I stopped the volunteering program in South Africa at the end of May 2025 and returned to Europe. The plan was to settle in France for a couple of weeks, visit England for my partner’s professional reasons, and fly to Tanzania with the family at the beginning of July.

A month of simple joys and personal rhythm

June flew by. My time was focused on seeing my family, walking in the nearby mountains, spending time in nature (my favourite activity), running to maintain a good health status, organizing the trip to the Philippines at the beginning of October, editing the pictures I took in Zimbabwe in March, publishing a blog post about Saint Helena, spending time at kids’ football competitions, and reading.

During that time, I took the opportunity to read Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. I can only recommend it. He had a very inspiring life, which makes one question the impact we are having on this planet. It is crazy to think that he spent and dedicated his life to others and kept fighting while he was in prison for 27 years, without knowing the final outcome. I wish I had some of his courage and vision to achieve my objectives. It is interesting to see how I can doubt myself, my competences, my possibilities, my future. I often offer support to others that I rarely give myself. Something to work on, I suppose.

I also read the book by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Be Useful: 7 Tools for Life. It is a very interesting book, which I encourage you to read regardless of what you think of the character. He gives seven pieces of advice to move forward in life, which I find inspiring. In short, dream big, dedicate time and work to define your vision, follow up on progress, listen to others, sell your vision, and see things from a positive angle.

Time well spent in Scotland and London

In Scotland, I discovered a beautiful region of whisky distilleries along the river Spey. The aim of the trip was to spend some time with friends. The moments were filled with joy, in-depth and futile conversations, nice walks, and dinners. A reminder of how precious life is.

London was spent with friends and visiting museums. I discovered the beautiful coast of Seaford, the British Museum, the Tate Gallery, wandered around, and saw Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus, and other iconic places in London.

First Impressions of Zanzibar

Time soon came to an end and the Tanzanian trip began.

Zanzibar was the first stop, with a restful moment on a private island and a visit to Stone Town, home of Freddie Mercury and a place marked by the history of the slave trade. Stone Town is also famous for its doors.

We had two main destinations: Mikumi National Park and Ruaha National Park. Getting there was a challenge. We spent a lot of time in the Land Cruiser, driven by a local guide who knew how to overtake hundreds, if not thousands, of trucks on their way from Dar es Salaam to Zambia and beyond. Had I driven, the journey would have taken many more hours. The longest part was a mountain saddle pass that often faces truck accidents and breakdowns. Not to mention the organized police racket along the way, where a 10,000 Tanzanian shilling note solved many problems.

The road gave us the opportunity to get a glimpse of the country, as colourful, busy, and joyful as I imagined.

Mikumi and Ruaha National Parks

The landscapes in Mikumi and Ruaha National Parks were breathtaking.

Mikumi National Park was beautiful, with vast landscapes and great wildlife, but much more crowded, especially during the weekend when locals visited it. Do not get me wrong, this is great to witness.

I preferred Ruaha for its remote aspect, landscapes filled with baobabs, the elephant population, the Ruaha River, and the wildlife it attracts. A hidden gem of about 20,000 km², and somehow the second largest national park in Tanzania. The photos speak for themselves.

The journey in Tanzania was intense and we stayed at the following lodges, with a real preference for the two lodges located in Ruaha National Park:
• Vuma Hills Tented Camp (next to Mikumi National Park)
• Ruaha River Lodge (in Ruaha National Park)
• Kichaka Zumbua(in Ruaha National Park)
• Hodi Hodi Ruaha Safari Bush Camp (next to Ruaha National Park)
• Triniti Hotel (Dar-es-Salaam)

Returning to Zimbabwe and Conservation Work

As much as I appreciated this journey, I missed South Africa.
I missed the cheetah family.
I missed being active.
I missed knowing a piece of land by heart ❤️ and its wildlife.

I need to organize the rest of my adventures to get closer to my dream and passion. I am still full of doubts about how I will manage this and what my path will be. I have some visibility until the beginning of October 2025. Everything else needs to be organized, including the rest of my year and the beginning of 2026.

I am looking forward to the volunteering and safari trip in Zimbabwe. We are heading back to Imvelo Safari Lodges for a combined safari and voluntourism trip with the family. This place is one of my favourites since I started my reconversion journey. The conservation and community projects are amazing and impressive, with sustainable and long-term impact. In short, white rhinoceroses have been reintroduced on communal land close to Hwange National Park. This project came with many side initiatives that truly benefit local communities:

• clinic buildings and staff wages
• borehole drilling and access to fresh water
• school buildings, teacher cottages, and access to education
• entrepreneurship and revenue generation
• reduction of human-wildlife conflict

Here is their website if you want to dive deeper.

Anyway, I will let you know how my experience goes and what my findings are. I plan to stay there a bit longer, until mid-August 2025, to better understand the conservation and community projects, contribute to them, and gain new skills. I am hoping to arrange additional time with them before the end of the year. I am crossing my fingers that everything will turn out well, hoping to contribute, gain new skills, and make an impact.