| DATE | ACTIVITY |
| Monday
30 June 2008 | Arrive at Cape Town airport,
internal flight to Port Elizabeth then 2 hour transfer to Kariega Game Reserve.
Met at the Reception by Jacques the 'Team Leader' and taken to the volunteer's
house. Had an introductory safety and welcome brief. After an hour, 3 other volunteers
arrived so whilst they had their briefings we raided the cupboards and cooked
a very basic supper.
|
| Tuesday
1 July 2008 | Watched the reserve Staff set
up for the capture of Nyala, a type of antelope. Received a briefing on the reasons
why this was being done and the associated benefits of restocking the new section
of the reserve.
Joined in the net capture with the team. We were dropped
off at intervals in the Veld and had to move towards the grazing Nyala to encourage
them into the carefully hidden nets.
We had a late finish so drove into Kenton-on-Sea
for a quick shop for supplies (alcohol and chocolate mainly) and a pizza.
|
| Wednesday
2 July 2008 | Net capture again but this time
we took part in the whole process; we carried nets, helped secure them to trees
and bushes, walked the ground and helped the sedated animals into the vehicles.
I'm sure we were more of a hindrance then a help but it was an awesome experience.
We
finished the day with a game drive and encountered the reserve lions sleeping
on the road. One of the lionesses was pregnant so we listened to a briefing on
their mating rituals and the role of the pride during this time.
|
| Thursday
3 July 2008 | Game drive all day where we saw
almost everything on the reserve. We drove right in to the centre of the elephant
herd without knowing exactly where they were which gave us all a fright. One of
the young males was quite brave and came within feet of our stationary vehicle.
The
bull elephant was following the herd at a distance and was quite interested in
checking us out. He got so close, we didn't need zoom lenses to take photos of
him!
|
| Friday 4 July
2008 | Alien plant eradication this morning.
It started with a demonstration on how to use a machete, which Black Wattle trees
to chop down and which to ring bark and chemically treat. We had a lesson on the
reasons these plants were being removed from the reserve then collected a stack
of older wood to take back to our house for the fire.
We had two small
walks in the afternoon to some great viewpoints over the Kariega river. Finished
with sundowners in the bar at the Game Lodge.
|
| Saturday
5 July 2008 | Our first day off and a trip
into Grahamstown for the Jazz Festival. The streets were full of art and craft
type stalls and musicians were assembled on most of the street corners. We all
managed to find plenty of souvenirs; beads, necklaces, clothes, carvings and artwork.
Lunch
at a 'Steak and fries' type of restaurant and the chance to catch up with our
emails at an internet café finished the day off.
|
| Monday
7 July 2008 | After our restful Sunday doing
absolutely nothing we started the new week with a game drive to show around our
new housemate. We learnt how to sharpen machetes using a grinding type wheel and
explored some of the new section of the reserve. Had the opportunity to walk across
an extremely rickety bridge made of wire which looked as though it had seen better
times. Not everyone made it all the way across because it did look a little fragile.
Collected
barbed wire from Kariega East Reserve to prevent the animals getting tangled up
in the old fences, left over from when the land was used by farmers. Free evening
at the Boma Restaurant in the Game Lodge.
|
| Tuesday
8 July 2008 | Game drives all day.
|
| Wednesday
9 July 2008 | Game drive all morning, looking
for the pregnant lioness but no luck. Boat trip up the river with some of the
5* guests in the Lodge. We saw Kingfisher and Grey Heron and would have enjoyed
it a little more had it been warmer but the temperature was approximately 10?C.
The day finished with pizza in Kenton-on-Sea.
|
| Thursday
10 July 2008 | Game drive all morning, actually
found the lions sunbathing today but still no cubs. We spent the afternoon clearing
the barbed wire and fences for the reserve once the Rhinos had moved away to a
safe distance. We finished by completing one of the smaller, 30 minute walking
trails on the reserve.
|
| Friday
11 July 2008 | We completed a 2 hour walking
trail this morning which allowed us to get up close to the animals without actually
scaring them off. The afternoon was spent canoeing on the Kariega river. This
was great fun as the weather had warmed up and we need a chance to let off some
steam. We got up close to a fresh impala carcass on the muddy bank of the river
and tried to identify the numerous footprints surrounding it.
|
| Saturday
12 July 2008 | All morning in Port Alfred,
shopping and using the internet. Lunch was at a wonderful restaurant called 'Guido'
which overlooked the almost deserted white sandy beach and the enormous sand dunes
beyond.
|
| Monday 14
July 2008 | Three house mates left yesterday
which made the clearing of the Black Wattle this morning a very lengthy process
as there were only 4 of us now. Game drive all afternoon and we actually saw the
hippo for the first time. The elephants were all around our house in the early
evening.
|
| Tuesday
15 July 2008 | New house mate this morning
so we had a game drive to orientate her to the reserve. Afternoon lesson on what
to do if we encountered an animal whilst on foot in the bush and how to extract
ourselves safely from this situation. A very successful game drive to finish off
the day as we sat in our vehicle and watched the lions sunbathing.
|
| Wednesday
16 July 2008 | Our first teaching day at rural
Farmerfield School. Classes comprised of 3 different age groups each and we divided
ourselves into pairs to teach each of the classes maths and English. It was a
very humbling experience as there were few resources for us to use and they had
to walk 3 miles each way to be taught by us. Relaxing afternoon canoeing.
|
| Thursday
17 July 2008 | Tackled another alien species
of plant this morning, the Prickly Pear, which is a very spiky cactus that had
taken over sections of the reserve. We had to spike the main leaves and the stem
with a 'spear' type implement and then fill each of the holes with a chemical
mixture. It was particularly messy as we had to step on the rotten leaves to get
to those further back and it couldn't be done without getting a few thorns in
us.
We watched and then helped with a controlled burn on the reserve in
the afternoon. Our task was to scout around the edges of the fire to make sure
that no stray fires had started and to keep an eye on the power cables in case
they caught alight. It was quite an experience, over 300 acres were burnt and
we were being driven through sections that were still alight in order to check
out the wooden pylons.
We finished with an evening at the Boma Restaurant
in the Game Lodge but we arrived still smelling of smoke as the pump had broken
in our house and there was not a drop of water.
|
| Friday
18 July 2008 | Jacques woke to find the lions
right outside the compound that we all lived in. The 2 males charged at the fence
but he stayed still so they passed by. We all caught up with the pride about a
mile down the track which was a treat as they were interacting with each other;
rolling about and nudging each other playfully. This made a nice change from seeing
them asleep or chilling out. We then collected a new house mate and continued
with the prickly pear. The buffalo must have heard our voices and were being inquisitive
so we had to make a hasty retreat back to the vehicle as they came within a few
meters of us. They continued to follow us so we abandoned our task, collected
the tools that we had left or dropped in our panic and called it a day. What a
morning!
We stayed in the vehicle all afternoon and drove around the reserve
learning about difficulties facing the reserve in terms of weather and global
warming. Identified some plants that could be used as a food or water source and
enable us to survive in the bush as well as those to avoid.
|
| Monday
21 July 2008 | We spent the morning 'blowing'
eggs which we subsequently filled with a carefully measured amount of tick repellent
and then sealed with candle wax.
The afternoon was spent searching for
the buffalo, zebra and giraffes that were to be the recipients of the tick repellent.
The buffalo were the easiest as they always sought out our vehicle but they were
a little surprised as they were each bombarded with 2 eggs. One decided to chase
our vehicle which was quite hair-raising/fun as Jacques had to reverse at speed
across the open bush for approximately 400 meters. It was harder to get close
enough to the other animals but we managed some well aimed shots between us and
managed to off load all of the 'eggs' we had prepared.
Evening game drive
until 10pm. We saw loads of spring hare in the open, the hippo out of the water
and we heard the lions roaring which sent shivers up our backs. The night sky
was amazing with the Milky Way clearly visible and we were taught to identify
the Southern Cross and Scorpio constellations whilst eating our picnic.
|
| Tuesday
22 July 2008 | Late start and a game drive
for the rest of the morning. We found the lions on the burnt area which made for
some contrasting photos. The weather had really warmed up so we spent the afternoon
canoeing.
|
| Wednesday
23 July 2008 | All morning teaching at the
school but we swapped classes so that the most challenging age group, the 3 to
7 year olds would not have to be inflicted on the same pair of volunteers for
the second week running. The kids seemed braver this week which meant more attitude
but it was still very rewarding. Spent the afternoon on the beach in Kenton-on-Sea
learning about ecology and coastal erosion issues. Stayed for a pizza at Homewoods
Bar.
|
| Thursday 24
July 2008 | Stared the day with more Black
Wattle but we could see the progress we were making with each visit and how easily
it can take over vast areas of the reserve. Found 2 Wildebeest kills quite close
together and then the lions about 50 meters away, obviously guilty and still covered
in blood from their last meal. Game drive all afternoon.
|
| Friday
25 July 2008 | Game drive in the morning, we
found the lions (still no cubs) in the same area as yesterday near their kills.
Took a visit to the old adventure centre which is used by volunteers in the summer
months because of the decking area built around a beautiful lake.
In order
for us to go horse riding tomorrow we took a quick visit into Grahamstown to use
the internet. We limped into town as we almost ran out of fuel!
|
| Saturday
26 July 2008 | Some of us paid to go horse
riding along the beach for the whole morning. This was an awesome activity as
the beach was so wide and just beautiful. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Homewoods
and took a final walk along the beach.
|
| Monday
28 July 2008 | Three of us were leaving so
we spent the morning at the house, waiting for our lift to the airport, whilst
the remaining team members left for work.
We felt very sad to go as we had
made some great friendships and had a fabulous experience. |
