PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
TIME CAPSULE LETTER
Written by Andrea & the South Africa Team
Long time no see youths!
We hope the last six months have treated you well! It seems simultaneously that our trip was yesterday, yet also an entire lifetime ago. Hopefully, you are fondly remembering your experiences in South Africa this summer, and cherishing the memories you created during those short three weeks we spent together. Looking back, the trip feels the way it does when you see a shooting star; A moment of time that shines so brightly, but ends so quickly. While we will never be able to recreate that moment, we can always remember those three wonderful weeks where for just a single moment, it almost felt like magic.
Think back to those very first days in Nambiti when we were all so worried if we would have a good time, if we would make friends, and perhaps even if we made a horrible life choice getting on those planes the days prior. Then remember that last night in St. Lucia, when we laughed until we cried, cried until we laughed, and did everything we could to put off our inevitable goodbyes the following day. Hopefully, you will be able to look back on those moments when you feel those same anxieties in the future and remember how quickly you overcame those fears and how much fun you had and the memories you made once you let those worries go.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe we went on 11-game drives between Nambiti, Zengala, Bonomanzi, and St. Lucia! It’s wild just how many animals we were able to see in such a short amount of time. How lucky are we to have seen four of the big five, and for some of us to have even seen all five of them! Our days at the snake farm were simultaneously awe-inspiring and slightly terrifying, but Donald will definitely never be able to forget our group since he named a gaboon viper after Waylon, what an honor! Getting to pet baby crocodiles and pet a boomslang snake were some of our biggest highlights.
Our days spent in St. Lucia were magical, seeing some of the most beautiful beaches and going on a true Ferrari Safari. We saw so many hippos, including the family of five hippos in the street we raced to see, what a once in a lifetime experience!
Our hope for you is that you’ve been implementing your One Meaningful Goal we worked on while in St. Lucia. Those small moments of appreciation can change the course of someone’s entire day. Try to remember how lovely it felt our last night when we made sure everyone knew how much we appreciated each other and how special that made you feel. It is such an easy way to make a large impact on people’s lives. Kindness is a beautiful legacy to leave behind. People will often forget what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.
Often we don’t feel at our true best, maybe you slept badly, or maybe you just really didn’t like the way your milkshake tasted today. Sometimes, giving 100% of your effort and dedication to something just isn’t possible. Giving 10% is still better than nothing, it’s still a step in the right direction, and every step matters.
Be the changɘ,
Andrea, Graeme, Oliver, and Shelby
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
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- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
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- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
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Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
Click here to jump down to the most recent post!
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 20
Hello dear parents and care givers,
What an exciting first day in South Africa! All of today’s flights were on time and students were able to easily make it through customs and collect their luggage with no problems! We spent the day at the hotel catching up on some much needed sleep and getting to know each other over pizza and games of pool. We spent the evening eating a family style dinner sharing stories and laughter. We ended the day relaxing in front of the fire. We’re so excited to pick up Scarlet tomorrow morning and to set off for Nambiti for our first full day!
We are very excited for our adventures together!
-The GLA Team
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 21
Hello to our loyal subscribers! Day 2 in South Africa was busy! We started the day with a delicious buffet breakfast at our hotel in Johannesburg and said hello to our newest arrival, Scarlet.
After loading the bus, we started the journey to our first destination, Nambiti Reserve. A few hours, naps, snacks, lunch and amazing views later, we arrived and settled into camp. The sun set and temperatures started to drop so we huddled into our lounge tent for orientation and then tucked into a hearty meal. After dinner, we sat round the fire to warm our toes and finished our orientation.
We’re excited for our first foray into the reserve tomorrow!
– Mentor Oliver
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 22
Howzit our loyal subscribers!
Today was wild…literally. After a nice breakfast we split into two groups. Ava, Zachary, Jenny, Alex, Gabe, Sabrina and Luke set off rhino monitoring on the reserve and saw loads of wildlife: giraffe, elephants, kudus, impalas and even a potential rhino in the distance.
Clara, Waylon, Scarlet, Aiden, Ten, Marta and Jaden were on the predator monitoring expedition on the reserve and wow, they got lucky! We saw lions!!!! We also lots of other very interesting wildlife including some hippos in the distance and some surprise buffalos.
When we came back to camp, we had a tasty lunch of butternut squash soup followed by some free time for showers; then we started a debate discussing whether or not the international trade of rhino horns should be legalised. We heard some great opinions from all groups involved.
After a scrumptious dinner, we ventured back onto the reserve for a night drive. We saw lots of owls and even some jackals in the distance.
Good night from South Africa.
-Mentor Oliver
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 23
We woke up at 7 am and were able to enjoy a delicious breakfast that was chocolate pancakes and muffins. The second group left at 8 am to go Rhino monitoring. We ended up finding Rhinos, giraffes, elephants, zebras, wilder beasts and buffalo. We were “stuck” between two elephants but they were just there to eat food. The first group left at 8:45 am to do predator monitoring. They ended up finding buffalo and elephants. All these animals were entertaining. We ended off the day with a hike through the tall grass to a hill where we watched the sunset in peace and quiet. We hiked back down after the sunset and had dinner by the campfire while telling stories, and ending the day with anticipated s’mores.
-Scarlet and Etienne
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 24
Dear family and friends,
This morning we woke up to a chilly breeze and a delicious corn porridge and cereal. Breakfast was followed by an exciting game drive, where we saw rhinos, lions, and several species of antelope. We came back to camp and packed up, and then drove half an hour to our first hiking point and have lunch.
The hike was 7 kilometres of pretty views but it was worth it when we arrived at our next destination. We are now in a valley surrounded by mountains next to a river, and beautiful scenery.
That night, we had an intense cooking competition between the boys and girls, including creating our own fires with sticks and dry leaves. The girls won, however the boys enjoy reminding everyone that the chef favoured theirs over the girls.
We concluded the day by going on a scorpion hunt. We found a flat tailed scorpion, and after that the guide showed us different scorpions he captured. He also showed us a new genus of spider he found called Golden Baboon Spider.
– Clara and Zach
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 25
Dear families and friends,
Today we woke up and went on a giraffe identification walk in the bush. we spotted ten giraffe over the walk through the reserve and then came back for lunch – mac and cheese.
We then analyzed pictures of giraffe to identify which individuals we observed by carefully studying the patterns on their skin. After that, we fished near the river at camp but unfortunately didn’t catch anything. We then did a couple of GLA activities, and had dinner. Finally we went to go feed pigs corn in the evening and relaxed by the fire.
– Jaden and Ava
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 26
We woke up to a morning with a full schedule of multiple GLA activities, a kayak trip and an afternoon hike.
We walked about 30 minutes to the start of the kayak, everyone was paired off into skill level where an inexperienced kayaker would be put with someone with some sort of experience. It took us about 2 hours to get back to camp. The kayak was filled with challenges and time to relax. Everyone had to go through some sort of challenge like being stuck in the rocks when going through rapid currents or having to switch kayaks because it cracked.
Yesterday we went on a brief hike to the top of a large hill. On the way we saw various animals and their tracks. We also learned about local plants and their ecology.
In the evening we had an activity called speed friending, a way to get to know each other better. Our mentor asked us questions like whether we like pineapple on pizzas, what superpower we would like to have or the origin to our name. We were also asked to write a compliment letter to one another.
– Gabe and Sabrina
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 28
This morning we woke up early and went on a game drive on the new reserve and then stopped for a k9 presentation and they showed how they use the k9’s too find poachers and too find guns ammo etc. Then we split up into groups one as the poachers and the others as the anti poachers and had the k9 track there footsteps too find the poachers. Then we went back and had lunch.
In the afternoon we split up into two groups. one went with the anti-poaching unit snare sweep and the other went on a boat patrol. We even found a snare during the walk. We had dinner and a trivia night and answered questions about random stuff, South African animals, Disney, music, and general knowledge about South Africa.
– Aiden and Jenny
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 29
Hello GLA families! After eating a light breakfast, we got into groups for a scavenger hunt around the bush. Afterwards we drove out to a fever tree forest and had brunch- bacon and eggs! A few GLA activities later, after lunch, we split into groups and did snare patrols in the river and on land.
The groups switched so we could do the patrol we didn’t get to do yesterday. To finish off the day, we played a few rounds of “Stalk the Lantern”- a capture-the-flag-esque game where we crawled on the ground to escape spotlights and tag the car. Overall a really great day!
– Marta and Waylon
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 30
On the day of June 30th, the group enjoyed a full day of out of camp activities. In the morning, we traveled to Snake Pharm where we learned about the numerous amount of snakes globally and their impact on the evolution of anti-venom. Following that half of the students cleaned rodent cages and the other half fed guinea pigs.
After the snake pharm, we traveled into a South African Community and made bracelets out of glass beads. We were taught by a group of skilled men, women, and even kids that had mastered the art of beading. In concession, we went to an outdoor market where we could buy interesting souvenirs, fruits, and even spears! To wrap up the day, we received an interactive talk about Zulu culture and history from an expert, followed by a delicious dinner and goodnights rest.
– Luke and Alex
BLOG POST FOR JULY 1
At 7:30 we awoke to a great breakfast and went to the snake farm. We got to see more of the animals there including scorpions and tarantulas. We also got see the snakes get medicated and we got to take a picture behind a huge forest cobra. We also got to feed the snakes and finished off the morning with draining the Nile Crocodiles pool.
After lunch, we had a tour of a local Zulu village where we learned how to say hi and how are you. We saw how the people made spears and shields, their fortune teller and how unmarried women carry vases on their heads. We also watched their wedding performance where we did some stick fighting, dancing + a couple attempts of a back flip. It was super a interesting and educational activity.
There was an afternoon game drive where half of us stayed back to enjoy the camp and relax before dinner and movie night.
For our movie night, everyone was given a cake and popcorn. The votes ended up with us watching the first Jumanji movie.
– Sab and Etienne
BLOG POST FOR JULY 2
Dear Impalas and Nyalas,
Today we removed alien plants from the side of the road in the game reserve because the invasive plants dominate the other plants killing off the native plants. We removed so much that it could filll 2 rooms.
After lunch, we took a short walk around the reserve before doing an intense scavenger hunt in order to find ingredients for our dinner, which was another cooking competition between our two groups. The results almost ended in a tie, but the ultimate tie breaker was unfortunately that the other groups fire was better.
– Jaden and Clara
BLOG POST FOR JULY 3
Today we woke up and went on a game drive. Half of us counted the animals and birds on the reserve. The group saw lots of different species of both mammals and birds. The other half of the group went elephant monitoring. They used radio telemetry to find the elephants. They were lucky enough to see a baby elephant.
In the afternoon the groups switched. The elephant group got to spend quality time with a herd of elephants by the dam while the animal counters saw a leopard for the first time! For GLA’s final dinner at Bonamanzi they had delicious brai by the fire.
– Zach and Marta
BLOG POST FOR JULY 4
Dear family and friends,
Today, we woke up early to move to our final campsite in St. Lucia. We had birthday pancakes to celebrate Alex’s birthday before we left. Once we arrived in St. Lucia, we walked through the surrounding town and market, stopping in a supermarket to get snacks. For lunch, we had an amazing pasta salad. Then we went on a boat safari and saw hippos and crocodiles afterwards we had dinner pasta salad and some delicious grilled chicken then we threw a surprise party for Alex an American theme with a piñata and a cake and sang him the national anthem.
– Aiden and Ava
BLOG POST FOR JULY 5
We awoke to our first full day in St Lucia brimming with excitement. Following a breakfast of toast and cereal, we departed for a crocodile sanctuary where we saw numerous crocodiles, alligators, and even a new species called tomistoma. After an initial tour, we went to work cleaning up a crocodile cage. We ripped put old plants, cut down trees with machetes, and cleaned up the pond. By then we had worked up an appetite and took a break for lunch.
We went back to continue volunteering work we cut down some more trees then we headed back for dinner. We then had a shark tank activity where winners got ice cream. Waylon’s team won of course. Then we slept.
– Luke and Waylon
BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
Today we woke up and went on a game drive through iSimangoliso Wetlands Park. We observed many different species of birds. We also observed zebras, a hippo, and rhinos (including a baby). We stopped at a rocky beach for around ten minutes for a rest stop and a scenic view. We then continued on with the game drive to Cape Vidal. We had a lunch of salads, chicken, meatballs, breads, and juice. We then walked to the beach where we relaxed and played for a while. We had a short game drive back and split into three groups: two for shopping and one for haircuts. After, some of us stayed back while the rest went to a restaurant to watch the Springboks v Ireland rugby match. Springboks won! We had dinner and then mentor groups.
– Scarlet and Alex
BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
We started the day with a trash pick up at 8:30. We walked over a mile to the beach cleaning up the path as we moved. We filled 15 whole trash bags. Following that, we spent an hour enjoying the sunny beach day. Some slept on the hot sand as other jumped off of the dunes. In the afternoon, some of the students went on a bird walk to enjoy mother nature and ended at the beach to watch the sunset. In the evening, a hippo was spotted crossing the road and the team enjoyed watching. We finally ended the day in a chow circle talking about our favourite moments on the trip.
– Gabe and Jenny
BLOG POST FOR JULY 8
Dear loved ones,
We woke up to a bittersweet day, knowing it would be filled with adventure, but also that we only had 2 days left together. We drove into a local community where they had started a butterfly dome and were able to gather new plants for the dome, plant them, and even catch butterflies! Some members of the community were even kind enough to cut pieces of sugar cane off for us to munch on while we worked. After a lunch of beans and spinach, we were given a talk by elders in the community on why they started the butterfly dome and how they indicated a healthy environment. Once we departed from the community, we had free time and played an exhilarating ballon game among other fun activities. To wrap up the day we had dinner, talked with our mentor groups, and took a survey on our GLA experience. What a great day in Africa!
– Luke and Sabrina
BLOG POST FOR JULY 9 & 10
What an incredible last two days we’ve had here in South Africa! On our final full day together we started the morning with the much anticipated whale watching boat tour. After launching our boat straight from the beach, we powered through some waves and kept our eyes peeled. It was a bumpy day at sea but we did manage to spot a few whales.
In the afternoon we walked to Estuary Beach where we stopped at one last market to grab last minute souvenirs for friends and family. We enjoyed playing on the beach and watching a beautiful sunset together from atop the dunes.
For our last supper we ate at Meet and Eat, a local restaurant where we had pizza, milkshakes, steaks, and traditional South African foods. The tables were filled with so much laughter we didn’t know why we were laughing or what was so funny to begin with.
We finished our evening with our appreciation circle activities. Taking a moment to look back on how far we’ve come, how many great adventures we had, and to show each other how much of an impact everyone made during our trip. We also wrote each other speed compliments, each person had one minute to write a note for each person in the group until everyone had a full sheet of paper filled with everyone’s favorite things about them. A priceless souvenir we can cherish for years to come.
As we are going separate ways at the airport, this morning we’re sharing last stories of our favorite moments and even shedding a few tears as we say “see you later” to the people who, although 21 days ago were complete strangers, are now best friends.
The sun is setting and we have just waved goodbye to the last of our wonderful students. We will miss you dearly!
– Shelby, Mentor
