I am typing this blog post whilst watching the sun set over the most remarkable natural landscape on a large nature reserve by the Zimbabwe border, watching the pink sky reflect over the lush scenery and breath-taking wildlife as part of an incredible fortnight volunteering with a wildlife conservation charity.

Whilst writing this I had to move away from my seat as an elephant crossed over into our lodge and was glaring at me as it slowly marched forward!

There are no fences between our accommodation and the reserve so any animals could venture into our lodge at any time so staring at my laptop whilst listening to the Kings of Leon was not a wise move as you need to be on constant alert!

In many ways this is an apt metaphor for my time here, there really are no barriers between you and nature.

Every morning we get up at 5.00 to go out on an early game drive observing and recording where different species of animals and their movements and moods.

Most afternoons we go out on a walking safari where we patrol the reserve tracking animals and working with anti-poaching teams. There are 2 requirements for doing a walking safari; wear neutral clothes and no talking. Neither of these are exactly a speciality of mine!

The tracking is fascinating as the rangers can look at the faeces of an animal to determine how long ago they were in the vicinity and carefully assess discarded branches and footprints to determine where they have gone.

One day we were tracking rhinos but we encountered 4 buffalos who were staring straight at us. Then just as you start to feel acclimatised to this they started charging at us!

The ranger confirmed to us that they were not hunting but this was a defence mechanism and they saw us as a threat. Given this it was crucial not to run as they would then see us prey rather than predator and of course they could outrun us. So we had only one course of action; stand tall, stay calm and slowly back away!

Remarkably this worked and the buffalos stopped in their tracks and started to walk away from us just as my heart was beating so fast I thought it was about  to burst straight out of my chest like an old loony tunes cartoon!

In reality we were unlikely to be in and serious danger as our ranger had a rifle and would have shot the buffalos had our lives been at genuine threat yet that didn’t stop it being one of the most exhilarating and terrifying experiences of my life.

I expected to be blown away by the large animals and I certainly wasn’t disappointed in that regard. From standing 2 feet away from an entire pride of lions walking past our car to seeing a cheetah crouching down to hippos yawning to scare away threats, the fierce power of nature’s greatest predators was a sight to behold.

Yet what I wasn’t expecting was how fascinating some of the smaller animals could be and how humbling the entire observation was. For example, we were viewing some termites and learned how vital they are to the ecosystem due to their role in eating and decomposing dead trees and how the entire ecosystem would collapse without them.

It would be mendacious of me to claim to have lived like Mowgli in the Jungle Book as our lodge did have running water and electricity with basic wifi, yet even so I did feel more connected with nature than I ever have been in the past.

We were 2 hours from the nearest town and every evening we would have dinner by the campfire under the stars where the conversation would veer from how to reduce the gender pay gap to the best flavour of ice cream!

Watching the sunset every evening and looking out into the wilderness under the moon it’s impossible to  be impervious to  its impact – the experience is remarkably cathartic and I found myself reflecting on my life more in these 2 weeks than I do in years usually.

After a few days I took on the role as camp DJ playing songs by the camp fire and I can’t describe how surreal it is looking over the fire at the full moon shining over the bush whilst skater boy by Avril Lavigne is blasting out of the Bluetooth speaker!

Every day we would have a rota of duties including cleaning, cooking and checking the car which gave the lodge a family feel as everyone pitched in to ensure the upkeep of the lodge and the conservation charity.

The most painstaking work is ensuring all animals have an optimal ecosystem which means they need to ensure there is an appropriate number of each animal but not too many to overgraze or destroy too much wildlife and thus break the crucial equilibrium of wildlife and plants that are needed.

In an ideal world this wouldn’t be needed as we could just let natural selection run its course but the intention is not to fiddle with evolution but rather prevent humans from destroying what is left of wildlife on this planet.

Much of what we think of as safaris are actually animals that have become so domesticated that they are effectively in a large zoo.  As the seemingly unstoppable forces of capitalism continue to lead to ever greater population growth and deforestation as well as poaching there is a real danger without charities like this and private reserves that for many species the only way they will survive will be in captivity.

Indeed the reason I am not naming the reserve or exact location on here is that poachers scour the internet for photos of rhinos to target.

Every day there was a lecture on a different species including from a geologist to discuss the plants and rocks in greater detail. It really couldn’t have been more different to a standard tourist safari where you dart around to take photos of the big 5 then leave.

This was an immersive all-encompassing experience and I will leave with a much more profound understanding of wildlife, nature, the principles of animal conservation and most interestingly an innate understanding of the folly of so many of the actions of humanity that we so often describe as progress..

I am far from a natural animal lover and was in two minds about coming here. When I left my school in Cape Town I was distraught at the thought of leaving yet the fact I feel ready for my next adventure after leaving this reserve belies the fact that wildlife is an interest rather an a passion of mine.

Having said that, this fortnight has been a remarkable, informative, fascinating experience. Never before have I felt the ubiquitous sense of being at one with nature and it’s a feeling I will never forget.

Next stop Harare!