Earthwatch Institute

I joined the Walking with African Wildlife project twice: in 2004, at 43 and in 2014, at 53.
I've traveled often to east and southern Africa, and can't get enough of its scenery and wildlife.
You and your fellow volunteers will be met at the airport, driven to spectacular Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park, and divided among two camps. The North Camp, is more secluded, built along a river and surrounded by trees in the hillier region of the park. Here were kept close company with elephants, vervet monkeys, nyala, zebra and buffalo. The South Camp is atop a hill, surrounded by rolling savannah and somewhat easier hikes. I once saw a cheetah perched on a hillside, scoping out the prey species below. Both camps have spectacular birdlife.

Each morning you will wake early, have a bit to eat and some coffee, and bundle up for the chilly ride to your trail in an open vehicle. You and your ranger will be deposited at a trailhead just as the sun is rising behind you, and will walk west, with increasing light, looking for herbivores.
Your ranger (invariably a Zulu man) will advise you to walk directly behind him, and within 6 feet.
And so, the world of the African savannah will be opened up to you. You will be keenly attuned to sounds around you: birds, a monkey's call, the alarm snort of an ungulate, the crackle in the brush of....? Depending on your Zulu and/or your guide's English, you may converse a bit, or you may just be relishing this singular experience too much for talk.

Your hike may be 2 miles or 6, easy or difficult, but at the end, tired and happy, you will be retrieved by the staff and brought back to the camp for lunch. Afternoon is for naps, birdwatching, data input, or socializing, which continues along with sunset watching and stargazing till everyone tucks themselves in at night.

Have I persuaded you yet? I hope so. If you have questions for me, I would be happy to answer them. I can be contacted through Earthwatch.

Every Earthwatch project I have been on I have wanted to do again and this one was no exception. I was so excited to be in Churchill - Polar Bear Capital of the World.

I spent two wonderful weeks at the newly opened Northern Studies Centre with comfortable bedrooms, great facilities and three hot meals a day.

We spent most of our time collecting data from ponds. Whether we were dip netting, collecting water samples or identifying zooplankton....twice a day we would pull on our neoprene waist wadders and gaffer tape on our neoprene footwear before plunging into mud and water.

In the afternoons there was lab work to do before dinner and a lecture. I was lucky enough to be at the centre at the same time as a polar bear specialist who was happy to give a talk one evening.

There were understandably strict rules about going outside the centre and we had to be accompanied at all times by a bear-guide with a rifle. On 3 occasions polar bears came right up to the building which meant we got some great photos but were pleased to be inside! We were also treated to an amazing Northern Lights show on our second night at the centre.

On our recreational day all the volunteers decided to hire a guide and spent a wonderful morning touring the area before visiting the eskimo museum in Churchill. Dinner that night was at a restaurant in Churchill to give the cook at the Centre a much deserved night off.

Another unique and hugely informative project. A must for anyone.

Mongolia was truly a unique experience. Certainly one of the best Earthwatch projects I have done. The Mongolian people are lovely and passionate about their country. The national park that we were in, Ikh Nart, was wonderful.

The rendezvous was at a guest house in Ulaanbaatar and it is definitely worth arriving early to spend at least a day in the city sightseeing.

Travelling to the camp involved a 7-8 hour train journey which was a wonderful way to see the countryside and a further hour and a half's drive on from the station. We were so well looked after by the project staff and I had no concerns about the remoteness of the area.

There were 6 volunteers and we were really lucky to be at the camp at the same time as the Assistant Curator for Birds at Denver Zoo who was there to try to capture Cinereous vultures. Mary-Jo had 4 radio transmitters that she wanted to attach to the backs of 4 adult vultures. Capture was never going to be easy and I have to say that vultures are wise birds! We spent many hours sitting waiting near nest sites but were not successful. One day we were out for 14 hours.

As well as the vultures there is research being done on the Argali sheep, snakes, Lesser Kestrals, small mammals and hedgehogs. There was plenty of bird life too. One evening we had a talk by the hedgehog researcher and and watched as he fitted a long earred hedgehog with a radio transmitter.

Life around camp was very civilised. Our Gers were very comfortable and wood burning stoves were lit on the coldest nights. Showers were taken in the afternoon/evening using sun showers. Everyone ate together in the dinning room/classroom Ger and there was certainly no risk of going hungry. Boiling water was available all day for hot drinks as well as snacks.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this project to anyone and would love to go back for the argali round-up in the future.

The long train ride snakes away from the bustle of grey concrete Ulaanbaatar into the Mongolia of the imagination, dotted with the occasional ger that marks civilization--we call them yurts. Lazy hours on the train give way to a bucking ride in The Boneshaker, a weathered grey van that can travel over ANYTHING to camp, a collection of gers that will be our home, nestled amidst outcroppings of tall rocks with a stream rustling through, our only source of water.
Earthwatch is not for the slothful. There are armies of traps to be laid, and baited and checked twice daily. There are Argali sheep to be monitored, which means hiking kilometers up and down over rocky terrain, accompanied by a youthful Mongolian scout who is years younger and much fitter than I have ever been. Some teams actually snare these sheep to mark them, taking part in an old fashioned roundup with Mongolians on motorcycles as well as the traditional horses. Radio tracking hedgehogs sound cute and pastoral? Not when the little guy in question is a traveler, moving 10 km in one night. There are plants to be surveyed, mysterious clumps with Latin names, and counted in Mongolian! Sometimes there are young condors to be measured; some babies! The wingspan matches or exceeds the spread of my arms! After all this, there are sun showers to be had, and the absolute quiet of the Gobi desert. Occasionally we visit our neighbors, kilometers away, with their herd of horses and spotless ger, which can be dismantled quickly when they move on. In a nod to the 21st century, there are also motorcycles, the occasional pickup truck, one solar panel and a satellite dish. The scientists and staff are outstanding. Smiling pantomime is sometimes the only means of communication. Nonetheless, the meals are tasty, based on fresh goat prepared in every possible way, and the fellowship amazing. No phone, no TV, and no internet mean that we talk, we sing together, we play games, and we enjoy a true person to person experience, sharing our diverse cultures.

To learn what this part of the Amazon was back in 1980 -- no trees because of logging and oil in the river depriving humans and animals of food resources and then to see it today after thirty years of restoration and change in a variety of ways (i.e. villages having fish farms to leave the river fish for the birds and mammals) gave all the people who were in our group a sense of pride and accomplishment because we know what can be done to restore this world if given the opportunity. I was the only person in our group who had been to the Amazon several times and it was the second time for my granddaughter, so I did a lot of the recording so that those who had not been in the Amazon before spend all their time taking in the beauty and learning the life of the locals as well as participate in the data collection. I had also volunteered through Earthwatch at CCF (Cheetah Conservation Fund ) in Namibia and this volunteer experience was once again well organized and had adaptations as needed for all participants. I had planned to go back this past January, 2016, but a family emergency caused me to cancel. I hope to return to the research riverboat on the Amazon -- Pacaya Samiria Reserve -- next year.