Megan Owens

Going to Moholoholo was the greatest thing I’ve ever done, honestly. I had always wanted to work with animal conservation and travel so Moholoholo was a no-brainer.

I don’t know what I expected going in, maybe I would just have a fun time for 4 weeks and then return to my normal life like nothing ever happened. Not true. The moment I landed and spoke to Martin, I knew that it would be so much more. It was challenging both physically and mentally and at times it was really tough but I wouldn’t change a single moment because I came home with a whole new perspective on conservation. It’s not all fairytales where every animal will live happily ever after if we all just come together and change things, and that was hard to come to terms with. I now understand that difficult choices must be made to ensure the survival of a species.

The people and animals I met while I was there will always have a special place in my heart and I’ve done things I never thought I would like; help raise a baby squirrel, hold a baboon spider to get over my arachnophobia and see a white rhino in the wild. I’m glad it wasn’t just an easy-going safari holiday because I genuinely learned so much and would go back in a heartbeat. Even just to see a snake eagle who makes chicken noises. You’ll see.