Hi to you all, hope you are enjoying our travels as much as we are. Sorry still not to answer your emails but afraid we really are very busy doing work, having lectures, walking in the bush, going on trips etc etc. Plus lots of other people at the moment, some of whom tend to hog the computer.
Firstly we have had loads of good lectures - game farm management, geology, ecology, birds, animal behaviour, elephant population, the dangerous 9, reptiles and yet more to come!! Plus we have been out doing erosion work, learning about the trees in the area, how to get water other than from a tap, seen loads of different birds and ofcourse we sit and relax talking with other volunteers whilst looking out over the waterhole. From this viewpoint we watch giraffe, zebra, buffalo (which mock charged us one night), warthogs, guinea fowl, woodpeckers, shrikes and loads more.
Last week we went on a two day trip to Kruger National Park and the Panoramic Drive. Kruger was brilliant and we saw elephant, lion, zebra, kudu, nyala, impala, waterbuck, ground hornbill, and loads more, too many to mention. We had lunch in the park at one of the rest areas and stayed in Nelspruit for the night. The next day we drove from Nelspruit and drove around the Panoramic Drive stopping at Gods Window, Potholes, Graskop, where we had to walk to reach the viewpoints. Excellent two day trip.
This week we had a real bush experience!!! On Wednesday we were to do survival. So in readiness for a night sleeping out in the bush under the stars we had to be split into two groups of 10, and then follow directions collecting items and taking photos. Items included impala poo, photos of 3 animals, nutrient hotspot and suchlike. Nearing the end of our walk we thought we heard a vehicle and joked perhaps we could get a lift back to camp. Next we knew Laura and Geoff realised it was a lion giving us a warning roar!! Brass gave us the command to back off quickly but without running and at the same time shouting to Laetitia and the other team who were not to far away that lions were in the area. More roars followed. We regrouped and Brass & Laetitia tried to check how many lions there were, and telephoned for vehicles to pick us up. When the cavalry arrived, namely Suegnette and Adele, we climbed aboard and went looking for the lions. In the riverbed about 25 metres from where we'd heard the first roar was a buffalo carcass and close by were two lions. One massive male and a young female. We quickly took our photos. We then had to do our navigation skills test and were split into smaller groups of 4/5 and had to reach a point well away from where we knew the lions were.
Back at camp we then set off back to the riverbed to do our night's survival. Yes we actually slept 100 metres away from the carcass, with just a sleeping bag, having had only a small amount of water and no lunch, and cooked 2 small chickens over a campfire. We lit 4 fires to keep away the predators and slept within the fires. The lions came back to finish the carcass later that evening and we heard roars throughout the night. We all took turns to keep watch. Next morning we found fresh lion tracks on the road around the vehicles. Absolutely awesome!! We also went back to check on the carcass and the jackals were having a real feast. Back to camp for a shower (slept in our clothes and with our boots on just in case we had to do a runner, like to be prepared), and to get some breakfast.
Weather starting to get real warm now and it's not summer just the start of spring. Hopefully we'll get the start of the rains before we go and see the bush bloom.
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