The end is not the end.

The end is not the end.

Just under three weeks ago, a hippo scared me witless. I will admit it now. Today I'm sitting on the eastern bank of the Rundu River in Gonarezhou and think they are quite cute down there in the water. I know that, of all the wild animals in Africa, they are the biggest killer of people, but you see, I'm a dog. If it weren't for all those flat dogs in the river, I would happily go and swim with the hippos.

I know I'm babbling today, but I am not feeling well. Physically I am fine, it's all emotional. It's the last day of the trip and I am already nostalgic. You know that they always say how nostalgia makes you miss people you don't know and places you've never been to. At least this time I can say I've seen those places and I know those people. They are the 20 people who were on the trip from start to finish, making it happen. And that with an expedition in October, Africa's suicide month. It is the hottest, driest month of the year with the first rains staying away.

I want to thank those people for the greatest experience of my life. For making the logistics happen, the food happen, the travel, the awesome work done for nature and the environment. For the fact that everybody was always happy with doubling up, doing extra duties. Nobody was ever too important to get his or her hands dirty. I also, on behalf of the whole team, want to thank Toyota South Africa and all our generous sponsors for keeping us going. Once again we are going home with all 10 Toyotas still going strong. After more than 6 000 kilometres, they're still leading the way.

Let's reminisce for a moment. Theresa had major successes with the ex-students from SAWC and Bryan the same with his environmental training with the communities. The tree people taught me something. Another way to mark a tree. Their DNA-barcoding tally is close to 150.

Talking about trees, have you noticed that a lot of people always get fascinated about game? Especially the Big Five. Because it is 'sexy'. A lot tend to forget about the flora. The fact that the Outreach focuses on the environment and nature, maybe therefore makes it less of an attention getter for a lot of people out there. But as Gerhard always says: "Give me an open cheque book and I create a Big Five game farm in a month. Give me a 1000 years and I create one big tree." Deforestation in Africa is a crisis.

But now that the Outreach is over, the question is, did we really make a difference?

The statistics look good, but that is not what really counts. We made friends. Friendship is the strongest weapon to overcome problems. Friendship creates hope. Belief. A sense of want.

Friends care and friends share. By sharing the knowledge, it spreads. Knowledge empowers. Empowerment brings healing. And this chain reaction is what the 20 people from the Outreach initiated with this trip. Yes, Africa is big, very big and we only managed to reach a few places. But we've been there.

At the end of it all, this is only the end of this trip. That's all it is. The process continues.

It has to continue, because Africa is suffering. Africa is overpopulated, poverty is rife and biodiversity loss is alarming. Therefore a lot of pessimistic people say that Africa doesn't have a dog's chance to make it. This dog says they're wrong. Because of people and projects like the Toyota Enviro Outreach.

Tomorrow we go home. It's a good thought, but I will miss all my Outreach friends. I will think of you and want you to know that I have learnt more from you than I ever thought I would.

Now it's also time to say goodbye to you, my readers. Thank you for your support by following us on the blog.

So, before I start howling, there's only one more thing left to say:

"Hasta la Vista Baby, I'll be back..."