What not to do on Game Drive

Just got back from the most exciting and yet scary drive. It all started with the fact that I was driving if that doesn’t tell you something. Helen, my boss, hurt her foot and all the other staff at GVI are on Christmas holidays so Kaggie, who is also training, and myself have been doing the research drives taking turns driving and working the radio. Kaggie drove the morning drive and I the afternoon. I was very nervous to begin with because it was our first time out on drive without any help and the radio is very daunting because the other lodges depend on us to locate the animals and call in sightings for their guests not to mention they are very strict when it come to radio procedures such as how things are described and using Shangan words for the animals so guests can’t understand what is going on.

Kaggie and I started out looking for the female lioness and cubs because we didn’t find them in the morning. We were driving along the Northern River road and come to a puddle, well what I thought was a puddle. It turned out to be as deep as the Grand Canyon and we were Stuck! Even in low range 4 wheel drive and Differential lock turned on there was no getting out. We maneuvered back and forth for a few minutes in the hopes we would find away but it was of no use. Kaggie got out to tear off some branches and put them under the tires with the hopes of getting some traction. Just as she was in front of the vehicle a herd of Elephants decided to show up for a visit.

As beautiful and intelligent as Elephants are they are extremely dangerous and unpredictable. I would not feel comfortable driving that close to a herd of Elephants on solid ground with escape routes all around us and here we were stuck with nothing to do but pray that they didn’t get angry at us for being there. The young calves were very curious coming right up to the vehicle. This brought the females who came and sniffed us but carried on around us. Then a big Male, Mr. M, noticed us and came over. He pulled a big limb off a tree right in front of us to eat then preceded to suck the muddy water from the lake we were stuck in and spray himself with it. I was sitting behind the wheel with my foot on the clutch and the gears in reverse in case he decided to charge us for then he would at least push us out so we could quickly reverse away. We sat there for at least 45 min with Elephants all around us. Elephants were making growling noises on either side of us, a large female was browsing off a tree behind us while the young were showing how tough they were by trumpeting, not to mention Mr. M in front. Finally, they moved off without incident and Kaggie and I got out to work on getting unstuck losing a shovel in the mud in the process. Luckily the tree that Mr. M pushed over allowed for some traction and it wasn’t much longer before we were out. We drove on only to encounter another puddle thankfully we could drive around but then further down the road a massive tree had been pushed over and lay blocking out way. The only option was to turn around and go back. Not only through the puddle but also towards the elephants!

We managed to get through the puddle with some fantastic driving skills on my part and we never encountered the Elephants again. I almost forgot to mention that I had to call in the daily activities at 4:00, which was right in the middle of our encounter with the elephants.

Photos: Mr. M in front of us (taken from the driver seat, you can see the hood of the car along the bottom), a young calf walking by, and Kaggie and I once we escaped the puddle!

More photos on FACEBOOK

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Well Christmas has come and gone and although I am away from home I was lucky enough to be able to spend it with my great friends.

Went down to Nkambeni where many Bushwise students, Suzie, Ruth, KC, Dario, Katie, and Chris went for placement. It was great to see everyone and where they work. I arrived Christmas Eve to a scorching temperature of 48˚C; luckily I drove down in an air-conditioned car. We spent Christmas Eve catching up around a Bon fire drinking nice cold cider and listening to some Christmas tunes. One of the local guys taught us how the locals dance, very similar to 2 stepping but with more shuffling of your feet, KC said it looks a lot like your wind surfing and I have to agree. Christmas day was spent by the pool after a nice big breakfast. For dinner the lodge put on a big feast for us with some very tender ham in a creamy mustard sauce, roast potatoes and homemade tarts for dessert it was so good! They brought in some carolers to sing some local Christmas songs and decorated the lodge in tons of lights and candles. Even with all the decorations and food it still did not seem like Christmas. It’s hard to believe its Christmas when it’s hot and you haven’t had to do any Christmas shopping and there is no snow which is good when you can’t be home for Christmas because it is just like your not missing it.

Best Week Yet!

I love South Africa! I know this because everyday I find myself saying this is the best day. Each day seems better than the last day. For example on Monday night drive we found the two lionesses we were tracking (Maggie and Lisa) with their cubs right in the middle of the road. Lisa was cleaning one of the cubs and the other two cubs where play fighting. It was such an amazing sighting. We sat and watched for about 30 mins until they lions walked off.

Tuesday morning we were tracking the Cheetah boys (Jabu and Djuma) and I got out of the truck and onto the back to do telemetry. I had just turned it on and was hearing very strong beeps but it was not from the Cheetah boys it was from Zero, the old Male lion. He was right there in the bushes, not even 5 feet from us, and neither of us saw him. He then got up and started walking away Roaring very loudly. There is nothing like a Lions roar to send chills down your spine. After this we tracked down the Cheetah boys. They were stalking some Impala and so we walked alongside them hoping to see them make a kill. Unfortunately they entered an area we could not follow but other game drive vehicles later saw them kill to Impala right on the road in front of them.

Wednesday was still another great day. We tracked down Zero and like always called in the sighting on the radio so the other game drive vehicles can bring their guests. When the one vehicle arrived at the sighting the guests thanked us again and again. Then we found the Cheetah boys, again called it in and the same vehicle arrived to the sighting the guest were so amazed by our “tracking” abilities. They looked on us with awe and were so impressed that we found these animals for them to see. If only their guide would share his tips with us.

Thursday brought us to the Elephants. We were driving along trying to track down the Lionesses when we pretty much ran into a herd of Elephants walking down the road toward us. They walked right on past our truck sniffing it with their trunks. There was 8 of them that passed 3 of these being calves and they walked so close to us that if I was brave enough (or stupid) I could have reached out and touched them. We turned around and followed them down the road until they went off into the bushes.

Like I said best drive yet!

1st Week at Karongwe and it ROCKS!

It was my first week of placement at Karongwe and I can’t help but be thankful that I did not go to Bonamanzi and although I was regretting coming out on my own I know I made the right choice. Karongwe researches the feeding behaviour and movements of the predators on the reserve. They have collars on 2 Cheetah, 2 Lion, & a Hyena. The collars help us to track them by Telemetry and see how they are doing. So everyday I get to see lion, cheetah and hyena. Volunteers come to help us out with the tracking and data collecting and stay for either 5 or ten weeks. When I arrived the volunteers were on their last week before heading home so I got to take part in all the leaving activities. We had a Braai on Monday where we spit roasted an Impala! Tuesday the local school kids came around and we took them on a Safari. They were so excited to see Giraffe and Zebra it was incredibly cute. Wednesday we did volunteer work and picked up garbage along the highway and ended up with our picture in the paper. Thursday we had another Braai where we cooked Poikie (basically stew cooked in a cauldron on the fire). The poikie meat was Hippo, tastes a lot like beef. Friday morning got a lovely breakfast at a local restaurant and spent the afternoon cleaning up the camp as all the volunteers left early Saturday morning.

My training started Sunday morning out on drive learning the roads and the area as best as possible. The cheetahs we have collared are very much habituated to humans so we can walk very close up to them. We arrived to find them just finishing off a baby Impala and sat watching them as they licked each other clean then wondered off into the bush. Next we tracked down the Lions to find them sleeping lazily in the middle of the road. On the way back to camp we passed 2 rhino and a herd of elephant. I have not see this many animals in one day yet.

The next few weeks I will continue training, as the next group of volunteers does not arrive until January 4th. I plan on heading down to Nkambeni for Christmas, that is where most of the other Bushwise students ended up going for placement, and we are going to have a big Christmas feast.

Last day at Bushwise

Well my time here at Bushwise has come to an end. I’ve passed my Level 1 exam with a 93% and my course average was a 91%. We wrote our Trials guide exam on Wednesday and will find out next week if we passed. Everyone on the course passed their assessment drives and their level 1 exam as well. Friday was a sad day as most people left for their placement. First to leave was Ruth (my roommate) and Dario followed by Barry and Declan then Tom, Kimball and Trey and all too soon Suzie, Katie, Chris, and KC. It was heartbreaking to say good-bye to such wonderful people but I know I will see them again. By the end of the day there were only 4 of us left here. Saturday we dropped Tim off and Marty, John and I leave on Monday all to go separate ways.

I will be going to Karongwe, a research camp just 30 min down the road. I regret choosing a placement where I will be going on my own as I wish I had more time to spend with most of these people but I know it will be amazing and I will soon make friends. I will be taking around volunteers and we will be researching lions, hyenas, cheetah, rhino, and elephants. I will be guaranteed to see each of these animals almost everyday. I know the next 7 months will fly by and I will be able to see my friends on weeks off.

It was an amazing 5 months to say the least. I have made life long friends of all these people and we have become a little family after all that we shared. We’ve spent every moment together, going to class, on game drives, studying, eating, and cooking. Sharing, not only, bathrooms, bedrooms and living spaces but also thoughts, fears, worries and memories.

I could not have asked for a better group of people to spend these exciting 5 months with. We all got along and even though we annoyed each other once in a while no one was ever left out or disliked. We all tried to encourage support and help each other every step of the way. I will miss having them around everyday but am happy to know that most of them are still around here so we can meet up on days off.

Good Bye Bushwise it's been a BLAST!

Photo(left to right) Ruth, Me, Suzie

Capturing Rhino!

Bonamanzi is looking to have more animals on there reserve and another reserve is looking to get ride of it’s rhino and buffalo so Wednesday Suzie and I got to go help capture rhino and relocate them to Bonamanzie

There were three rhino’s that need to be relocated 2 female adults and 1 calf. We arrived at the reserve at 4:00am and split into 2 groups me and Ewerd, a guide at Bonamanzi, and Suzie went with Rebecca, the other guide at Bonamanzi, We drove around the reserve trying to see any sign of rhino or rhino tracks while a helicopter also flew around looking.

The guys in the helicopter spotted it first and darted it with a tranquilizer. We headed over to where they landed to make sure it was laying correctly and had not fallen in a bad position. This rhino had fallen to one side and we needed to turn it over. The tranquilizer does not put them to sleep but just makes them very groggy so the rhino can still walk and hear but doesn’t have the energy to charge us. Four of us gathered round the rhino pushing it onto its feet as they tied a rope around its mouth and blind folded it so it would be less dangerous and more relaxed. We then had to steer it into the trailer by pushing against it when it stepped too far left or right. A few times the rhino backed up and almost stepped on us but we were quick enough to get out of the way and with in 10 min she was loaded into the trailer and we were off to find the next one. All of this has to be done quickly because if they leave the tranquilizer in the rhino too long it will die.

About an hour later we spotted the calf with its mother. They darted the calf and then used sirens to scare off the mother. The trailer was not big enough for them both so they had to take one at a time. This time we had to be even quicker as the mother was around and she was extremely angry so it was a very dangerous situation. They also had to implant a transmitter in the calf to monitor where it was so they could drop the mother off near it when they captured her. This is done by drilling a hole in the horn and implanting it there. This does not hurt the calf as the horn is made up of the same thing as our fingernails are. It all went smoothly with the calf but we ran out of daylight so unfortunately had to leave the mother and they will capture her tomorrow.

It was amazing to touch the rhino’s they have incredibly soft ears but the skin on their bodies is like super tough leather. Both of them were also covered in mud, as rhino’s like to wallow, and hundreds of ticks. The ticks were all grouped in clusters, one cluster on the but was about the size of my hand. It was gross and I had to watch where I put my hands when pushing the rhino.

After all this amazing stuff we got to ride back to the lodge in the helicopter that they used to dart the rhino’s. That was the cherry on top.
Only downside I never had my camera with.

Bonamanzi

Went off to Bonamanzi on Wednesday and had a great time. Just moments after we arrived one of the guides told us they were releasing a new rhino onto the property and so off we went Suzie and I, 3 guides and 2 other staff members to watch the release. The drive to the area where they were releasing the rhino was very nice but Suzie and I were not impressed with staff members we went with. They were talking about shooting the monkey’s we passed and talking really loudly and smoking on the vehicle all things Suzie and have been taught are not done even if it is just staff with us. We arrived at the release point and watched as they opened the door to the trailer to release the rhino. It was a large female and they had cut of her horn as a way of protecting her from being poached. From what I have read this doesn’t work as poachers will just get angry and kill the rhino anyway and then the rhino doesn’t have means of protecting herself against other predators. The rhino was not impressed with all this and came charging right for our vehicle as soon as she was released, but we shouted her away and she turned at the last moment. Otherwise it could have been disastrous.

Headed back to the lodge and hung out with the other guides while waiting for the head ranger. I got on great with the other guides and they would have been fun to work with but the head ranger was a complete wanker for lack of a better term. He was an ex army guy and had the biggest ego. He just sat there and talked at us for 3 hours about his life and how many qualifications he has and how great he is. Suzie and I were both put right of from going there. Later we talked with the other guides about him, deciding if he was really that bad and the general consensus was yes. As we got to know more of the place it seemed as if no one liked it there and over half the people we talked to were already quitting or looking for another job. It sounded like the head ranger made life quite difficult. This was more reason not to go there.

On the upside the next day 2 of the guides were going out to help capture rhino from another property to release it on theirs and we get to go help. Awesome

More Birding

Tuesday we went out on an early morning birding tour with one of the local guides. It was very good. Just us 2 and the guide. She took us around a park naming all the different bird calls and birds we saw. I’ve been come a real nerd with all these birds ticking off the ones in my bird book that we have seen. Barry, one of the guys back at camp, and I have a bit of a competion on who will check the most birds off before we leave for placement. I was already kicking his butt and after this week I will have 163 birds.

The afternoon we went back to the nature park and drove up to the cape where Suzie put her feet in the Indian ocean for the first time! It was a cloudy day and not to warm so I kept my shoes and sock n and stupidly stood too close to the waters edge so I also ended up with wet feet.

Wednesday we are off to Bonamanzi. The head ranger is putting us up for the night and we are going to be treated as guests. Can’t wait.

St. Lucia

Just got back from our last week off before we go on placement as I had spent the last 2 weeks off here around camp I really wanted to go somewhere for this one. Suzie and I decided we would go down to St. Lucia, a coastal touristy town near where we wanted to go on placement. St. Lucia is a great birding destination with hippos and croc that swim in the ocean and Turtles that come along the beaches to lay their eggs. Also, Our placement was going to be at Bonomanzi a reserve near by and we could stop in meet everyone and see what it was like.

We left early Sunday morning preparing for a 10-hour drive ahead of us with lots of snacks and good music to listen to on the way down. The drive is beautiful with windy roads through the foggy Drakensberg mountains then on to vast stretches of forest that lead into rolling hills and grasslands. I much enjoyed it even though we encountered much construction along the way. The landscape was nothing like you would imagine South Africa to be. We arrived about 4 in the afternoon to St. Lucia without a hitch. The room we were staying in was like a little apartment with a kitchen, TV! and even a Bathtub in the bathroom. Now for us this is luxury.

Monday Suzie and I went for a drive in the local park and within minutes came across Rhino sleeping under a tree 2 females and a calf escaping the heat of the day just relaxing by the water’s edge. As we drove on we came across so many different birds I can’t even begin to list them all. The next outlook brought us to a boardwalk where we could stroll up to the water’s edge and see the Flamingos and Hippos in the water. We decided to stop for a picnic lunch and then head back as we had booked on to a hippo and croc river cruise.

The river cruise was very good getting extremely close to the hippos (I got some great pictures). Suzie and I spent most of it taking notes on anything new the captain would say about things we would see along the way. We learned tons and it was worth it just for that not to mention everything else.

That night we stayed in and watched a movie, when there was a knock on the door. Who is that? We wondered. Well it was the security guard. He came to tell us there was a hippo on the grounds and we could come see if we want. So out we went and right there, not even 10 meters from us was a hippo happily munching away on the grass. What a cool way to start off the week.

Thunder Storms

Our last Bushwise exam was yesterday before the FGASA final exam so yesterday was a day to relax. I spent the afternoon baking chocolate cake, while most of the group went to Mahlahlah to watch a rugby game. Everyone was in a great mood and we were all up at Declan and Marty’s house hanging out when the Thunder started to clap. About 11:30pm Suzie and I walked to the kitchen to get a drink and it started pouring rain. The Thunder and lightening was non-stop with loud booming crashes and lightening that lit up the entire camp and it looked like it was almost daylight. We sat in the dinning area listening to the rain druming on the tin roof and watching the lightening crash. A couple times the thunder cracked so loud that Suzie squealed. It was her first real thunderstorm. She is from southeast England and said she had never experienced a storm like this. I ran back to my room to make sure the windows and doors were all closed and was soaked within seconds the road and paths were also flooded and turning into a river. In some spots it was as deep as my calf. The power went out about 30 minutes into the storm but there was enough non-stop lightening that a flashlight was not even needed. Between the lightening, though, it was so dark that you could not see your hand in front of your face. The rain poured for about 2 hours and the thunder and lightening went well into the night. Suzie and I finally made it back to our rooms about 2 in the morning when the rains let up a bit.

We still have not heard about Lucy, hopefully she is doing OK.

Ahh! Snakes!

The weather has been unbelievably HOT lately with temperatures above 35˚C making it very difficult to get any studying done as all we want to do is lounge in the pool. Friday came around so quickly this week and everyone realized that we had not done any studying for this week’s exam, which will be on Saturday. I had Aislinn’s assessment drive to go on in the morning as a guest, so I decided I would do some hard-core studying after brunch. We had just finished the dishes when from the kitchen we hear Lucy, she's our cook, cry for help. Turns out there was a snake in the kitchen, a spitting cobra, this snake can be very deadly. We called the instructors and Daryl came out. After much moving around of the deep freeze he eventually got the snake out of the kitchen. It was our first sighting of a deadly snake on campus. As we finally settled down to get back to studying Lucy calls for help again. She is starting to feel dizzy and her foot is hurting. Lucy thinks the snake bit her. Aislinn and Kathryn grab the first aid kit and bandage up her leg while I sit and talk to her trying to keep her calm. Suzie calls the instructors on the radio and Ruth brings the vehicle around, as we have to get to the gate to get cell phone signal and call an ambulance. If bitten its venom affects the Nervous system and your breathing and if not monitored can lead to death. Most snakes however, will try to get away to a safe place rather then bite and if they do bite a lot of time it is a “dry bite” where they don’t inject venom. Lucy, we don’t think was bitten as the symptoms didn’t seem to be severe enough. Daryl thinks a lot of it was in her head from fear. She was taken to the hospital and all they did was give her a shot of anti-venom and send her home. So far we haven’t heard anything but we are sure she is OK. The scariest part is the doctor who treated her gave her anti-venom. This is never a good idea and most places will not give it to you as you have to know exactly what snake bit you and the problems that arise from the anti-venom can be as bad if not worse than the snake bite. Usually you just treat the symptoms and eventually your body will rid itself of the venom. We are all worried about her but think she will be fine. Later that night Daryl spotted a python up by his house. It was just a small one and no need to fear it but we are now even more cautious around here about snakes as they seem to be coming out.

That makes our snake sighting total at 6, Brown house snake, vine snake, tiger snake, sand snake, python and spitting Cobra. Photo is of the tiger snake. As for studying well not much got done but the test was not too bad and I think we all passed.

Assessment Drive

I passed my assessment drive on Wednesday! Now I am one step closer to becoming a full-fledged field guide. I thought it went quite well and Ruth, who was my tracker, agreed it was awesome. The assessment drive is not difficult in the fact that we have more than enough knowledge to pass. What makes it difficult is that we start the drive from camp and not from the reserve and we have to stop and talk about things we see on the side of the road leading to the reserve never quite making it into Makalali. Basically it means we won’t see any mammals but have to incorporate them into our assessment in some way. As you all know my driving skills are not the best so I choose to do a short little walk around our tree path here in the camp. This helped me pass my exam as I was able to point out tons of little things like insects and tracks and get my “guests” involved by showing them butterfly eggs, and let them smell the scent of the Tamboti tree. There was also a beehive on the path and my assessor, Mark, was impressed with my knowledge about the bees. Bees when coming back from collecting pollen will dance out their route to the other bees shaking their abdomen and emitting pheromones so the other bees know where to go. Some bees will raid other hives of their honey by pretending to fly the same way as the bees they are raiding in order to get past the guards protecting the honey.

As we went on the road a vehicle passed us pulling a horse trailer. Mark knew the guy driving and asked me to pull over. The guy was transporting a Sable (type of antelope) to a hunting lodge. We don’t have sable on our reserve so we all got to climb on top the trailer and look at it from over head. They are beautiful animals with long curved horns.

After that the drive was pretty much over and we headed back to the camp where Mark interviewed me on things I was not able to cover such as astronomy and gave me feed back about the drive. He said my knowledge was good and I knew my bird and bird calls very well but I needed more practice on my driving, knowing when to change gears and things like that but I already knew about it so was quite pleased.

Next step the FGASA Level 1 Exam on November 20.

Picture of a Grey Go-Away Bird.

The Joys of Africa

A Leopard has killed a Kudu(antelope) just outside of camp and the whole place stinks of rotting meat so bad that you can't breath. It's disgusting. Just thought I would share that with you.

Last Day :(

Woke up at about 5 this morning to the birds and monkey’s screaming I opened my eyes just in time to see a leopard jump into the tree right beside out room. I woke Tim up but the leopard had mostly climbed too high for Tim to get a good look all he saw was a shadow. We jumped out of bed to see if we could get a better look but the leopard was out of sight by them. We could hear the baboons and birds giving alarm calls, something jumped on the roof of our room and then onto the boardwalk. But we couldn’t tell if by then it was the monkeys or the leopard. Couldn’t fall back asleep after that. I’m so happy to have been able to see all the big 5 in this trip.

Left at about 8:00 this morning after a wonderful breakfast and drove through the Kruger park to get back to camp. Saw a flock of 8 ground hornbills, many many herds of elephants, tons of buffalo and some baby Ostrich. I’d never seen baby Ostrich they were so small and so cute. So sad to have to leave Pafuri I kept hinting to Mark that I wanted to do my placement there but so did everyone else and I don’t think they even take students. Still maybe one day.

Day 4 Elephants and Buffalo!

We’ve decided to stay another night and it’s a good thing we did! On the mornings hike we walked near the place we were yesterday but took a different route. We found Rhino tracks again and since the tracks were headed in the same direction we were going we followed them. Soon we heard loud grunts and growls. It sounded as if the Rhino’s were fighting just over the next bend. Mark instructed us that if they come this way we should get behind the rocks. As we walked closer they sounded more like lions than Rhino but then we heard the calf squeal and realized that it was rhino’s. That second when we thought it was lion though my heart stopped. We definitely didn’t want to be walking in on lions fighting. We could hear the rhinos for quite some time but could not seem to track them down. As we were walking in dense bushes we must have been circling around them and never coming close enough to see. Mark said it was probably a male trying to mate with a female who was not willing this he deducted from the calf squealing.

The afternoon we did another hike, We were trekking between two high cliffs and Mark was just telling us how many animals use this path to get down to the water when we saw a herd of elephants coming straight for us. The amount of dust they were kicking up told us how quickly they were moving towards us. We scrambled up the cliffs as fast as we could and as high as we possibly could get. It seemed to take ages to climb up those cliffs and Mark had to do it with a rifle in his hands. But then the elephants didn’t come. We sat there and sat there and nothing. We couldn’t see where they were because trees blocked our line of sight. Mark scrambled back down and was able to see them but they had slowed down and were eating. We sat on the cliffs for about 15 minutes and then this rumbling came and the elephants came into sight, a heard of about 10 and they were moving very quickly but as soon as they got to where we were sitting they stopped. One elephant turned towards where we were sitting and started to smell the area. Declan, was quite a bit lower on the cliffs then we were and we were worried that if the elephant came closer Declan was not high enough to be out of the way of it’s powerful trunk. Luckily they just sniffed a bit and carried on their way. We sat astounded by the experience when only seconds later a heard of buffalo followed behind the elephants. They stopped just short of where the elephants were and then turned and went back the way they came. Two of the big 5 encounters in a span of 2 minutes it was quite a rush. We were so glad that we stayed another night after that experience!

Day 3 - Tracked Rhino

Woke up to the baboons barking apparently at a leopard. One of the other guest said he saw the lions on the way back to his room last night and had to turn around. The leopard was also on the boardwalk this morning about 4:45am. As we head out for our morning walk we see the lions close to the lodge have made a kill and are eating a Nayla, we don’t stick around as there are 2 other vehicles there and we have to get walking before the day gets too hot. We walked along a gorge and came to a river followed it a bit then headed up the cliff sides. On the way up the cliffs we notice some fresh Rhino tracks. We tracked the rhino for about 45 min when we finally spotted it. A female and her calf. It was pretty cool to actually track something, find it and be walking while you do it. It is so different to see theses animals on foot. We watched them for about 20 min as they watched us: both the rhino and us being extra cautious. Soon, they ran off so we kept on with our walk. As we walked back down the cliffs we noticed some elephant tracks going through some very narrow areas. We never saw any elephants during our walk but you would never expect to find them walking down the side of a rock cliff in such a tiny little space.

The afternoon we went for another drive and stopped at the most beautiful spot to watch the sunset. We were high up over looking a massive gorge with a river running through it. The scenery was stunning looked more like something you would see in the Grand Canyon. I didn’t think places like that existed in South Africa. There is something about the sun over here that makes it seem more beautiful. It always is this amazing red and it looks so much bigger and closer then it does back in Canada.

Day 2 - Charged by an Elephant!

Another eventful day. The morning was spent on a long hike around the area. Climbing rock cliffs to take in some breathtaking views. Surprisingly we never encountered much in the way of animals but the walk itself was very enjoyable. Saw many tracks of lions and leopard. We stopped at a spring where lion had been only an hour before and came across some rock hyraxes playing about in the rock cliffs but nothing more than antelope and baboon for most of the time. Still just the fact that you could turn a corner and come across some Lions, leopards or buffalo is what makes the hike that much more interesting.

Came back from the morning hike relaxed, had a nap tried to fit in some studying but didn’t get much done. We go out again for a drive in the afternoon. We come across a bull elephant and drive along as he floats across the planes. How something that large could move so gracefully is beyond me. After the elephant we see some Buffalo and Mark lets us get out of the Landie and walk over to them. Not to close, obviously, but closer than we could have got in the vehicle. We watch them and they watch us as the light is slowly fading. Back in the vehicle we come across the same elephant we watch as he shakes a palm tree to get the dates out of it. The elephant notices us and is he is not too happy with us so he flaps his ears and curls his trunk and start coming for us. We know it is only a “Mock Charge” by his behaviour and that he is just showing us who the boss is but it is quite terrifying when an animal that size comes charging for you. Mark drives the vehicle just a little way to give the elephant some space. That seems to satisfy him and he continues eating, he then wonders up to a dead tree and starts scratching his head, body and butt against it. This elephant was such an interesting character. It was very cool to experience all that.

We arrive back at the lodge to hear the lions roaring very close by. The staff say they are just at end of the path we start to head down there to see and then realize what a stupid idea that is as we are only on foot with no rifles so we head back to our rooms and sit and listen to them roar. What a way to end the day.

Pafuri

Mark, our head instructor, has a sister who works at a private 5 star lodge in Northern Kruger National Park called Pafuri. She offered to give us a discount if anyone wanted to go for a few days to do some hiking and game drives. At first everyone wanted to go but when they realized the price it cut back to only 4 people Tim, Marty, Declan and I. I personally don’t think it is that expensive about $600 for 3 nights in a 5 star lodge with meals included and guided hikes sounded like a great deal to me. So we left Monday morning after morning lecture.

The place is amazing! Arrived from the 3-hour drive to be offered a refreshing juice and a cool facecloth. We’ve been here for one afternoon and already we have done and seen so much. The room for a start is gorgeous! You walk into the room to see a king size bed elegantly draped in a mosquito net as the white curtains billow in the breeze. The shower is like a tropical rain and you can choose to shower outside as I did or inside. All this and I haven’t even mention the view. Looking out onto a river were a herd of elephants and their calves are feeding. A waterbuck carefully drinks from the river keeping an eye out for the Crocodile swimming past as a Fish Eagle soars by. As we walk along the board walk back to the main area we are greeted by a Nyala grazing on the grass below and not to mention the Vervet monkey’s hanging around in hopes to get some food. We go back to the main area for 3:00 tea and snacks and we are informed that Lions have been sighted just at the edge of the boardwalk. We all race down the path and catch a glimpse of a young male and female walking by. All this and Mark hasn’t even taken us out of camp.

We leave for an afternoon drive with Mark as our guide. Driving through the forest of fever trees we only encounter all the usual game, more Nyala, Zebra, Waterbuck, Warthog, Impala, Kudu, but that is fine we also see some crested guinea fowl and a bee eater lands on a tree right next to us. Mark takes us to a very old and ancient Baobab tree it must be a thousand years old. We all get out and climb up to take a photo. Its grandeur is astonishing but it is great for rock climbing. We stop for sundowners by a river with Zimbabwe just on the other side and head back as the sunsets. Spotting 3 sightings of genet. Once arriving back dinner is served! Lamb chops and roasted potatoes with a perfect lemon mousse for dessert. Now off to bed as it is an early start to another full day.

Kruger Sighting

Just got back from 2 days in the Kruger. Us girls decided we needed to do something fun for the week off so we rented a car and spent one night in the Kruger. The Thursday was very hot and we saw hardly anything but impala and Elephants. However it was a good birding day and we saw many different types of Eagles and learned a lot about identifying each type all the while listening and trying to learn our birdcalls. We stayed in a tent camp in Lataba. The walls of the tent were made out of the same material as our house in Palau and it was very cozy. When we arrived at Lataba a Hyena was just on the other side of the fence. Seeing it that close made it less frightening. It sat there with its tongue hanging out and then rolled onto it’s back and scratched its nose. It was more like a dog and I had to keep reminding myself that they do ripe your face off while sleeping.

Friday was much cloudier and only a few minutes into the drive we knew it was going to be better for animal sightings. We drove past Impala and they were all staring intently at something. What it was? I don’t know as they watched it then began following it away into the bushes. Impala will stare at a predator and will follow it watching closely incase it’s behaviour changes. We then had a massive heard off buffalo cross the road in front of us. There was over a hundred easily. We would have been sat there most of the day if an idiot pulling a trailer didn’t drive through and practically run them over. Not a good idea. Buffalo are not cows and they can be very aggressive.

As the day wore on we came across Ground Hornbills, who also walked right in front of the car. We stopped for breakfast and heard that a pride of lions had just been seen outside of the camp. Unfortunately by the time we finished breakfast they were gone but we did see a jackal and a hooded vulture feasting on what ever they had just killed. As we drove along Suzie thought she saw a baby honey badger, which by the way is the most ferocious killer, but it turned out to be only a log.

The day soon went and we hand’t seen any cats. I stared intently out the window as we passed open plains, great for cheetah, and rocky terrain, great for leopards. The afternoon was dragging on when …There in the tree a Leopard! Stop! Stop! STOP! I shouted. WE backed up and yes it was a leopard. Not just some branches looking like a leopard. It was sitting in the tree, tail hanging down, cleaning it’s back paw. It looked relaxed and happy. Below the tree stood zebra oblivious, so we thought, to it’s presence. We hoped it would make a kill while we were there but it turns out it had already made a kill and had just finished eating by the time we saw it because you could see a half eaten animal at the base of the tree. We watched it until it noticed us and climbed down the tree. We soon lost sight of it in the tall grass but what a sight. My first sighting of a leopard, with out the help of anyone else! It totally made my day!

Week Off

It’s been a very stressful semester but has come to our 2nd week off. Most people were staying around camp and studying because a) they don’t have enough money to go anywhere or b) they feel like our FGASA exam is coming up and they don’t know anything, or c) both.

Since no one was doing anything cool for the week off and I’m not sure traveling on my own anywhere is a good idea I too am staying at the camp this week. It is a good opportunity to study because as much as we know there is still so much we don’t and I want to get a jump on the semester ahead. Sunday was spent lying by the pool. Not much got accomplished. Monday Barry and I did a morning game drive just along the main road beside the game reserves and saw a jackal, some birds and some vervet monkeys. The afternoon spent learning bird songs whilst again lying by the pool.


Tuesday evening we decided we would grab our sleeping bags and camp out along the fence line. So 5 of us Barry, Chris, Kathryn, John and I headed out about 4:00pm to a spot Chris and Barry had chosen earlier in the day. On our walk out there we came across some wildebeest running in the meadow. It was quite amazing to see them so close.
When we arrived at the spot we gathered firewood and made a small fire. Just as it got dark we noticed a Cheetah sitting on the other side of the fence just watching us. At first we thought it was a leopard and were ready to turn around and go back but soon realized it was too slim to be leopard and must be a cheetah. It sat and watched us for at least a half hour before moving on.

Barry and I could not sleep after that so we ended up taking first watch and keeping the fire stoked. Barry had never seen a shooting star or a satellite before. This amazed me but the he is from Ireland and there skies are not quite the same. So did a lot of stargazing and saw a few shooting stars and satellites reviewing our constellations and planets. I was able to see the 3 moons on Jupiter and it is quite amazing how much more you can see with just a pair of binoculars than the regular eye. The others in the group at this time were all out like a light. As the night progressed we heard many things rustling around that we could not identify and a Wildebeest snorting quite close by. The hyenas and Jackals were calling but quite far off.

Around 2am a Hyena walked just on the other side of the fence. We could only hear it at first - breathing and making this weird growling noise but had a hard time seeing it. Barry caught a glimpse of it’s eye shine and we both suspected it was a hyena but only confirmed it in the morning by tracks left behind. After that sleep was out of the question so we ended up staying awake for most of the night. I think I finally drifted off around 4:30am. Morning came early with the sun and we all headed back to camp to eat breakfast and go back to bed.

Photo is of a Pangolin - a very illusive creature. Most guides have never seen one in their many years of guiding. This is our 3rd sighting.

Rifles

I always thought I would never need to shoot a gun but one thing about being a safari guide is that you are going to be around dangerous animals and you never know what might happen. So this week was spent learning all about rifles. As a guide in South Africa you need to be able to shoot a .375-caliber rifle, minimum, but the .458 is recommended especially if you are doing walks. We started off watching videos about shot placement and animal behaviour so we know when the situation could deteriorate. Then we learned all about the “bolt action;” practicing loading and unloading the rifle and cocking it. For the beginner rifle handling assessment we need to go from the walking position (carrying it in your left hand) shoulder the rifle, cock it, aim, and fire 3 times all with in 15 seconds. It took me 15 minuets just to shoulder the rifle.

Thursday we went to the rifle range and practiced shooting a .22 and a .303 rifle. The girls were a bit nervous and most of the guys thought that it was cool. The .22 was like a BB gun (so I’m told) but the .303 looked like it would give a lot of kick back. Ruth and I took before pictures of our shoulders thinking we would have some serious bruises. We fired 10 rounds with the .22 and 3 with the .303. The .303 was not as bad as I expected but way louder then I would have liked. I couldn't imagine shooting without ear protection on.

I was not a bad shot but not great either. I need to work on my stance and aim but I hit the paper in all but one shot. Friday we all got to fire one shot on the .375 this gave even more kickback but still no bruises. The rifle is a lot heavier and some of us girls are working on our muscles to we can hold it steady and aim. That seems to be the hardest part.

Next semester will be spent doing more practice rounds with the .375 and the assessment will be in November for the beginner rifle handling. I think it will be OK as long as I can hold the gun steady. If an animal is charging at you your first shot cannot be before it comes 10 meters. Hence you have to be fully prepared. Lets hope I never get into that situation.

A Leopard!

First Leopard Sighting today.

It’s been a few weeks since we saw anything good on a game drive. It’s sad to think that I’m already getting bored with giraffe and zebra because they are very interesting to sit and watch but that is all we have been seeing for the past month. This week we have 3 exams and I was thinking the time could have been better spent studying for it as we are all stressed about how little we are prepared for these exams. Fortunately, it is not up to us when we go on a game drive because if it was we would have missed out seeing our first leopard!

Since we arrived it has been at the top of many people's lists of things they wanted to see but the leopards kept eluding us. Today while out tracking Lions we heard via the radio that another vehicle had tracked one down so we sped, and I mean really sped, over to the sighting only to have to sit and wait our turn. Only 2 to 3 vehicles are allowed at a sighting and since our other group got there before us we had to wait. When it was our turn the other vehicles left and we had the sight to ourselves. The leopard was very difficult to see at first lying in the grass eating something and I was worried that was all I would see of it would be it's ears. Then moments after we arrived it jumped up into the tree and continued to eat. It stayed there for a few moments and jumped back down to resume its position in the grass just as another vehicle joined us. We left so they could see better and returned after dark.

This time when we arrived we watched it for a few moments, by the help of a small spotlight, when a hyena came and chased it away. The leopard practically jumped in the vehicle it came so close to us as it ran away. On the way back to the gate we came across 3 different Civets as well. One we practically ran over and the other two were in the trees on the side. Never again will I be upset about having to go on a game drive.

It sure has made my day.

Camp Out

Last night we had our first sleep out in the bush. Just a roll mat and sleeping bag set up around the fire under the stars. It was a full moon so the stars were not bright but it helped us to see better for any animals that may wonder into camp. We spent the night on a dried up riverbed in the local game reserve and apparently, Lions and Elephants were seen around the spot a few hours before we stopped to make camp.

We arrived about an hour before dark, collected wood from around the area, made a fire and had sausages and pap (something a lot like cream of wheat but made out of corn) for dinner. Followed of course by roasting marshmallows and stories of past sleep outs. As soon as the sun went down a hyena decided to come check us out and walked about 20 meters from our camp. A couple of the guys wandered down the riverbed and saw another hyena on the other side of camp. The Hyena’s just came to check us out and never caused any trouble. After dinner most of the group went for another game drive. I decided to stay behind with about 5 other students, hoping the hyenas would come back and I could get a photo. Unfortunately they never reappeared. We did however see a scorpion, a dangerous one at that. You can tell how venomous a scorpion is by how thick the tail is in comparison to its pincers; this one had a very thick tail. Also, did you know scorpions glow green under a black light? No one really knows why they do this but it is really cool to see.

Since we were spending the night in the bush we had to take turns keeping watch. Each room kept watch for an hour during the night, making sure the fire didn’t die down and searching the surrounding bush with a spotlight every so often for anything that may be lurking. I was lucky enough to get the first watch so was able to sleep the rest of the night through not that I did. I woke up a few times mostly because I kept thinking I’d miss seeing something cool.
The morning came early up with the sun have a quick cup of tea. Clean up the sight as though no one had been and then off for another drive. I got my first chance driving the game viewer. It was a bit easier than I expected it to be but there is a lot to remember when you are not used to a standard transmission especially in a 4x4. I think I did all right no complaints from the other students on board. We spent the morning tracking a wounded cheetah and her cubs but never came across them. So we headed back to camp to unload and clean up. Not a bad day.

On another note, I am the proud owner of a South African Drivers License. It was not an easy thing to obtain and I am glad the process is over.

Mozambique

Last week we had our first week off. A group of us decided to go to Mozambique and relax on Inhaca Island. The week off started on the Saturday after a grueling exam on Birds, Navigation and Survival. Me and 2 other girls went to Moholahola, a wild life rehabilitation centre. Here we got to pet cheetah feed vultures, walk with a baby rhino and see al sorts of animals that have been brought there to hopefully be rehabilitated and set back into the wild after having been hurt by the actions of humans. It was a great way to learn about many types of animals and come in really close contact with them.

Sunday we left for Mozambique. We decided to take the long way there and drive through the Kruger National Park. It was amazing. We saw so many different animals and bird in one day. As there were 8 of us we drove in 2 cars and the other group saw wild dogs. This made us all very jealous although they did end up getting a speeding ticket to even things out. We saw many things too but wild dogs are a rare sight. We arrived in Mozambique on the Monday and spent the night in Maputo a city on the ocean. It was amazing how much poorer Mozambique seemed to South Africa. Tuesday we took the ferry across to Inhaca Island. The ferry ride was very horrible with choppy water and strong winds. As always I got sick over the side of the boat but I was not the only one, just the only one smart enough to stay outside on deck. Inside the ferry was quite disgusting with the sight and smell of vomit everywhere. Sounds like fun doesn’t it?

The rest of the week however was fantastic with fantastic food, cheap drinks and some wonderful company. We stayed in little huts at a camp where we were the only guests. The owner, Monnie, took us out on his boat, arranged tours for us to the lighthouse and museum and told us some great stories of his life. The weather unfortunately was windy which made it a little cold for swimming and not good visibility for snorkeling but we had a great time anyway. As we ran a tab for food a drinks though the whole week we were a bit worried when it came time to pay the bill but everything was super cheaper. My food and drinks for the entire week only came to $80.00 this made it all the better.

We were all sad to go back to the real world until we realized we are still in South Africa and life is good. It was a great week!

Encouters with Lions

Had an Incredible game drive this morning.
Less then 5 minutes upon entering the gate we come across a large lonely male lion walking just in front of us on the road. We fallow him off the path through the bushes until he lies down. We stop about 20 feet from and watch he looks over to us but does not seem to be bothered to we stick around for about 20 minutes to get some great photos. We then drive off to let other people come and get a look. We were supposed to have class out in the bush today but the other group saw Cheetahs and they were in the middle of the sighting quite a ways off so we just drove around to see what else we could spot. Soon we saw a Vulture flying in to land on a tree followed by another, then another, then another, until there were about 30 vultures in the trees. This means there has been a kill near by so we head to where the birds have landed. Unfortunately we got a flat tire on the way and had to stop and change it. By the time we were done the vultures where gone, so we never saw what it was they came to scavenge.

Heading back for the camp we came across our lion again. This time on the side of the road he had just caught a warthog. We missed the catch by seconds but saw the lion carrying the warthog away while he was still breathing. The lion soon laid down in the shade and started eating the warthog while it was still alive. You could see the warthog kick and hear the warthog breathing, it’s chest moving up and down, for a long time as the lion pulled the skin off and ate. The sound of the lion eating was so loud with the flesh tearing and bones breaking. Wouldn’t want to die that way.

Then, as the other group of students arrived to view this sight a Hyena also showed up to see if he could get in on the kill. The hyena was on it’s own so didn’t come very close in but sat off to the side and waited. The lion noticed the hyena and kept a close eye on him as he ate but the hyena never came any closer. We eventually had to leave them both so other vehicles could come in and see.

Best game drive so far!

More photos on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=461007&id=566115003&l=64fe9543b2

The Reptile Park

Today we went to the local reptile park. This is a place that is there to teach people about snakes and lizards and turtles. They also have a vet on site who specializes in reptiles so you can bring in injured or mistreated reptiles or snakes found in places that they shouldn’t be and they will take care of them and then, if possible, release them back to the wild. The park had so many different types of snakes, lizards, and turtles; they also had alligators and crocodiles. It was very interesting, especially since right now we are learning about all the different reptiles in the area. We got to watch a black mamba eat a live mouse. That was the best part watching them stalk it, then how quick the snakes moved to bite it, then watch it eat the mouse whole. Truly awesome!

I also got to hold a python, a girdled lizard, a scorpion, feed a Chameleon, and I even held a Baboon Spider, willingly! It was very soft and gentle and felt like velvet. Not gross or scary at all.

Then they showed us how snakes hardly ever bite even when they feel cornered. With a live puff adder he used a stick to demonstrate how close you can get and what you will have to do to be bitten, basically you could accidentally step on a snake and it will try to run away before it will bite. Snakes don’t want to waste their venom on something they can’t eat. Only people who try to kill them usually get bitten. It was an eye opening experience.