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Paula Smith, 32
Wildlife Conservation Course, South Africa
 Wildlife Conservation Course
My story is not an original one. Like so many before me I was a burnt out 30-something disillusioned and de-motivated with life. I'd lost myself somewhere between work and home in the daily grind of London living. Something had to change.
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How I discovered Campfire I don't rightly know. Luck, fate, a path set out by the celestial stars…whatever it was I arrived here without really knowing where here was.
My welcome couldn't have been warmer and immediately I knew I had found my African home. No sooner had I arrived than I was being whisked out to the Dam to watch students rifle shooting.
Dazed and confused from my long journey I stood there with the sudden realisation that I was standing in the middle of the African bush surrounded by wild things that could kill me. FANTASTIC - there's nothing better to make you feel alive than the prospect of being eaten by something! |
This was the beginning of my adventure and over the coming days and weeks I was to experience things far beyond my expectations.
I'd walked with lions, fed a hippo, been up close and personal with 200+ buffalo, so much so I could smell their breath - and if you're wondering yes it stinks!
I'd practiced camouflage, started fire using Elephant dung, discovered how to find north using a piece of straw and learnt what to do if charged by the dangerous 9.
Sleeping out in the bush is perhaps the most magical of experiences. With nothing separating me from the Lions, Hyenas and Wild Dogs but fresh air it certainly sharpens the senses and my hearing and smell has never been so good. And how could I forget the elephants. I'd seen them with such frequency that they may as well be compared to pigeons in Trafalgar Square! |
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But it hasn't all been about wildlife and the great outdoors. Meeting the Campfire people has also brought new perspectives and inspiration to my view and I don't think I can put enough poetry together to express the joy and laughter each moment has brought.
So, did I “find myself”? Well, yes and no. I've certainly regained the vigour and motivation again. But with my heart well and truly stolen I don't think I'll ever be “myself” again.
Paula Smith (A ‘Grown Up' Gap Year!)
Images are courtesy of www.paulasmith.co.uk
 Wildlife Conservation Course South Africa
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