something I think everybody should do at least once. It gave me a genuine opportunity to connect with my peers and the other people in the house on a much deeper level. You get to talk to people, hear their stories, and really get to know them. Even just listening to one story from a ranger can shift your perspective entirely. Whilst also being surrounded by such beautiful animals and landscapes was an incredibly valuable experience, and one I think should be a much more important part of life.

One of the most striking moments of the trip was our day at Kruger National Park. What struck me most was the sheer size and scale of the place. In the Kruger, it's just land as far as the eye can see, you can look all the way to the horizon and not spot a single fence. 

Before coming on this trip, I learned so much. For instance, I had heard about the rhino poaching crisis through the media, but I had no idea just how serious the situation really was. Watching documentaries and hearing it firsthand from the staff really brought the reality of it into sharp focus. Learning that poachers are sometimes entering certain areas four times a day in pursuit of a single rhino, and understanding the scale and brutality of the operation behind it, was genuinely shocking. It's a far bigger and more complex problem than most people realise!

This was my first time in Africa, and this experience completely transformed my understanding of conservation in Southern Africa. Before arriving, I honestly had very little idea of what efforts and projects were actually taking place. In fact, as this was my first visit to the continent.

Our visit to Johannesburg and Soweto, including the Apartheid Museum, added another deeply meaningful dimension to the trip. It gave real context to the history of the region and helped us understand why things are the way they are, from the layout of housing in Soweto to the vast inequality that exists across South Africa. We saw the full spectrum of life in one day, and I found that incredibly valuable.

I would encourage anyone considering a trip like this to go for it. It offers something far richer than a standard safari fieldtrip you're not just observing, you're learning, connecting, and genuinely engaging with the world around you. I came home with a completely different perspective, and that's something I'll carry with me for a long time.