Ghosts in the darkness
I awoke the other night in the wee hours before dawn. It was extremely bright due to our moon waxing towards full. My bare feet padded silently to the window on the cool cement floor. I looked out upon a large grey body. I had to soften my vision to see her clearly, so closely […]
Eastern rock elephant shrews in the sunset
One of my favorite moments this winter here in South Africa was with a group of trackers from White Pine Programs from Maine in the USA. We did a sunset “sit spot” one evening in the Waterberg Mountains. Sit spots are just a time where you sit by yourself, in silence, and push your awareness […]
New Hampshire goes to Africa!

In the summer of 2015, students from Hopkinton and Bow High Schools (NH), went to South Africa to study the ecology and culture. We spent 21 days out on safaris, walks, on trips to the local villages and two days at one local high school – where we […]
Trailing, and an encounter with an elephant

Trailing, and an encounter with an elephant – UCONN Aug 2015 group We walked out of camp and into the South African sunrise. I stepped over the tracks of three big dugga boys (Cape buffalo bulls) who had recently headed in the direction that Lee had taken with the other students, and silently said a […]
Community service on Mandela Day! Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #13
Community service on Mandela Day! Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #13 Michelle Neal July 18th, 2015 Day 17 The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game […]
Cheetah madness! Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #12
Cheetah madness! Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #12 Zach Drotos Blog 12 The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game reserve in the Sabi Sands region […]
Camera Trapping – our research in Africa! Hopkinton/Bow (NH) Student Blog #11
Camera Trapping – our research in Africa! Hopkinton/Bow (NH) Student Blog #11 Michelle Neal July 19th, 2015 Day 18 The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program […]
Teaching Spatial Thinking at Acorns to Oaks – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #10
Teaching Spatial Thinking at Acorns to Oaks – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #10 The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game reserve in the Sabi […]
Staying Alive in the African Bush – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #9
Staying Alive in the African Bush – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #9 The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game reserve in the Sabi Sands […]
Learning to sit in nature – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #8
Learning to sit in nature – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #8 The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game reserve in the Sabi Sands region […]
Opposing viewpoints (male vs female) on meeting Nat Geo’s Wild Earth crew – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog – Special Feature
Opposing viewpoints (male vs female) on meeting Nat Geo’s Wild Earth crew – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog – Special Feature A female perspective, by Michelle Neal Out on game drive one evening, to the glorious surprise of us all, our guides took an unexpected turn toward a flickering campfire glowing in an open area among the […]
A Day with Africa’s Gentle Giants – Hopkinton/Bow, N.H., Student Blog #7
A Day with Africa’s Gentle Giants – Hopkinton/Bow, N.H., Student Blog #7 The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game reserve in the Sabi […]
The Big Five on the Fourth of July! – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #6
The Big Five on the Fourth of July! – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #6 The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game reserve in the Sabi […]
A little art and science in Africa – tracking and research! Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #5
A little art and science in Africa – tracking and research! Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #5 The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game reserve […]
A Search for Lions and All the Little Things – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #4
The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game reserve in the Sabi Sands region of the Greater Kruger Area (July 2015). In addition to […]
An Interview with Mhlavasi, a South African student on scholarship with us, and a bit about our goals as a New Hampshire school program in the African Bush! Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #3
An Interview with Mhlavasi, a South African student on scholarship with us, and a bit about our goals as a New Hampshire school program in the African Bush! The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, […]
A long way from New Hampshire – Our first day at Djuma (South Africa) – Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #2
A long way from New Hampshire – Our first day at Djuma (South Africa) The following blog post is created by a Hopkinton/Bow High School student from New Hampshire, who is on program with Original Wisdom, partnering with Nature Guide Training, on a 3-week South African Ecology & Culture program at Djuma Game reserve in […]
Cape Cod! A small adventure to the sandy seashore in preparation for Africa. Hopkinton/Bow Student Blog #1
Cape Cod! A small adventure to the sandy seashore in preparation for Africa. This is the first in a short series of blogs written by students preparing for an experiential adventure program to South Africa with Original Wisdom and Nature Guide Training. They arrive on July 1st, and will be with us until July 21st […]