Wildlife Volunteer Competition Winner Natalya Welch and her mum come home

Posted by Michael Starbuck on 22nd May 2012

Competition winners Natalya Welch and her mother have just returned from their Orangutan and Tribes Wildlife Volunteer Trip which they won with us in conjunction with Tourism Malaysia and responsibletravel.com earlier this year. Below is a lovely email which she has sent to us to describe their time on this project.

To all at Great Projects and Responsible Travel,

It's Monday and I'm already trying to fight off the holiday blues after returning from what my mother and I have both said was the most incredible experience we've ever had. Not only was Borneo a magical and beautiful place full of the most diverse wildlife and species that I didn't even know existed, but everyone we met were just the most inspiring and wonderful people.

The majority of our time was spent with Francis and Dom who really made our trip the fantastic experience that it was. I won't ever forget Francis's jokes which kept us all giggling. As mum and I are both veggies, I thought we'd struggle with food, I was totally wrong. Francis always ensured that there were plenty of options for us and we never went hungry! The food was great!

I know that I wont just be speaking for myself when I say that I couldn't thank Dom enough for how he looked after us all and especially mum on the jungle treks. The dedication that Dom has to the conservation of Orangutans and his passion for them is truly inspiring. Having Dom around made us all feel so safe, even when Killer Bees were hovering and Leeches throwing themselves at us! His cooking is also totally delicious!

There wasn't a single part of the trip that I didn't love and given the chance, I would go back in an instant. I wish we would have had more time at Matang, because working there was yet another amazing experience and great fun to muck in and learn about the animals and most importantly, the conservation efforts. Although we didn't get much time with Natasha and Leo, it was humbling being with them and just fascinating to listen to their stories. In the few days at Matang I really learnt a lot.

Spending time in the jungle with the Chief and his family in their longhouse was incredible and not like anything I've ever experienced. They couldn't have been anymore welcoming and although language was a barrier, we all had such fun and it was emotional saying bye.

The trip was truly memorable and the best few weeks I've ever had, there were watery eyes when our group had to go separate ways. I'm sure I've made life-long friends.Thank you all again for picking my name and giving myself and mum this experience, I loved every moment of it.

I've attached a few pics from the 1500+ that I took, but I will of course send some more over soon.

Thank you all so much again and I can't wait to book another Great Projects adventure!

Kindest regards,

Natalya x

For more information on this project please click here!

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