In May of 2010 my husband got down on his one good knee and asked me to marry him, sealing the deal with the promise of an African honeymoon. We are both born and raised in the United States, but for as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to go to Africa and witness the continent’s extraordinary beauty and incredible wildlife in person. As I started to research where to go and what to do, more and more I realized that I did not want to just be an observer; I wanted to be more intimately involved with Africa, to dirty my hands and expand my mind. My fever was contagious and soon the Africa bug also bit my husband-to-be. 16 months later, as husband and wife, we were on a plane heading towards the most amazing, inspiring, and just plain fun experience of our lives. While most Americans spend their honeymoons on a beach in Maui or Puerto Vallarta, we spent our unique honeymoon at Antelope Park, in the midlands of Zimbabwe, volunteering with the African Lion and Environmental Research Trust (ALERT), a four-stage lion rehabilitation and release into the wild program.
The lion population is decreasing at an alarming rate: from 200,000 lions throughout the continent of Africa in the 1970s, to somewhere between 20,000-30,000 today. That’s a decrease of 80-90 percent in only four decades. Several countries have lost their lion populations completely, and several others are expected to lose their populations in the next decade if nothing is done to save this most iconic of all animals. ALERT is trying to save lions and offers an amazing opportunity for people to lend a hand while experiencing travel in a completely unique way. You work alongside the local staff and get to hear their stories, share laughs, and make friends. You also work alongside other volunteers from all over the world, bonded in a shared love and appreciation for this vulnerable species. And, yes, you get to work with lions — something I never imagined I would ever have the honor of doing.
We went on daily walks with lion cubs (it gets them out in the bush and hones their hunting skills), and collected behavioral data. We cleaned lion enclosures, prepared the meat they eat, repaired fences and roads, and went on snare sweeps. We were privileged to take out some of the adolescent lions at night and witness them stalking and successfully killing prey. We were able to go out with the research team to collect data on ALERT’s Stage Two release pride, the Ngamo Pride. We also had the opportunity to spend time with the four rescued elephants at the park and go horseback riding through the bush.
Working up close and personal with lions is, without a doubt, a top highlight of my life that will be difficult to out-do. It is absolutely magical to interact with these amazing cats. What I didn’t anticipate is how this would alter my perspective on travel. Maybe we didn’t see all the sites the guidebooks recommended, but we stayed in one place and really got to know it until it felt like home. We spent everyday amongst people who work, live, and struggle in a country that has seen and continues to see so much turmoil. Yet, you realize everyone is the same and everyone wants the same things: decent work at a decent wage, the ability to feed their families and send their children to school, the need to find some laughter and joy in life. We had minimal internet access, we had power outages daily, and we had too few useful tools for the repair work. We worked 12-hour days starting at 6:30 am, and by day’s end we were hot, sweaty, dirty, and exhausted. Yet, there was nowhere else we’d rather be. The only thing that mattered was the lions, and to know that maybe, in some tiny way, we were helping this amazing species to not only survive but once again thrive. I also learned that, ultimately, it wasn’t just about the lions. It’s also about the human spirit. Meeting people who have less than we do in the form of possessions and freedoms, and yet their spirit and good nature soared above those with seemingly so much more. It was a beautiful lesson to learn in a struggling country, amongst a group of dedicated people who are working tirelessly to save Africa’s heritage.
When we embarked on our honeymoon we didn’t realize there would be another vying for our attention, and that we’d fall head-over-heels in love with Africa. Oh sure, we were infatuated, but would our feelings prove real once we met face-to-face? Would we feel accepted in countries and on a continent so far from our own? Could this be true love? We think it is, but we are courting our new love gently. We think about Africa everyday. It’s the first thing on our minds when we wake up, and and the last thing we think of before falling asleep. We pay homage to our love in our writing and our photos, and we are planning to be reunited later this year as we continue to test the waters with the hope that Africa may someday accept us permanently into her arms.
You can read our love letters to Africa, its people and its wildlife, at Africa or Bust!
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