My Experience in South Africa

Prior to coming to South Africa with Operation Wallacea, I was apprehending going to the wildlife part of the country. However, after the warm welcome that the staff of the Somkhanda Reserve and
Sodwana Bay offered us, as well as the amazing activities that we did, I realized how lucky I was to be
there. I have learned so much during this magical journey.

Photo by Léa Salem

In Somkhanda reserve, we had lectures explaining various subjects such as biodiversity, ecology, and
the poaching issue. Thanks to these lectures, I am now able to better understand the beautiful
environment that surrounds us and the issues we need to solve to protect it. The activities we did
were quite enriching like when we learned how to collect data on plants and trees, or when we were
trying to find a lioness on the pick-up by looking at its tracks, which I found very exciting and fun.

During our second week, we left the Game Reserve to discover the marine life of Sodwana Bay. We
were taught about the importance of coral reefs and the megafauna, and learned how to identify fish
underwater using sign language. My favourite activity was to dive in the Indian Ocean, which has a
beautiful biodiversity with a wide variety of rays, eels, turtles, and even whales!

Photo by Dan Schmidt

Overall, if you ever have the opportunity to go there, do not hesitate. This eye-opening trip will make
you come back with life-time memories and a new vision of the world. Mingling with scientists for
two weeks was an amazing and memorable experience. It made me realize how big the world is and
how every living form, from micro-organisms to big mammals, has its own key purpose in this
complex and fascinating world.

Photo by Léa Salem

Title photo by Callum Evans