The student view from Daniel Wirepa.
Wednesday 10th June marked a surprisingly wet and cloudy arrival into South Africa after a near 17 hours of travelling, with the first day spent catching up on some well needed rest. The visit was to conduct research into the shell-boring worm Boccardia proboscidea, and ironing out the kinks of a novel method of pest control for this invasive species. Overall, the trip offered some very valuable experience and insight into academic and scientific research and helped further fuel a strong interest into all aspects of science. Most importantly, the trip was thoroughly enjoyable throughout especially with South African winter being akin to the British summer – discounting the torrential thunderstorms. I’d like to thank Matt and Carol for providing me with this opportunity, and wish them good luck with future research.