I suppose I should start this blog by telling you a little about myself and what I am going to be doing.
WHO I AM
My name is Ella and I am currently living in Sheffield. I recently graduated form Bath Spa University with a degree in Art and Visual Design.
WHAT I AM GOING TO DO
I am going to South Africa to a volunteer with the ORCA Foundation. They are a marine conservation project based in Plettenberg Bay on the edge of the Western Cape, in the heart of the Garden Route.
WHY I AM DOING THIS
I have always wanted to do something with animals. I didn't have a gap year before University and I have always wanted to go to interesting, different places. I always get really jealous when I see people putting up photos of all these amazing things they've been doing in all these amazing places. So I decided it was my turn!
I started researching loads of different animal based volunteer projects abroad. To be honest all of them looked incredible and I would probably have been happy going to any of them. However I got really excited when I discovered there quite a few projects that involved dolphins and whales. I have ALWAYS wanted to see them in the wild and one of the things right on the top of my all time to do list is whale watching. So I thought a volunteer project involving them would be perfect! I researched a few different projects until I finally settled on the ORCA Foundation. The work that I will be doing looks really diverse and the area I will be in looks absolutely spectacular. There are also a lot of things near by that I can do in my spare time including bungee jumping (the highest bungee jump in the world is near by!), riding on elephants and shark cage diving (eek!!).
I am flying out on the 9th of March which, from the time of me writing this, is only three weeks away. I am getting very excited. Very excited.
If you want to read more about the ORCA Foundation and what they do, go to their website: http://orcafoundation.com
Background image credit to http://opyspatternproject.blogspot.co.uk.
