I'm Ready for Adventure!

Ever want to hold a lion cub? How about do some target practice from a helicopter? These are some of the things that I will get to do on the Vets-In-The-Wild Expedition in South Africa! My name is Sharon and I'm a junior at Rutgers University, where I am an Animal Science major, with a Pre-vet and research option and an Equine Science minor. I'm an aspiring large animal vet, so this is the perfect trip for me. My adventure begins on June 10th when I depart on a 15 and half hour flight for Johannesburg. For the next three weeks, I will be camping at multiple reserves and learning about the different wildlife. Unfortunately, because I'll be camping I won't have access to the internet so I can't blog about my experiences as they occur. I will be recording all my adventures in a journal and I'll post them when I return on July 4th.

Here are some of the places I'll be going to:

• Soweto- starting about 10 miles away from the center of Johannesburg, it is roughly 40 square miles and about two million people live there
• Kruger National Park- one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers 7,332 square miles and is 220 miles from north to south and 40 miles from east to west.
• Sondela Nature Reserve- The volunteers rescue and rehabilitate sick or injured wild animals to ensure a safe future for the animals.
• Blyde Canyon Reserve-located in Mpumalanga is 16 miles long and averages about 2500 feet deep. The dam alone, when full, is at an altitude of 2182 feet.
  

During my three weeks I will be taking 8 credits; I will be learning about game capture, wildlife management, and even the plant life and how it is all interconnected. I can't wait to be there and share my experiences. I've got my hiking boots and my pack ready... am I there yet?