TACKLE the African Queen

My middle child has always been an animal lover.  The only TV network she would watch was the Animal Planet.  We have had countless living things in our home (some without my knowledge).

Her first pet was a Daddy Long Leg Spider that she found in the basement at age two.  She was giggling while it crawled all over her arms.  Horrified, I flicked the spider off of her and she started to scream.  I gently placed her friend outside.  That was only the beginning of her private rotating zoo.

During the past eighteen years we have rescued and housed dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, chinchillas, birds, iguanas, turtles, hermit crabs, fish, lizards and the bearded dragon. Each animal became an obsession.  She is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to animals.

She read books and volunteered with animal shelters and adoption clinics.  She took a year of nursing in high school for medical knowledge.  She developed a fascination with the Great African Elephant, an endangered animal.  She became a vegetarian and then a vegan for animal rights.  Then she set off on her quest to go directly to Africa and volunteer her services.


I remember her sales pitch very well.  The month long adventure would cost about $4,000 and the experience would be priceless.  My reply was for her to show me the money and then we would talk.

She worked every spare second waiting tables (with a full school course load while playing a varsity sport) and came up with the money.  Now I had to pay attention.

She had researched many organizations and PoD  was the best option.

 


PoD checked out to be a quality worldwide volunteer organization.
The cost includes the plane ticket and the 
lodging and the experience would be priceless. 

My next hurdle would be to educate my daughter on travel abroad.  Navigating an airport can be a challenge, especially to Africa.  She would change planes four times and she never heard of a boarding pass.  

The week before the departure I put on my travel agent hat and sat down to organize her on her upcoming adventure.

She was more worried about her hair, the wardrobe and seeing the elephants.  I worried about getting her to the destination.  Nightmares of getting lost, missing her plane and getting kidnapped plagued me and my oldest daughter. 


She packed a cheap digital camera and a tiny cheap notebook computer to communicate.  She was advised to not look like a tourist or too wealthy by keeping her valuables out of sight. 

Saying goodbye at the airport was difficult.  I kept chanting, "Don't cry" to myself.  As soon as I turned the corner I broke down and bawled.  My hubby was confident that my daughter would be successful in her travels.   





She sent me a text from each airport and bombarded facebook with pictures and messages. 

Greeted with a rainbow at the South African airport made her giddy with excitement.  

The Elephant Park is exposing her to research, animal care and meeting people from all over the world.   

She enters college in the fall majoring in Biology with a goal to become a wildlife conservationist.  This will be a stepping stone to that goal. 


My daughter; the next "Jane" of the jungle.