Why I Love the Wilderness

I've always loved nature and animals. As a child I spent 80-90% of my time outside, riding horses, playing in the garden or going on walks. So when I went to South Africa I LOVED being with nature

We spent a 5 days and 4 nights in the wilderness, in a nature reserve called Umfolozi which was just outside Durban. 1/3 of the reserve is closed off to the public and only a few trails are allowed in, I was lucky enough to be on one of those trails. 

We had a short drive into the reserve and we soon came to the end of the road for our transport. We had a quick lunch, arranged our bags and then we were off, waving goodbye to the other group and contact with the outside world. Within the first 10 minutes of walking we saw rhino prints, a rhino midden (Basically an area where they come back to poo!) and then a breeding herd of 20-30 elephants! On top of that we passed hippos, buffalo, impala and nyala! It was completely overwhelming and it took a while to set in that this was my home for the next few days. I was scared, oh my god I was so scared. Every potential noise made me flinch and I kept my eyes peeled for lions and rhino. But it was an exhilarating feeling. I remember first seeing the elephants and I was terrified there would charge at us but I was also mesmerised by their peacefulness and playfullness. The babies were messing about in the water and the adults were slowly moving across the river, it's a scene I'll never forget. 

Our first camp was just above the river and we could hear some animals below in the water but unfortunately couldn't see them. We made our first dinner and got to know each other more and then it was time to start night watch. It was during my first nightwatch that I first felt at peace and so unbelievably calm in such a long time. I could hear a lion roaring in the distance, some animals drinking in the river and all I could see was the moon and the stars in the ridiculously clear (and lacking any light pollution) sky. 

1st camp at sunrise and sunset

From then on we had routine jobs we'd all do but they were only little things. The rest of the time I could really immerse myself in South Africa and nature. We walked in silence so we wouldn't scare off any possible animals around us and it gave me such a good opportunity to think and not worry about anything. On the way to SA I had worried I'd get worried and have panic attacks but nothing happened at all and I felt completely the opposite. I think it was in the wilderness I began to really accept myself and feel more confident. I realise the scale of this cliche but it's true. Nature, or more specifically the South African wilderness, does something indescribable to you that just changes you. At the time I didn't really notice anything changing at all but somethings have definitely changed. 

Night watch was actually one of my favourite times. It was the only time I had any privacy and was all to myself so I did actually get really deep into thought sometimes, until I'd hear a crunching of branches and the sound of a large animal's heavy breathing! The stars were beautiful and the brightness of the moon is just indescribable!  But my all time favourite moment was seeing a male giraffe walk towards us as the sun was setting. OH MY GOD it was genuine magic. He was so graceful and majestic yet so powerful with that. Ugh I'm getting post-trail blues just thinking about it but it is one memory that will never leave me which is good because I didn't manage to get a very decent picture of him due to the fading light. 

Spot the giraffe! 

It was also so nice not to have my phone. I know people won't believe me when I say that but it was! Not knowing the time, as we had not watches or electronics was so refreshing. We simply used the position of the sun to estimate the time but didn't rush at all, we simply glided through with no real importance of time (except sunset for obvious reasons). I did miss music a little bit but I did love hearing so many birds and animals and not hearing cars!! Going back into civilisation was actually surprisingly loud and it genuinely took a while for me to adjust back into it! 

While I'm so disappointed I didn't see any lions or leopards, (even though one lion was less than 10m away from me and I couldn't quite see her!) I am so grateful to have seen all these other animals. I've always been a HUGE animal lover and actually being in the wilderness with wild animals roaming around us. It was so crazy seeing hyenas which aren't actually what I pictured previously at all, Lion King lies!!  And the eyes of the crocs in the river at night just blinking back at you is quite an experience (so was crossing in the river just 50m above them). Wow all the memories are flooding back now, I could probably talk about this for days but the only way you can truly understand what I'm saying is if you visit the place for yourself. Not on stupid tourist safaris which intrude on nature and are just there for people to make money. But go on trails with the 'leave no trace' motto and just immerse yourself in nature. 

One of the many thousands of baboons we saw

If you want to use the Wilderness Leadership School here is their link:  http://www.wildernesstrails.org.za/trails

Hope you enjoyed my little taster of the SA wilderness! 

Who wouldn't love a view like this?

Thanks for reading,

Charlotte

XO