Today we’d like to introduce you to Karolina Ropelewska-Perek.
Hi Karolina, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I wanted to travel and see the world since I can remember but it was not that easy or possible when you grow up in a post-communist country. Hearing stories of my grandfather’s sister about traveling to Australia was incredible but for me, at that time it was as possible as flying to the moon. But dreams cost nothing and I have always had a lot of them – to see the world and animals in the wild I used to watch in documentaries.
I remember the first trip with my parents and brother to Bulgaria. I was still a girl, 8 years old, but I loved everything about this trip and place. Warm sea, sun, and being on the road. Parents used to take us on such vacations a few times and thanks to them I could see a big part of southern Europe, practice my English skills and find out that traveling is something I love. At that time exploring the world was a distant dream and I had to wait until I met my husband.
Two years after our wedding we could finally go on vacation. First, we thought about Egypt – a country where lots of Polish people go. We ended up in Sri Lanka, the first and the last trip with a travel agent. I loved everything about this country – the first time I could see elephants in an elephant sanctuary and such turquoise of the ocean I thought it couldn’t be real. Before we left Sri Lanka I had another plan of a trip to Asia. This time I wanted to organize it on my own. And I did.
A year later we took the first group of people with us to Thailand. This is how our travels started. We organize and plan everything on our own. Until now I managed to visit 49 countries on 6 continents, many of them more than once like Thailand, Indonesia, or Brazil. I didn’t forget about my big Australian dream. Before we set off to this distant continent I started a fan page that until now attracted over 10.000 people following our adventures.
Australia was worth waiting. Throughout our road trip with a rented campervan, we managed to explore the Western part of this huge country. Sleeping in the car somewhere far away from cities under billions of stars, spotting kangaroos and parrots. My dream came true, I made it, and at that time I thought to myself that I can get wherever I want in the world. If you can dream it, you can do it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My dreams were not over. I had even more of them. After Australia, we explored South America, and one day when I was sitting on the beach of a small Brazilian island my friend from Rwanda wrote to me and invited us to his country. I had always wanted to see Africa but somehow I didn’t get there. My 40th birthday was getting closer and I thought it was the best time to fulfill my next dream. To see mountain gorillas, my childhood dream after watching a movie about an inspiring and unique person – Dian Fossey.
At that time it was again like flying to the moon. I had no job and traveling to Africa, getting a gorilla permit is a pricy adventure. Sometimes life shows us the way. All you have to do is to grab an opportunity. We went to visit my friend living in UK. I studied English but I have never visited Uk. I loved this country, the people, small villages with houses built of stone. One month later, I came back on my own for work. Six weeks was a challenge. I had never traveled alone and I lived with people I didn’t know. But I was doing all that for my dream. Against all odds, I found a way to cope with being away from home and I started running.
When we landed in Rwanda everything was so different from what I knew. I had no idea that people don’t have tap water every day but only 4 times a week. There were blackouts, hungry and poor children whose parents couldn’t afford to send them to school or give them anything to eat. Before our trip began I made fundraising to the school run by our friend. We brought some money, clothes, things for school and toys. But you can’t simply share your money all the way with everybody.
You have to learn to cope with that. We traveled with public buses to the north where we could do Dian Fossey trekking to the place where she lived with her gorillas. Visiting her tomb was so touching. Later in Uganda, in Impenetrable Forest, I met those amazing creatures. Tears were falling down my cheeks. Tears of joy that I made it again. They were there, a few steps away from us eating, resting, and playing. Experience out of this world.
Two weeks later we reached Nairobi. A bit earlier than we planned because pandemic had just begun and borders of countries were closing so we had to leave Uganda one day earlier. My husband thought about a special gift for me but what can you get for a person like me. Animal lover and a person who doesn’t care much about tags on clothes. I was given an elephant from Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Sattao. I had a visit for adoptive parents in Nairobi and in spite of the pandemic I could meet with my Ellie with no one around because all other tourists had to cancel their plans.
A few days later, it turned out that our flight back home was canceled. We had no idea how long it could last and buying new tickets for 3000 $ each was out of the question. So we decided to stay on the Kenyan coast. No one knew it would last 5 months but when the time had come and we could finally go back to Poland, I didn’t want to go. Africa gave me so much, fulfilled my biggest dreams about animal encounters and safari that we also organized on our own with a hired car. At that time, I felt again like a little girl being a part of a documentary exploring the African bush. Totally alone in deserted national parks, no one around just us and all these amazing animals.
I was leaving Africa and my heart was bleeding. I was leaving new friends, dogs I used to feed, my beach. But I knew I was about to come back to Kenya. And I did. I tried to set free and traveled to Tanzania and Zambia a year later but I missed Kenya so much that I decided to come back. Against everything, even my body limits because I came back from Tanzania with an injured spine. I had surgery 7 weeks before our journey began and here, in Kenya, I felt at home again. This time we decided to take 3 small groups of people and show them our Africa, take them with us on a self-drive safari and show them wildlife they have never seen. It was an incredible experience and I think we will do it again.
Love to Africa is not easy. Even staying here for a long time is difficult and different from what we all know. You struggle. For me going to the bush is like a remedy to everything and I’m always amazed at each zebra, elephant, or giraffe I see, no matter how many times I saw them before. I feel inside that I should stay somewhere near to the park and just live with them, protect them. I strongly believe that animals feel more. Through all our safaris and visits to Africa, I fell in love with elephants.
Everything started with Sattao but now, every time I come and leave Africa, I miss them the most. And every time I come again I can’t wait to see them again. Wild and free, in huge herds roaming vast lands together. There is a lot we could learn from them if we only tried to see and listen. It’s been a long way for both of us until we arrived in Africa but I think it was meant to be. We both laugh that it’s good that we didn’t start with this continent because I wouldn’t see any of the countries in Asia or America coming here first. I can’t even think about any other trip but Africa. Now we have been in Kenya for over 3 months and we still have some time left.
I already know I will probably come back in September to lead a group again. Later, we have a plan to explore more and visit Botswana and Namibia, stay for a couple of weeks near to some park, and just watch wildlife. Botswana is a home for the biggest population of elephants so it sounds like a perfect place for me. You can follow our adventures on the FB page Carola travels the world and my blog. Jambo.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I live and work to travel. We both do. I write about places and my experiences, share the photos I make plenty of during our journeys. What I have found out through all these years is that time is very important. If you have more time when you go to someplace you have never been to, you have a chance to know it better, talk to people, just stop for a while and feel it with all your senses. Going on safari just once is impossible for me.
Parks look different each time. You can observe animals, their behaviors, simply admire their beauty. And then you can take shots, good ones when you know what they can do. I’m proud of what we have achieved until now. It’s not about some kind of fame but sharing experiences, showing different cultures and problems and if I can, helping on the way through fundraising. This time it was our fourth action of help in Africa.
We raised funds for Kwale Eye Centre, an eye clinic founded by English ophthalmologist Helen Roberts, that helped my husband when he almost lost his eye during our first visit to Kenya. He knows how it feels when you can’t see and these people here can’t afford even visiting a doctor, let alone surgery to save their sight. There are many problems here and many ways of helping but in a wise way. Not through giving sweets to kids that changes nothing.
One more thing I’m proud of is my husband – friend, lover, and travel companion. It’s not easy to find a perfect person for life and share your passion with. We are married for 15 years, for good and for worse. I can’t imagine my life without him. I am who I am today partially because of him and because he never tried to stop me or change me. I just can be the bushbaby I always had inside of me.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://carlar24.wixsite.com/carolatravels
- Instagram: @carolatravelstheworld
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Carolatravelstheworld
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCM-AzEDLl5e-X2SaGEuwTOg
