During these long, cold winter months the thought of a four month summer holiday is tantalizing. At times like this, when I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s life exists in a state of either being in the library, on the way to the library, or collapsing into bed after the library, I can think of nothing better than lying in the sun for four months with absolutely nothing to do. However, never again in our lives are we going to have the luxury of a significant amount of time with nothing to do, so why not make the most of it?
After my A levels, I had a few months before starting university and wanted to do something with it. In my mind I pictured jumping on a plane to the other side of the world and spending a few months living like I was in The Beach (minus the shark attacks and drug lords of course). However I’m quite organised (read: OCD) and preferred to have some sort of plan, other than swimming in waterfalls with Leonardo DiCaprio. Around this time my geography professor told me about Operation Wallacea – an environmental research and expeditions organisation. I then signed up to take part in a programme out in Madagascar, during which I would assist scientists undertaking research into the biodiversity of different areas of the country.
Stepping off the plane after a 12 hour flight into the hot and humid air of the capital Antananarivo (An-tan-ana-rivo…or “Tana” for short) I promptly threw up. Great. I had literally become the person from the “Gap Yah” video and chundered everywhere. Welcome to Madagascar. Yet things looked brighter in the morning as myself and the rest of my group headed off in jeeps across the Savannah of northwest Madagascar. From the capital we drove for two days to reach our first camp in the dry forests of the north. Here we encountered all sorts of critters from two metre boa constrictors to tiny but lethal black scorpions, all the while taking note of what we found in order to try and gain a protected status for the area.
We then moved to an island off the northwest coast called Nosey Be (meaning “Big Island” in Malagasy). Here I completed my open water scuba diving qualification, whilst doing underwater surveys of the coral reef. Although we only spent a total of 6 days at our camp on the island, this was my favourite part of the trip. Our days were spent in the water diving on incredibly beautiful corals, and the evenings were spent swapping stories around a campfire. Undertaking an expedition with Operation Wallacea was amazing; not only did I get to travel to a fascinating country, but the work I did out there (which, to be honest, really didn’t feel like work) meant that I was helping to make a difference to the protection of Madagascar’s biodiversity at the same time. If you’re looking for something different to do next summer, check out their webpage: http://opwall.com/.