Goodbye South Africa - its been good.

We woke up, packed up yet again, only this time it was for good. The emotions of today were mixed as we were excited to go home but also sad to be saying goodbye. Chris drove us to a market called Chameleon, which was huge! We stayed there for about 4 hours, bartered and bought lots of stuff. This was our only opportunity really to shop and get some souvenirs.

Surprisingly, us 2 were done shopping in 2 hours! We then ate some samosas for lunch and walked around. Once everyone was done, Chris drove us to the airport and dropped off one of the girls as well as Melanie. She was going to Cape Town to join up with Neal. The rest of us went to the mall for a bit and then were dropped off at the airport as well.

When we got there, we saw that our flight had been delayed! This sent us all into a bit of a panic as we would be sure to miss our connecting flight! It must have been our lucky day as all 4 of us were able to get seats from JoBerg to London on an earlier flight. We waited for 4 hours in the JoBerg airport and did some people watching and phoning. We then boarded the plane and enjoyed 11 hours in the air. We arrived at Heathrow, and had 11 hours of waiting time. We tried to get earlier flights, but there were none, so we went through security and waited. It was down to 3 at this point as one of the girls had an early flight to begin with. So the three of us read, slept, walked around and ate. We then persisted to get up every 5 minutes to see if our flights were on the boards yet, and finally, after 10 hours mine was! So I went to the terminal, got on the plane and had another 10 hour or so flight. The other girls all got their fights and within 11 hours all of us were safe and sound at home. I talked to Mel, and she is doing really well in Cape Town.

That was the official end to our great trip. There were a lot of memories made, a lot of stories to be told and a lot of people to stay close with. I already miss SA and hope to go back one day and I know Mel feels the same way. I hope you all enjoyed our blog and pictures!

Check out Mel and Neal's blog for their adventures in Cape Town and Ireland:

melandnealvolunteersouthafrcia.blogspot.com (and yes there is a spelling mistake in there!)

Sondela Wildlife Center and Grad

Us and our wonderful guide Chris

Today was our last full day in SA. We started the morning off by going to the Sondela Wildlife Center. This was located right on the campsite property. On the property there were animals all over, including a very friendly nyala named Daisy. They also had a petting zoo with farm animals.

The center was not very big, but held a lot! We stared out by having a tour of the kitchen, and then were able to bottle feed some babies! We fed the Blesbok and the others fed some nyala, impala and wildebeest. There were some young zebra and giraffe who just hung around the center that we were able to interact with. Most of the animals were orphans in some form or another. Then we fed some 6 month old serval kittens wet food and went to visit the 6 week old serval kittens. These little girls were so cute but very aggressive already! They had quite the personality and reminded both of us of Alysha's cat, Oscar. Next we saw the caracals ( lynx like cats) and visited the rhinos. The rhinos were 6 months old and had both lost their mothers. They ate a water and rice mixture along with some pellets. One was already very aggressive and let you know when she had had enough. We then were able to go into a barn and see a 3 day old nyala. She had lost her mother as well and was tiny! Another older nyala was in there with her to act as a surrogate parent. Then the manager came and introduced himself and talked to us about rehab in Africa, the challenges he faces, and showed us the hospital portion. He was a very intelligent man and had a huge heart. He then sent us with a rehabber to meet some lion cubs saved from being raised for can lion hunting. Can lion hunting is when they raise lions and put them on say 3 acres of land and then shoot them. They are not in a large area, so are not hunted, but just shot for fun. This made most of us sad to see but happy that these cubs were saved. We then had the opportunity to clean some pens and we chose the servals. After this, we said our goodbyes and went back to camp to get ready for grad.

Later in the afternoon we went down to the reception to meet up with the director of ecolife to write an essay on a certain subject. It turns out this was canceled and we just had to write a review on ecolife. After we did this we had a spectacular dinner at the restaurant. It was a private affair and we had salad, bread, corn maize and a large portion of lasagna. The meat eaters had food off the braai. We then had a delicious layered cake for dessert as well as some drinks. The directors of ecolife were there as well, and after our meal called us up individually to receive a number of certificates. We had to wear this funny sun hat and a black coat as our "cap and gown". It was pretty funny and there were multiple pictures! After this we said our goodbyes and went back to camp to settle in for the night.

Elephants!

Elephant sanctuary

Sunset over Sondela and our camp

We made it safe and sound to Sondela, (no more traffic police)! Sondela is a nature reserve which families can come and camp, go for game drives, horseback ride and see the wildlife rehabilitation facility. The one thing that all of us could not stand about this campsite was the fact that it stunk like urine! Chris then told us that it was from the Potato trees. They were not in the campsites but all around and let off the most wretched stench! All of our tents, clothes and shoes smelled like them. After getting used to the lovely trees, we took a swim and explored the campsite. Chris's wife, Anita also came along for this part of the trip and made us the most delicious milk tart! We then left for the elephant sanctuary.

We arrived and met the founder, Roy. He told us all about his history with elephants and how he got started. Right now he has 6 elephants, all of them orphans from former elephant culls. They were ages 8 - 15 and had been in the sanctuary for 2.5 years. We then were able to interact with the elephants. We learned that the reason an elephant never forgets is because they have organs in their skull which retain every scent they have ever smelled. They are now being trained for anti - poaching and are used in mine detection. Roy and his trainers showed us just how keen their sense of smell really is by getting them to smell each of us, then take our shoe and give it to another person all via commands. It was pretty spectacular to watch. After our interaction section, we got to go on an elephant ride!

Mel and I were on Chuchuro, a 13 year old large male. Our trainer's name was Duncan. It is quite the feat to get up on an elephant, you basically need someone to lift you on while the elephant is lying down! Once all aboard, the elephant then stands and we were off! It was quite the view and quite the stretch of the legs! (You think horseback riding is work, try this!). We went all around the sanctuary and saw some zebra, nyala and eland. It was really really hot this day, so we were all sweating, and Melanie was in the middle, so our joke was that she was stuck in an Duncan and Alysha sweaty sandwich! Halfway through the trip they took us a to a water hole where the elephants had a nice long drink. We then headed back to the main building and walked through a shallow pond. To get off the elephant is hard as well. The elephant must lay down first, which basically feels like you are falling off backwards and then someone comes on and lifts you off! The ride was pretty incredible despite the heat and will be something we will ever forget. After the ride we had another lecture from Roy and then went back to the campsite for an evening game drive.

Our game drive was about an hour long and we had the coolest guide! She was in her 3rd year of wildlife management and was doing a year at the Sondela nature reserve. She was very animated and told us many stories and made many comments about life at Sondela. She could also make this incredible warthog noise which we were able to experience when we saw one! On the drive we saw 5 giraffe including babies, some warthogs, a zebra and we heard some black backed jackals. After the drive we had some dinner and went to bed.

Up, Up and Away!

Emu

Weaver nests

Croc

The beautiful face of a Warthog

Both of us woke up with excitement as today was the day we were going to dart from a helicopter! We all got up early, packed up and checked out of the Kokoriba resort. We then traveled to the original game farm and while waiting for the helicopter, Tertius gave us a lesson on what to do and expect while shooting from a helicopter. There were no actual live animals to dart at this time, so instead the guys had rigged a target to the top of the bucky and were going to drive the bucky like how an animal was running so we could get as much of the fullest experience we could. Chris was driving the bucky and just asked that we don't hit his head or the window (it has happened before). Soon the helicopter arrived and we met our very easy on the eyes pilot, Dolph. He explained how to buckle up and put on the head set.

With this, Mel went first. She got all geared up and then was up in the air. They had taken all of the doors off of the chopper so you could lean out with your gun and aim properly. First Dolph took us up and showed us some animals and then explained when to turn the gun off safety and aim. Our adrenaline was rushing at this point, but not from being scared, from utter excitement! The feeling was so cool and the view was amazing! As soon as the chopper came around the bend, Chris started driving and then we aimed and fired! Mel was 1 inch away from the bulls-eye! This was a pretty big deal as she had done extensive practice on the ground for this. After we had our 1 shot, Dolph took us back up and we followed some animals and then landed. This was definitely a highlight of the trip and we wished it would have been longer!

After everyone had their turn, we went back to the house and made some breakfast and said bye to our pilot friend. After this we were going to go to a campsite called Sondela, but before we left Pierre took us to a crocodile farm as one of the girls really wanted to see a crocodile up close before she left SA. We saw some pretty big crocs getting fed and then were able to see some warthogs up close and personal.

Game Capture - Day 2

Yup, you guessed it, out at the farm again by 6 am (talk about about early mornings)! Melanie unfortunately sat this morning out due to the excessive rockin' and rollin' of the bucky which did not agree well with most of our stomachs. So we headed out and met Tertius and Pierre at another game farm. This one was owned by Nico, an ex-chopper pilot who used to work for Tertius. Nico wanted us to move 6 sable from his farm to the farm that we worked on yesterday. So we split up into 2 groups of 3, one group went out and caught the sable while the other loaded it into the trailer and gave some medications. It ended up that my group just stayed in the trailer the whole time and gave some dewormer, tick and parasite treatment, wound treatment and then reversed the sedation. The other group just went out and did all of the catching. This went very smoothly and within 3 hours we had all of the sables caught, awake and in the trailer ready to be moved. Unlike yesterday, the sables were reversed because they were in the trailer without humans so there was no danger associated with them being awake. We then drove to the farm and tried to unload 1 specific sable into a pen for breeding. This was rather difficult as the others all wanted to get out as well. After about 45 minutes of trying to get the one out, Tertius decided just to move them all into the pen where the others would go and then move the breeder into the separate pen later. We thought this was a much better idea as it was soooo hot and we were all waiting in the boiling sun! Once the trailer was set up in the pen, the men opened the doors and all of the sable ran out together and were happy and fine. The sables were the only thing on our agenda for the day, with a possible cheetah capture later if they could get it.

The way the cheetah capture would work was different. You don't dart cheetahs as they are too hard to find in the open plains, so you set up a large pen called a "boma" in which you place meat inside to lure them in. Once they go in, then you shut the doors and can then chemically sedate them. As far as Tertius knew, the boma was set up and we were just waiting for the cheetah. He sent us back to the resort and told us he'd call if the cheetah was a go.

So we came back to the resort, had some lunch and then read and swam for a bit. Mel was feeling much better and ready for the rest of the day! By 4 o'clock there was no call, so we decided that the cheetah was a no go. Then we saw Tertius's bucky and thought maybe cheetah, but it turned out him and Pierre just came to visit as it was not caught yet. So we all just visited for awhile and then they left and it was lights out.

Game Capture!

Sedated sable in the bucky

Tersius with the sedated sable

Typical sedated Nyala style- running up to you

Alysha reversing into the ear vein

Today was the big day, finally real game capture had arrived! We got up early and were at the farm for 6 o'clock. You must do game capture early to beat the heat of the day as the animals do not fair well, so 6 it was. We got our drugs and darts organized for the catching. Chris came out with us instead of Pierre as he was busy catching rhinos which had escaped overnight. They had figured out how to open the electric gate and then roamed around. We headed out in the back of the bucky with Tertius driving and Chris setting up the gun. The animals we were going to dart were in very large pens, over 100 acres and running around. There were only 2 main roads in this large enclosure, and animals being animals made it as difficult as possible to catch them. So, rather than staying on the main roads, we made our own! Now this folks is 4 X 4 to the max! Trees? Not an issue, at least not for the truck. The most common thing to hear while driving after the game was "mind the trees". This was because branches wanted to hang onto you and they had huge thorns, so you had to constantly duck to avoid them. Once we followed and located the animals, it was time to dart. We started by darting Sables. These are like large antelopes with massive horns. They are brown when they are young and continue to turn black. 1 sable costs about R3,000,000 ($428,571 Canadian dollars), so as you can see, we could not mess up! They are so costly as they are very rare and beautiful. We had 5 sables to do. We had to do Nyala as well, which are worth R20,000 ($3,000 Canadian dollars). They are "deer like" only they have stripes and longer hair.

The initial darting did not go so well. In order to dart, the animal must be standing still and only 30 meters away. If you missed, the dart was lost which is a big deal as they are expensive, but you also lose your drug in that dart which is even more costly, so bottom line - no missing! After a few tries (due to the scope not being properly sighted) Tertius shot the first Sable. After they take the dart, they run around like crazy, go still and then drop down after about 4 minutes. Once they are down, you have to go find them and grab their horns first to control them. Then you put horn guards on for protection, get them on a stretcher and then into the back of the truck. They are not fully sedated and can still kick and move (as Alysha found out the hard way... by a kick to the gut) so you have to be careful. You then spray the wound from the dart, give them penicillin, deworm them and then put on a parasite and tick drip. Once they are at the destination of arrival, you pull them off the stretcher and remove the horn guards and inject the reversal drug into the ear vein. Then, within seconds they get up and run off. Now the process starts all over again with the others!

When it came to the nyalas, we did not treat them as they are not as valuable, so we just darted and moved them. They were a bit smaller (sables - 350kg, nyalas - 200kg) so this made things easier. Also, instead of "going down" after being darted, they trotted towards you and waited for you to grab their horns which we thought was the cutest thing! We darted 4 nyala.

If the animals were not sedated enough due to a high threshold or not enough drug, we would top them up with Ketamine to "freeze" the muscles. This came in handy for 2 nyalas and one sable who kept thrashing and trying to get up.

The farm that we were working on was privately owned and had breeding stock. These animals are mainly bred for hunting purposes as this is another main income for SA. They do hunting for meat, but mainly for trophy. This did not sit well for the both of us as we are against trophy hunting. They are hunted by international people from all of the world, mainly Europe and North America.

After we were done with our animals, Tertius and Pierre took us out to another game farm to watch capture of a giraffe. It was a 15 month old bull who was being flown to China or Japan to live in a zoo. This also bothered us as we can see how wild these animals really are and now they are going to live in a zoo, but that is the business in SA. It was interesting to see how they did this capture. Once the giraffe was darted, they covered the face and plugged the ears so it was not noise sensitive and then lead it on a leash like a dog into a trailer. They also had ropes around the body to guide it in properly. It is a big deal to move these animals without stressing them out, so it is always good to have an experienced vet on board!

Guns, Darts and Dr. Who?

Rhino, Zebra, and the land cruiser running out of diesel.














Today we had our first lecture on game capture with Dr. Tertius Zagt. He has been working as a game capture vet for the past 30 years. Game capture is one of the main sources of income in Africa. There are game farms everywhere and on these farms are a variety of animals for various reasons such as breeding and selling. There can be 1 species of animal to as many as one can fit on the land. When it comes time to move, buy or sell animals, they have to be sedated and then transported as they are wild. This is quite the process that involves a vet, dart guns, darts, drugs, land rovers, man power and sometimes helicopters. There are different types of capture such as the darting method, or the other popular one is to set up a "boma" (temporary housing) and lure the animals into this. We stuck with the darting.

Tertius started out by teaching us about all of the drugs they use and how they affect the body. We especially learned about Etropine (M99) which is a powerful opiod, Thiofentanyl and Stressnil. For all of you TRU grads, this is Azaperone, the pig drug. He then taught us about all of the different equipment used in capture and where on the animal we were supposed to dart. The darts have room for up to 3.0mls of drug and have a barbed tip so they stay in the animal until the removal. After this lecture, we then went to the game farm that Tertius works on to practice handling and getting familiar with the dart gun. We were all pleasantly surprised as the dart gun was easier to use than the 22 at Imbumbala as it had a red sight to line up with the target. We practiced loading the darts, cocking the gun and filling the magazine. Then we shot at a target while standing and then sitting. We also met Pierre, the manager of the game farm and assistant to Tertius. Pierre, also known as "hot pants" (due to his short shorts) soon became the "man of the trip" to most as he was the best looking South Africa man we had seen yet. Once we all had our introductions he took us out in the bucky for a tour of the farm. This game drive was up close and personal as we were in the back of the bucky overlooking the land and all of the animals! We saw so many different species including the rare golden wildebeest. After the game drive we went back to the house and had a traditional SA Braai. This is their version of a BBQ, but different. They burn wood and then wait until all of the coals are just right and then cook the meat over the burning coals. As you can imagine, the food took a while but was really good!

Are We There Yet?!

This seemed to be the question on everyone's mind the day we drove to Kokoriba Nature Reserve and Family Holiday Resort. The drive was only supposed to be 7.5 hours, instead it turned into 12! No, we did not get stuck in traffic, there was no accident, no construction...nope, we were going to be impounded!

Lets start from the beginning. The van and trailer that we were driving had a permit on it. The permit had expired (as per the decal on the van's windshield) so we were pulled over by the traffic police. The traffic police have the authority to arrest, fine and impound vehicles and drivers. Our guide, Chris, explained that he had went to the office to renew the permit and had paid for a new decal, but the office was on strike so instead he was given an official receipt of renewal. The traffic police listened, and despite this still fined us and told us the van would be impounded. This got everyone going as you can imagine. Chris then dropped us and the van off at a local gas station and went with the traffic police to pay the R2,500 fine (this converts to $360 Canadian dollars). It was really hot out, in the high 30's and we were all sitting by the van waiting for someone to come and impound it. Then, a police cruiser pulled up. There were 2 cops in there and they asked us what was happening (strange sight to see 7 caucasian girls at a gas station) and once they heard our story, the parked beside the van and got out. We soon learned that one of them was named officer Starbuck, and as you can imagine we all loved his name! After talking for a while, they decided to stay with us until Chris returned. We soon made friends and took pictures with our babysitters until Chris came. The van was never impounded, but the fine still had to be paid. We said goodbye and then continued to Kokoriba.

Just when we thought the day couldn't get any worse, we stopped at a mall and one of the girls went to an ATM machine to get money. We learned that theft of pin #s is very common in SA, and this girl almost had her bank account cleared. It is common for a man to distract you, stand close or pretend they are part of the bank and "help" you when really they want to steal your money. After this experience, we were all a little more careful with who was around us at all times. After a period of time, she found out that her money was still all there - thank goodness!

After this, we got into Kokoriba really late, unpacked and then hit the hay.

Kruger Continued

Cape Buffalo

Male Kudu

African elephants

Lion sleeping

Spotted hyena

Lilac breasted roller

Warthog

Vervet monkey

Hornbill

Different species of Hornbill

So we are back after a very long internet delay! Sorry everyone. So to continue with Kruger, we had some excellent lectures. It was interesting about the TB as the buffalo are the main carriers, but this affects all of the aniamls. The predators who eat the buffalo (lions, leopards) then get TB, and when they die and are eaten by scavengers, they then get TB as well. As you can see this is a vicious cycle which veterinarianas and researtches are constantly learning about and trying to control. We also learned that there are a lot of aniamls, again especially buffalo who get Foot and Mouth disease. This gives them blisters and opens sores which eventually inhibits them from eating and moving and then they pass on. We learned about other diseases as well, but lets move onto the animals.

Everyday we would go for at least 1 game drive where we would see so many animals! We saw many elephants who would just cross the road at their leisure and everyone would stop and take pictures. Our guide, Chris, was always aware of what the elephants were doing as they have been known to charge and tip cars if they feel threatened. He asked us to watch one elephant's behavior and we all said that it was scratching its leg, but in reality it was displaying a threat sign. Chris knows a lot about wildlife and has had a lot of experience, so he was a constant source of knowledge. Aside from the elephants, we also saw cape buffalo, lions under a tree, ground hornbills (a bird that is highly endangered), rhinos, many impalas, a violet breasted roller (bird), baboons, ververt monkeys, dikers (deer like), nyala (deer like), kudo (caribou like), giraffes, zebras, and crocodiles. We saw all of these animals on our day game drives. We also went on a night drive which was really neat as we had to scan the bush with big spot lights to see eyes and then figure out which animal they belonged to. We saw a leopard that crossed right in front of our truck! He was a big tom. We also saw many bush babies, hippos grazing in the grass (they only graze at night and early morning), a fruit bat, a genet (cat like), storks (yes, the ones that carry babies), hares and a spotted hyena! It was really great.

Speaking of spotted hyenas, us along with 2 other girls went for a night walk around our campsite to the river to look for leopards. We were just talking and leaning over a fence to look below us in the grass and out of no where a GIANT spotted hyena ran right beneath us! Their bodies are really neat as they are so stalky and run really fast. They are much bigger in the front so they do more of a "gallop" than a "run". This sudden surprise caused one of the girls and Alysha to run while Mel and the other continued to search for it. This was the most up close and personal that we were able to get to a large animal at Kruger.

We were very lucky overall while at Kruger as we saw the "big 5" all in one trip! The "big 5" include: lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. There is now a new category called the "dangerous 6" which includes all of the above and hippos.

Kruger National Park

We left Swadini for a three hour drive to Kruger. It was founded by Paul Kruger in the 1900's. Here rhino poaching is the largest issue for conservation as there are less than 400 black rhino in the park. This year alone there have been 104 rhino poachings, whereas last year there was only 50. There is an established anti-poaching team made up of police men, conservation officers, and investigators to try and stop this problem. We had the privilege of learning about this from Bruce Leslie, who works in the special operations department for poaching. We also learned from him that abalone poaching in the Cape and lion bone poaching for SE Asia is becoming an issue.
After this lecture we had a talk on wildlife diseases from a local veterinarian. It was interesting to hear that most of the park's animals are diseased, specifically Anthrax and Bovine TB.
We will finish up tomorrow! we are kicked off the internet now!

Swadini

After Imbumbala we traveled 7 hours in the bus to get to Swadini. We went to Moholoholo, a wildlife rehab center. We had a lecture on how the habitat is dwindling for the wildlife, the impact of poaching, and how Kruger national park is getting too small to hold all of the animals. This was a depressing but eye opening lecture for us. Then we had a tour of the facility, we saw a baby rhino and a baby elephant, both were rescued from mud bogs as their mother abandoned them.
We also saw a honey badger with a broken jaw who had a baby while in the hospital. We learned that they can take down even lions and are very aggressive. We also saw cheetahs, lions, wild dogs, hyenas, servals, leopards, and birds of prey. We got to feed the vultures, they are very heavy on your arm! We felt that the rehab center was doing a good job with conservation and education however we also felt that some of the animals in captivity should not have been saved.

After lunch we went to the Reptile park for the afternoon. We learned a lot from Matthew, the curator of the park. He taught us about snakes and why you shouldn't be so afraid of them. We performed a snake necropsy on a hooded cobra, we concluded that he died of cardiac trauma from being hit by a car. We had a demonstration on how to handle dangerous snakes, scorpions and spiders. Melanie held a scorpion and a giant baboon spider, which Alysha was not present for due to her fear of spiders.
We went for pizza at one of the local restaurants and gained a whole new appreciation for milk tart. Milk tart is a South African dessert which we are addicted to.

Imbumbala

Heron landing
Malachite Kingfisher
Lioness (actually taken at the lion sanctuary)
Hippo yawn!

Dagger flying

View from our hike in the hills
Dung beetle rolling the dung!

Day 6 to 8
It was really hot while we were here, in the mid thirties! We went tracking on foot and learned how and why you do this. We saw many bird species, tracks and scat which we had to identify. We then headed down to the river to see tracks in the sand. After lunch we did some sensory deprivation and observation exercies. This involved picking out 8 objects that were hidden in the bush for instance a hat, to see how good our observation skills were. We then put on extra layers of clothes as well as ear plugs, nose plugs and a blind fold. We then sat under a tree like this, and after 10 minute intervals we were able to take a layer off. We did this for a total of 1 hour. This tested our senses to see how valuble they really are, especially in the bush. We had lectures on mammals and learned to ID trees, which many have medicinal properties which we found interesting. In the evening we went for an eboat ride and learned about constellations.
We went for an early boat ride the next morning and then a hike. We tracked animals and learned about bush survival. We saw zebras and then at the river nearby saw 13 hippos! We also saw a protected dung beetle on the trail and he was rolling hippo dung to give to his female for a nest. We also a bird that we were waiting to see all trip, especially Alysha , which was a Malachite Kingfisher. We also did some shooting pratice for our game capture day. Mel got 15 out of 25 and Alysha got 20 out of 25. We then went for a night ride and saw some wildebeest and impala.
On our last day we had another morning boat ride. We saw zebras, monitor lizzards, impala and Kudo. We then came back and wrote a test for uni credits. Last of all we went for our final evening boat ride and saw a bull rhino on the shore. We then took out the spotlight for croc hunting and saw some eyes. They thought this was a bushbaby, but on closer look saw that there was a leopard!