Hi all. So I'm in the airport waiting for my 24 hrs of flying back to the States. Since the last post I headed to Soussesvlei to see the beautiful red dunes that Namibia is famous for. They were truly stunning, especially at sunset and sunrise when the shadows were right. We had the muscle burning pleasure of climbing the closest dune, Dune 45, the afternoon we arrived. I have wonderful pictures of the sky and the patterns in the sand from the wind and insects. Good stuff all in all but it was a very cold night and a very long drive to get there. Worth it though since I Namibia isn't a near future travel destination. There just is noooothing to do here besides be impressed by the stark landscape. Well no, if you want to spend a chunk of change and jump out of planes or ride quad bikes, you'd be fine. But it wasn't really interesting to me so once back in Swakopmund I spent most of my time reading, wandering town and haggling for more presents. I took a long boring shuttle to Windhoek yesterday and did more of the same - wandering, reading and haggling. But to my surprise I found out the Windhoek is quite the crime spot so I kept the wandering short and close by and spent the remainder reading and watching Bad Boys II in the lounge of the backpackers.
So that's about it I guess. the past 3.5 months have been amazing and feel like a different lifetime. But I'm glad to be heading home, with a better sense of what different areas of Africa are like, the issues that these countries, people and environments face and how much I love the states. Thanks all for reading and I promise to send links to photos once I'm back. Look forward to seeing you all soon :)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
been a while...
So right - I havent written in over a month. Things got crazy but I'm going to do my best to cover as much as possible in this post on the end of my South Africa Project, traveling with Drew and now the two week Namibian project I just came back from. Here goes...
The last week of the South African project was really fun. We played lots of volleyball against another group on the reserve, EcoTraining, with a beautiful sand pit in a dry riverbed. None of us were very skilled but we pulled together and pulled off some amazing wins against the other crew and their very volleyball-serious leader. We also headed to a nearby school and did some manual labor (painting bathrooms and filling in ditches) before being soundly whooped in a game of soccer against pre teens. All it all it was a great time and I wish we had been able to do more community work while we were there. We had some great drives the last few days, seeing the reserve's only resident red hartebeest on the final day. Also, that morning we watched as a hyena took down an impala right by our clothes line. Their mode of hunting is to chase their prey for hours until exhaustion brings them down. Eventually the impala tripped and we watched as the hyena (foaming from exhaustion) started to eat the impala before it was dead. Gross but amazing. Oh, and my personal favorite was watching three bushbabies (very small primate that looks like a mix of an Ewok and a squirrel) jumping from clothesline to tree at dusk. All of that plus some slight scandal amongst other volunteers/interns at our final party night (theme was the letter "M" and I was a Mohican) made for a great wrap up.
From there I flew to Cape Town to meet Drew for two wonderful weeks. We spent a few nights at the Ashanti Lodge in Cape Town and partook of great food and a wonderful post hike massage. We rode the cable car up Table Mountain and hiked back down as a huge wall of fog rolled in and swallowed the mountain. We also took a ferry over to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were kept. The guided bus tour on the island was quite lame and we were left with only a few minutes to see the prison buildings themselves and to hear from prisoners who recounted how the cells were divided and brief snippets on life in the prison. Glad we went though. Drew also got his first taste of kudu and was none too impressed.
From there we rented a car and headed to Stellenbosch. Its a great small university town surrounded by vineyards. Our favorite by far was the first one we stumbled upon - Vriesenhoff. We had delicious wine on a veranda under an ancient tree, overlooking the rows of grapes. Following that we had an amazing lunch at Dornier Winery, with a stunning view of the mountains. That night we stayed at Zandberg Winery (a bit pricier than our normal tastes) but had a lovely meal and ended up with a free upgrade to a huge cottage suite and bottle of wine for there being small problems with our first room and the inability to get the tv to work (though it just took a little time). After that we spent another day wine tasting and stayed at a little guest house in town - De Oude Meul - to do some shopping, wandering and more indulging in food, wine and beer.
After that we headed down to Hermanus to meet my sister's fiance's family. We met his mom, aunt and uncle, whose home we stayed at for the night. They made us a great home cooked meal and Mike's uncle, Gibson, shared stories of the Angolan war and working security in South Africa during apartheid. Very interesting stuff. We also watched some strange South African tv and chatted with Mike's aunt about "waterbabies" and her birds between copious cigarettes. Great stop and great to meet some of Mike's family now that I believe, technically, we are related by marriage. We didn't do much in Hermanus due to poor weather preventing any boat trips. We saw porpoises from the beach as we looked for whales and watched hyraxes run around the rocks. We left from there to Montagu, a Lonely Planet recommendation that was a barren and somewhat creepy empty town. We stopped for a cup of tea and then kept on to Outdshoorn. The drive was stunning hilly landscapes with rolling clouds and curvy roads. We stopped offin the middle of nowhere at Ronnie's Sex Shop - a misleading namefor a small bar - to meet Ronnie himself and have a few Castles. Once in Outdshoorn (ostrich capital of the world) we went for a long bike ride down the Swartzberg Pass (I only did the smooth road riding) and back to our backpacker lodge. All in all it was about 56 km, though I skipped the scary, gravel pass itself and just biked the last 40 odd km. We stopped at the Cango Caves for amazing rock formations, roadside to greet fenced, locally raised ostriches and a tea garden for delicious toasted sandwiches just as a brief rain/wind storm picked up. Besides that we ate ostrich steaks, drank Castle and played some pool back at the backpackers for an all in all awesome time.
From there we headed down to Mossel Bay in the hopes of some decent time on the coast. The town was all but deserted and after having a decent breakfast at the Sea Gypsy, a restaurant/shack on the dock, we said farewell to the wind and whipping waves and drove all the way back to Franschoek for more wine and relaxation. It was a great idea and we thoroughly enjoyed the amazing food and wine of the area. We stayed at Chamonix cottages, simple houses set into the Chamonix vineyards. After struggling with the fireplace for a bit we were helped by the sturdy Afrikaaner groundskeeper enabling us to enjoy smoke-free warmth and days/nights of reading and tea in between wine tastings and long walks. We met a wonderful Greek man named Taki at his self named pub who gave Drew Castle and a Windhoek beer glasses to take home with him. We also had a amazing meal, three small but decadent courses, at Grande Provence one of the most stunning vineyards we have seen with art displays and a helipad in the back.
After that we drove back to Cape Town to a stay one night in a less that great backpackers, and the rest at a wonderful one across the street. There was more delicious food, back massages, a trip to the aquarium and haggling for masks, spears and other carvings at an amazing Pan African market with Malawians and Cameroonians. From there, Drew departed for home and I spent one last night in Cape Town, guided by Mike's old roommate Gregg. It was a long, drunken night as Gregg insisted on showing me the inside of half the bars in town. But I saw Hout's Bay and met some of Mike's wonderful friends and had a great time. Gregg was also kind enough to take me to a few sights the next day before dropping me off at the airport for my flight to Namibia.
Ok, first thing on Namibia - it is DRY!!! No joke. I landed in Walvis Bay and after 30 minutes of desert hit Swakopmund, a flat and relatively boring town though the guidebooks tried to convince otherwise. I met up with the electic group the first night for a brief meeting and then dinner. Then it was a five hour drive off to base camp on open Land Rovers, one of which broke down a few times. Base camp was gorgeous, underneath huge trees between massive rocky outcroppings. We spent the first night there then apcked boxes and drove off to the work site. We camped under the stars at night and built a rock wall during the day. The walls are community outreach to prevent elephants from destroying windmills or water points. It was great fun and hard work but within 4 days we had built a 5 ft high wall to be very proud of. From there we came back for a night in base camp then off to track elephants. Oh, the group is 12 individuals of varying ages and temperments. But all in all a great and amusing crew. Anywho, the elephant watching was amazing as these elephants are wild and not habituated to cars like the ones in the parks. There is quite a bit of human/elephant conflict so while generally they didnt mind out presence, at times they danced, charged and trumpeted which added to the excitement. We cooked over open wood fires and all shared cooking/cleaning roles. At night we ate and chatted around the fire before somewhat chilly nights and early mornings. Really, it was an amazing time. Good hard work and wonderful close encounters. All the photos and video will be up once I'm back which will give you a better idea. Now I'm back in boring Swakopmund before heading off with two project members to check out the dunes of Sousesvlei this weekend. It should be stunning and chill and I can't wait! Now I need to run off to pick up my fiiiilthy laundry and meet the group for farewell dinner and drinks. Such a great time but I'm still excited to be heading back. Hope this huge ramble made some sense. Promise to have one more post before I come home!!
The last week of the South African project was really fun. We played lots of volleyball against another group on the reserve, EcoTraining, with a beautiful sand pit in a dry riverbed. None of us were very skilled but we pulled together and pulled off some amazing wins against the other crew and their very volleyball-serious leader. We also headed to a nearby school and did some manual labor (painting bathrooms and filling in ditches) before being soundly whooped in a game of soccer against pre teens. All it all it was a great time and I wish we had been able to do more community work while we were there. We had some great drives the last few days, seeing the reserve's only resident red hartebeest on the final day. Also, that morning we watched as a hyena took down an impala right by our clothes line. Their mode of hunting is to chase their prey for hours until exhaustion brings them down. Eventually the impala tripped and we watched as the hyena (foaming from exhaustion) started to eat the impala before it was dead. Gross but amazing. Oh, and my personal favorite was watching three bushbabies (very small primate that looks like a mix of an Ewok and a squirrel) jumping from clothesline to tree at dusk. All of that plus some slight scandal amongst other volunteers/interns at our final party night (theme was the letter "M" and I was a Mohican) made for a great wrap up.
From there I flew to Cape Town to meet Drew for two wonderful weeks. We spent a few nights at the Ashanti Lodge in Cape Town and partook of great food and a wonderful post hike massage. We rode the cable car up Table Mountain and hiked back down as a huge wall of fog rolled in and swallowed the mountain. We also took a ferry over to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were kept. The guided bus tour on the island was quite lame and we were left with only a few minutes to see the prison buildings themselves and to hear from prisoners who recounted how the cells were divided and brief snippets on life in the prison. Glad we went though. Drew also got his first taste of kudu and was none too impressed.
From there we rented a car and headed to Stellenbosch. Its a great small university town surrounded by vineyards. Our favorite by far was the first one we stumbled upon - Vriesenhoff. We had delicious wine on a veranda under an ancient tree, overlooking the rows of grapes. Following that we had an amazing lunch at Dornier Winery, with a stunning view of the mountains. That night we stayed at Zandberg Winery (a bit pricier than our normal tastes) but had a lovely meal and ended up with a free upgrade to a huge cottage suite and bottle of wine for there being small problems with our first room and the inability to get the tv to work (though it just took a little time). After that we spent another day wine tasting and stayed at a little guest house in town - De Oude Meul - to do some shopping, wandering and more indulging in food, wine and beer.
After that we headed down to Hermanus to meet my sister's fiance's family. We met his mom, aunt and uncle, whose home we stayed at for the night. They made us a great home cooked meal and Mike's uncle, Gibson, shared stories of the Angolan war and working security in South Africa during apartheid. Very interesting stuff. We also watched some strange South African tv and chatted with Mike's aunt about "waterbabies" and her birds between copious cigarettes. Great stop and great to meet some of Mike's family now that I believe, technically, we are related by marriage. We didn't do much in Hermanus due to poor weather preventing any boat trips. We saw porpoises from the beach as we looked for whales and watched hyraxes run around the rocks. We left from there to Montagu, a Lonely Planet recommendation that was a barren and somewhat creepy empty town. We stopped for a cup of tea and then kept on to Outdshoorn. The drive was stunning hilly landscapes with rolling clouds and curvy roads. We stopped offin the middle of nowhere at Ronnie's Sex Shop - a misleading namefor a small bar - to meet Ronnie himself and have a few Castles. Once in Outdshoorn (ostrich capital of the world) we went for a long bike ride down the Swartzberg Pass (I only did the smooth road riding) and back to our backpacker lodge. All in all it was about 56 km, though I skipped the scary, gravel pass itself and just biked the last 40 odd km. We stopped at the Cango Caves for amazing rock formations, roadside to greet fenced, locally raised ostriches and a tea garden for delicious toasted sandwiches just as a brief rain/wind storm picked up. Besides that we ate ostrich steaks, drank Castle and played some pool back at the backpackers for an all in all awesome time.
From there we headed down to Mossel Bay in the hopes of some decent time on the coast. The town was all but deserted and after having a decent breakfast at the Sea Gypsy, a restaurant/shack on the dock, we said farewell to the wind and whipping waves and drove all the way back to Franschoek for more wine and relaxation. It was a great idea and we thoroughly enjoyed the amazing food and wine of the area. We stayed at Chamonix cottages, simple houses set into the Chamonix vineyards. After struggling with the fireplace for a bit we were helped by the sturdy Afrikaaner groundskeeper enabling us to enjoy smoke-free warmth and days/nights of reading and tea in between wine tastings and long walks. We met a wonderful Greek man named Taki at his self named pub who gave Drew Castle and a Windhoek beer glasses to take home with him. We also had a amazing meal, three small but decadent courses, at Grande Provence one of the most stunning vineyards we have seen with art displays and a helipad in the back.
After that we drove back to Cape Town to a stay one night in a less that great backpackers, and the rest at a wonderful one across the street. There was more delicious food, back massages, a trip to the aquarium and haggling for masks, spears and other carvings at an amazing Pan African market with Malawians and Cameroonians. From there, Drew departed for home and I spent one last night in Cape Town, guided by Mike's old roommate Gregg. It was a long, drunken night as Gregg insisted on showing me the inside of half the bars in town. But I saw Hout's Bay and met some of Mike's wonderful friends and had a great time. Gregg was also kind enough to take me to a few sights the next day before dropping me off at the airport for my flight to Namibia.
Ok, first thing on Namibia - it is DRY!!! No joke. I landed in Walvis Bay and after 30 minutes of desert hit Swakopmund, a flat and relatively boring town though the guidebooks tried to convince otherwise. I met up with the electic group the first night for a brief meeting and then dinner. Then it was a five hour drive off to base camp on open Land Rovers, one of which broke down a few times. Base camp was gorgeous, underneath huge trees between massive rocky outcroppings. We spent the first night there then apcked boxes and drove off to the work site. We camped under the stars at night and built a rock wall during the day. The walls are community outreach to prevent elephants from destroying windmills or water points. It was great fun and hard work but within 4 days we had built a 5 ft high wall to be very proud of. From there we came back for a night in base camp then off to track elephants. Oh, the group is 12 individuals of varying ages and temperments. But all in all a great and amusing crew. Anywho, the elephant watching was amazing as these elephants are wild and not habituated to cars like the ones in the parks. There is quite a bit of human/elephant conflict so while generally they didnt mind out presence, at times they danced, charged and trumpeted which added to the excitement. We cooked over open wood fires and all shared cooking/cleaning roles. At night we ate and chatted around the fire before somewhat chilly nights and early mornings. Really, it was an amazing time. Good hard work and wonderful close encounters. All the photos and video will be up once I'm back which will give you a better idea. Now I'm back in boring Swakopmund before heading off with two project members to check out the dunes of Sousesvlei this weekend. It should be stunning and chill and I can't wait! Now I need to run off to pick up my fiiiilthy laundry and meet the group for farewell dinner and drinks. Such a great time but I'm still excited to be heading back. Hope this huge ramble made some sense. Promise to have one more post before I come home!!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Life on the project
Sorry the posts have been scarce of late. Our group didn't go on the town trip last week and the internet on base is too slow to handle anything more than an email or two before we have to turn the generator off. Our group went back to general drive in the mornings and evenings this week and the other group switched back and forth watching the leopard on night shifts. That worked out really well for us as we were able to get a full night's sleep, see all the animals during the day doing great stuff, and watched the leopard for a little in the afternoon so the night crew would know where to find it. I'm trying to keep things straight - there were some big highlights but also a lot of daily work. Here goes:
Yesterday went to Kruger. All in all it was unexciting. We see more daily on base. But I'm glad I went and got an idea of the landscape (or at least a small part of it) and can check it off my list.
Two of the cheetah "cubs" on our reserve were darting and switched with two young males on another reserve. The cubs were at about 18 months and soon would have been kicked out by their mother to roam alone. And the switch allows for genetic diversity, which can me problematic with all these fenced, smaller reserves that prevent widespread movement. That was very cool to touch the cheetahs when they were knocked out and just be a part of this kind of wildlife management. I have photos of course...which will come later.
Saw a beautiful sunset from the top of a boulder, ate impala stew, watched Shiloweni eat an impala, saw the other leopard cub and more elephants, lions, snakes, etc!
This will be my last week on the project so I might not update before I go. After this I'll be heading to Cape Town to travel with Drew for 12 days, then to Namibia for an elephant project for 2 weeks. Then I head back early for my sister Stephanie's NJ wedding party. While I'm loving all I'm seeing, I'm ready to come home. I didnt think I'd miss the US so much...but I do :) Looking forward to the next month and a half though. So much more exciting stuff to see!!!!
Yesterday went to Kruger. All in all it was unexciting. We see more daily on base. But I'm glad I went and got an idea of the landscape (or at least a small part of it) and can check it off my list.
Two of the cheetah "cubs" on our reserve were darting and switched with two young males on another reserve. The cubs were at about 18 months and soon would have been kicked out by their mother to roam alone. And the switch allows for genetic diversity, which can me problematic with all these fenced, smaller reserves that prevent widespread movement. That was very cool to touch the cheetahs when they were knocked out and just be a part of this kind of wildlife management. I have photos of course...which will come later.
Saw a beautiful sunset from the top of a boulder, ate impala stew, watched Shiloweni eat an impala, saw the other leopard cub and more elephants, lions, snakes, etc!
This will be my last week on the project so I might not update before I go. After this I'll be heading to Cape Town to travel with Drew for 12 days, then to Namibia for an elephant project for 2 weeks. Then I head back early for my sister Stephanie's NJ wedding party. While I'm loving all I'm seeing, I'm ready to come home. I didnt think I'd miss the US so much...but I do :) Looking forward to the next month and a half though. So much more exciting stuff to see!!!!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Leopard watching = Loooong hours
This past week we had the wonderful priviledge to watch Shiloweni rediscover his freedom in the park. Sadly, he did very little of interest. He came out all fat and out of shape from 5 months of being delivered his meals in his enclosure. Yet his ego was huge and he scent marked his new territory like it was going out of style. Sadly he didn't take into account that the other male leopards are much bigger and in good shape. So he promptly got his ass kicked. No big injuries but since then he has spent most of his time sleeping and laying low. Since the other group was on the mountain portion of their trip, our group had to do double duty. We'd have a day of two 6 hr shifts following the leopard, then switch to two 5 hr shifts of general drive the next day. The schedule of trying to grab a meal and catch a few hrs of sleep in between shifts certainly wore us down. I was paired up with another girl, Kath, and we made the most of our time - chatting, reading, getting in quick naps while the leopard slept.
Oh! One funny story. When we need to take a pee break on our shift, we try to get a good sense of where the leopard is (either by sight or by the reading on the telemetry), drive back a decent distance, then pee as fast as we can. So the second night, our guide went first, me second, then Kath hopped off to pee. At this point though Shiloweni stood up and started walking in our direction so Kath had to hop back on the back with her pants around her knees! Pretty amusing to all of us. Seems Shiloweni was very intrigued by my 2 gallon urine sample :) I was flattered. Life is odd, hunh.
Now we have two days for the most part off. We are going to an animal rehabilitation center today, and perhaps town tomorrow. I'm half way through this project, and while I'm loving it and look forward to the next 2.5 wks, I'm glad I'm not doing the 10 wk program. It'll be good to try something new and to get some R&R with Drew in Cape Town. This has shown me that field guiding is great, but not a prospective career :)
Oh! One funny story. When we need to take a pee break on our shift, we try to get a good sense of where the leopard is (either by sight or by the reading on the telemetry), drive back a decent distance, then pee as fast as we can. So the second night, our guide went first, me second, then Kath hopped off to pee. At this point though Shiloweni stood up and started walking in our direction so Kath had to hop back on the back with her pants around her knees! Pretty amusing to all of us. Seems Shiloweni was very intrigued by my 2 gallon urine sample :) I was flattered. Life is odd, hunh.
Now we have two days for the most part off. We are going to an animal rehabilitation center today, and perhaps town tomorrow. I'm half way through this project, and while I'm loving it and look forward to the next 2.5 wks, I'm glad I'm not doing the 10 wk program. It'll be good to try something new and to get some R&R with Drew in Cape Town. This has shown me that field guiding is great, but not a prospective career :)
Friday, April 17, 2009
Leopard tracking
So we are back on the reserve and have some exciting news. One of the leopards, Shiloweni, has been recuperating after dental surgery in an enclosure on the reserve. He has been signed off as in good health and is about to be released back into the reserve. We will be following him in 6 hr shifts to see how his release goes. We'll be on from 6 pm - minight or midnight - 6 am for the next week. It will be amazing watching him take down kills or interacting with the other leopards on the reserve (fighting/mating). It could also be extremely boring if he decides to just sleep throughout your shift :) But good news nonetheless. And yes, it will be safe and we will be in the car the whole time. We'll be fighting chills and boredom more than anything dangerous...will get back to you on how our week goes!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Catching critters in the mountains
This week my group headed to the Drakensburg Mountains to Mariepskop Reserve to catch small mammals and reptiles. So far the research groups (of previous trips) have found new species and provided some of the only data on the where and when certain species can be found throughout the year. Sadly, as we are going into winter, most of the animals were inactive so we only caught a few striped mice, a shrew and a doormouse :) We use little, humane traps to catch them, then anesthetize them with a little ether in a bag, and measure and weigh them quickly before they wake up. That part was ok but it consisted of a lot of long uncomfortable incredibly bumby rides in the back of a pickup to find very few animals. It got old kinda fast. And we weren't successful at all with the lizard catching. I found I was a decent hand at frog catching though, which was good times. The weather got a bit crap the last few days which put a damper on the mood. The mtns were beautiful but with the mist you couldnt see much of anything and the others were getting pretty soaked in the back of the pickup (I was fully cloaked in waterproof but it was a downer nonetheless). We also didn't have power in the cabin. It was nice and quaint but we tended to go to bed very early to wake up to more rain and no animals. All in all I'm glad we went for a few days but will be glad to get back to the reserve. I've posted some pics from this and last week including the elephants charging, catching frogs in the river and some of the other gorgeous animals I've come across. Should be getting tons more this coming week. And with the fast connection here in SA I should be able to upload the pics every week of so. Take care!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
South Africa!!!
Ok so i only have internet once a week down on this project so i'll write as much as possible in as little time as possible. So i flew down to Joberg for an uneventful night in a hostel behind a barbed fence. that was scary SA but everything since has been splendid.
all of us volunteers for the GVI program were picked up the next day at the airport and split into two groups for the two sites. i really lucked out and went to the "better" site with really great people. this one is just better established and has a better building and more animals. we all settled into our dorm living at a nice enough group house which has its share of critters like spiders and scorpions and occasionally snakes. but we went to a reptile center and learned more about the above so we feel much more comfortable and informed. our location is karongwe reserve, about 5 hrs north of joberg and an hour west of kruger. it used to be several farms but the landowners decided to lose the fences and bring back some animals and now there are a couple research centers like ours and some ecolodges.
so the first week was lectures and game walks and drives. it was amazing! class was a few hrs a day and very interesting and easy. also we did a day of first aid training and i got certified which was a nice bonus. on top of that we did walks and drives to see birds and all sorts of antelope, big cats, hippo, rhino and elephants. our group was on a drive that accidentally spooked some elephants and we got charged. it was incredibly crazy but i got it all on video! i'll upload it soon...promise! one female rushed us from the front. we reversed and that wouldve been the end of it except an adolescent was several hundred meters behind us so we had to stop backing up. thus she was still upset as we hadnt given her sufficient space so she trumpeted and flapped her ears as she came around our truck. fyi this is a narrow road with trees on both side so she was close! then the other matriarch and all the babies came running up to the front of the car and also came around the side. it was intense and couldve been dangerous. thankfully that didnt stop me from recording the whole thing :)
we also learned to do telemetry tracking so we're following the collared lions, cheetah and leopards. the cheetah are habituated so we can actually walk up to them (staying about 20 m away though, with a rifle and a well trained researcher). the others would not be so blase but are also very used to people being around and arent "maneaters" so we are fairly safe at all times (the elephant situation was potentially way worse!). so two days ago we were tested on our lecture information (everyone passed) and then split into two groups of four and went on a long walk through the reserve to a campsite. we cooked over the fire, and each team sang songs and presented the photos we had to take while on our walk. we also had collected giraffe poo which was used in a giraffe poo spitting contest (it's really hard and all leaves). i came in second for poo spitting and our team won overall thanks to our funny photo we had to take. we had collected a bunch of poo and wrote "gvi is the shit" and then mooned the camera squatting over it. anywho, it was very fun and we took turns staying up to make sure the hyena didnt come too close in the night. we saw one just on the perimeter before we went to bed. soooo amazing. lets seeee - what else. my group is headed up to the mtns today to do some work with small mammals, reptiles, insects etc. basically we are just supposed to humanely capture a bunch of stuff and record it. should be easy and fun and a different landscape. this will be wetter and colder but really gorgeous. might even get to swim in the river up there.
ok! my ride is about to leave! i'll write more when i'm on next week. it's such a great experience! i'd recommend it over a safari drive anyday to anyone who can cope with some communal living and some dirty work. such a great experience :)
all of us volunteers for the GVI program were picked up the next day at the airport and split into two groups for the two sites. i really lucked out and went to the "better" site with really great people. this one is just better established and has a better building and more animals. we all settled into our dorm living at a nice enough group house which has its share of critters like spiders and scorpions and occasionally snakes. but we went to a reptile center and learned more about the above so we feel much more comfortable and informed. our location is karongwe reserve, about 5 hrs north of joberg and an hour west of kruger. it used to be several farms but the landowners decided to lose the fences and bring back some animals and now there are a couple research centers like ours and some ecolodges.
so the first week was lectures and game walks and drives. it was amazing! class was a few hrs a day and very interesting and easy. also we did a day of first aid training and i got certified which was a nice bonus. on top of that we did walks and drives to see birds and all sorts of antelope, big cats, hippo, rhino and elephants. our group was on a drive that accidentally spooked some elephants and we got charged. it was incredibly crazy but i got it all on video! i'll upload it soon...promise! one female rushed us from the front. we reversed and that wouldve been the end of it except an adolescent was several hundred meters behind us so we had to stop backing up. thus she was still upset as we hadnt given her sufficient space so she trumpeted and flapped her ears as she came around our truck. fyi this is a narrow road with trees on both side so she was close! then the other matriarch and all the babies came running up to the front of the car and also came around the side. it was intense and couldve been dangerous. thankfully that didnt stop me from recording the whole thing :)
we also learned to do telemetry tracking so we're following the collared lions, cheetah and leopards. the cheetah are habituated so we can actually walk up to them (staying about 20 m away though, with a rifle and a well trained researcher). the others would not be so blase but are also very used to people being around and arent "maneaters" so we are fairly safe at all times (the elephant situation was potentially way worse!). so two days ago we were tested on our lecture information (everyone passed) and then split into two groups of four and went on a long walk through the reserve to a campsite. we cooked over the fire, and each team sang songs and presented the photos we had to take while on our walk. we also had collected giraffe poo which was used in a giraffe poo spitting contest (it's really hard and all leaves). i came in second for poo spitting and our team won overall thanks to our funny photo we had to take. we had collected a bunch of poo and wrote "gvi is the shit" and then mooned the camera squatting over it. anywho, it was very fun and we took turns staying up to make sure the hyena didnt come too close in the night. we saw one just on the perimeter before we went to bed. soooo amazing. lets seeee - what else. my group is headed up to the mtns today to do some work with small mammals, reptiles, insects etc. basically we are just supposed to humanely capture a bunch of stuff and record it. should be easy and fun and a different landscape. this will be wetter and colder but really gorgeous. might even get to swim in the river up there.
ok! my ride is about to leave! i'll write more when i'm on next week. it's such a great experience! i'd recommend it over a safari drive anyday to anyone who can cope with some communal living and some dirty work. such a great experience :)
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