When we get back to camp, it looks like the staff are getting ready for some big shindig on the main lawn. There are banners up, tables out with AP swag, the Ingonyama dancers are waiting in the wings, the staff are dressed up in their best khakis, and the elephants are wandering around. Elephants? We've never seen them in camp before. This must be something really big.
AP has between 20-30 horses and mules on site and every volunteer spends at least one full day with them. I'm excited, but also nervous. I have never been near a horse before, let alone ridden one. Well, that's not entirely true. I do remember going on a pony ride when I was quite little; you know the type where the ponies are chained to a center pole and you go around in circles? Fun for a kid, but I don't consider it legitimate horse experience.
The members of Ingonyama hail from Dete, Zimbabwe, which is near Hwange National Park, and have been friends since childhood, having grown up together in an orphanage. They started out performing at lodges near Hwange and also at Victoria Falls and use their talents and sense of humor to help educate school children about problems in the country such as HIV/AIDS and wildlife conservation, and they work closely with youth camps at Painted Dog Conservation near their hometown.
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