I am so excited to introduce you all to Abigail Trombley! She has very kindly written a guest post about her gap year in South Africa. You can see her blog, As She Wrote, here.
Let’s get into the post …
I graduated high school a year early, and therefore decided to take a gap year before I went to college. During my gap year, I was able to have several incredible experiences; I did an internship in Washington, D.C. I studied in London, and best yet – I spent three months in the South African bush, volunteering on an anti-poaching project.
During my internship in D.C., one rainy fall Sunday, I wandered into the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. It just so happened there was an exhibit on wildlife photography. Seeing the photos of lion cubs playing together, herds of elephants in the water and giraffes against a savannah sunset, I knew immediately I had to see this in person.
I went back to my dorm room and that very same day filled out an application to join a volunteer conservation project on a game reserve in South Africa.
Arriving in Africa
A few months later I was in a jeep heading down a bumpy road, red dust already coating my throat. What had I gotten myself into?! I thought that, while they say to take the road less traveled, I was literally on that road.
The following three months was spent with a group of other students also on a gap year. I woke up at 4:30AM each morning, and we’d head out to the stables. We began our anti-poaching work early because poachers set out snares the night before. During the daytime it was too hot to do anything.
We patrolled the reserve on horseback to cover as much ground as possible. We waded through thick bush to find snares attached to tree trunks, to catch the legs or necks of impalas, lions, leopards, and even rhinos. Some days, we came up empty after hours of searching. Other days, we’d return to the stables with rings of metal snares around our wrists that we had successful removed. There were days we discovered we had arrived too late.
The beauty …
The magic of this trip was that we were completely off the grid and immersed in the bush. So much that we could not leave the house on foot, as we were completely exposed to the bush and all the wildlife that lives in it.
There were nights we’d be outside eating dinner, and we’d hear the bush literally start to rumble. We’d jump up, running with our plates to get back inside the house, as a herd of elephants would begin to traverse the backyard. We’d sit quietly in front of the window, absolutely mesmerized by their presence.
Wildebeest slept under our clothes line at night. There were evenings we’d have trouble falling asleep, the sound of the lions roaring just a little too close for comfort.
We’d hear the bush literally start to rumble
The dangers …
During our anti-poaching work we were also completely exposed in the South African bush, without guns or any sort of protection. We had two guides with us, but often the group would split up to cover more ground.
One day, I was riding with two teammates. The environment was tense that day, as a herd of lions had recently been spotted in the area. I was in the lead and spotted a snare wrapped around a tree, so I hopped off my horse to remove it. As I was doing so, a large bush in front of me began to shake, and I heard the unmistakeable sounds of an animal struggling.
My immediate thought was that a lion had caught a prey – and was devouring it right in front of me. My teammate behind me saw a flash of brown and shouted “LION!” I hopped on my horse’s back, from the ground, a move purely fuelled by adrenaline.
Hearing her warning, several teammates and a guide broke onto the scene, running to the other side of the bush. It turns out the noises we heard were not a lion, but rather an impala. It had gotten stuck in a snare and was thrashing about, only tightening the metal noose around its neck. We were able to cut the impala free and save him.
Learn more …
I write more about my adventures (and plenty more stories like that) in my book Mind the Gap: A Guide to Gap Years From Someone Who’s Survived One, as well as explain how you too can have incredible experiences during a gap year.
If you have any questions about how I planned, funded and executed my year, feel free to email me at abigailtrombley@gmail.com!
Back to me!
If you guys want to know more about opportunities in South Africa, be sure to check out my posts on the Wildlife Act! Keep an eye out for my posts on endangered species, like the ones I wrote on vultures and rhinos.
Wow, what an amazing gap year! Anti-poaching is a cause I’d support anytime and it’s so sad that financial insecurity drives people to kill these majestic animals. In addition to directly preventing the murder, I think it’s important to create enough job opportunities for the people who would otherwise resort to poaching. Thank you for spreading the word of this young lady’s impressive experience!
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment! Raising awareness is such a prominent part of conservation too
Spending 3 months in Africa must have been amazing. I have also done volunteering in Himalayas so I understand how rewarding in must have been.
Wow that work sounds amazing! What volunteering work did you do?
We have never been to South Africa but it’s on our bucket list! And from what we read here, it seems like a wonderful travel destination. It’s awesome that you took a gap year after high school!
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!
Wow, it sounds like you had an incredible gap year! Spending 3 months in Africa must have been amazing, especially volunteering doing something so rewarding and unfortunately very much needed! Nothing really beats being out with the wildlife out there does it, although I felt a little safer in a car than I would on a horse! So thankful there are people like you protecting the animals from poachers though 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!
This sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience! I love that you were inspired by the Smithsonian to go on your adventure, Abigail! Also, the danger of it sounds a little freaky but also very cool to know that a bunch of elephants could show up at any time. I’m glad you were able to save the impala and hopefully poaching becomes a thing of the past sooner than later.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!
Oh my goodness your heart must have really jumped when you heard that rustle and thought you were on foot next to a Lion! eep! It sounds like a fantastic experience though, and it’s great that as a team you helped the impala.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!
What a great experience, and for such a good cause too! Kudos to you Abigail for using your gap year so well! Happy to hear that you saved so many animals.
Also, your almost encounter with the-lion-that-turned-out-to-be-an-impala was a scary read – I was on the edge of my seat worried! Glad it turned out ok.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!
Loved reading this. Experiencing wildlife in their natural environment in Africa is indeed one of the best experiences of life. For us Rwanda has been the place where we had the best wild life experiences.
I would love to visit Rwanda, I never hear very much about it
Wow! What an intense and adventurous way to spend your gap year. What was your training like before being out in the field? Would love to hear more. Do you have any advice you would give to people who may be interested in doing a program like this on their gap year?
I recommend checking out Abigails blog, I hope that will answer your questions!
Wow that’s quite the experience, amazing! Must have been so special to be immersed in the bush and its wildlife in this manner, but it’s sad the reason was to help stop poaching of course. Will check out Abigail’s blog too, thanks for the tip Lydia!
You’re very welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!
One of our best vacations ever was in South Africa where we spent a few days in a private game reserve just outside Kruger Park and in the Okavango Delta. Seeing all these wild animals in their natural habitat is absolutely fantastic.
They truly are amazing!
Wow this sounds like such an amazing experience, I can only imagine how surreal it must have been to have gotten so up close and personal to the animals.
Well done for risking your own safety to try and collect the snares and traps, very admirable!
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!
That’s a really amazing and yet frightening story. But what amazing work you did to save the beautiful animals. Were in ever in danger from poachers themselves, or just the lions and other wild animals?
If you check out Abigails blog, maybe she can answer your questions on there!