Another Day Building... Away for the Weekend!

Today I woke up at 7:30, had some breakfast with the rest of the gang, and walked out to the elementary school to continue packing bricks on the new room we are constructing. I haven’t been stacking the bricks for the last couple of days, because I’ve either been in the classroom helping teach, or getting more supplies for the construction site. I stacked bricks up till one o’clock, and then Kate brought us some lunch at the site, instead of going back to the normal dining area. We did this just to make as much progress as possible before we go on our weekend trip, which is white water rafting or hiking. I think I’m going to hike because of three reasons: 1) I want to hike as much as possible before Kilimanjaro (~2 weeks away) 2) The rapids are going to be class 2 and maybe one class 3 rapid, which isn’t much to write home about 3) No one else is going hiking, at least I don’t think, and I’d love a weekend away from some of these younger kids. So tomorrow we will stack bricks in the morning, have some lunch, and then head off for our weekend trip. I don’t know the exact location of where we’re going, but I’m sure I’ll have the name when I post next on my blog. Tonight we watched “Sarafina” with some of the 8th graders from the local school. They are doing a project about children’s rights, so we watched the movie with them, and then got into smaller groups and discussed what we got out of the film. It was interesting to hear what some of the kids had to say, because a lot of them deal with the same situations that occur in the film.

The Last 2 Days in Philippolis

Yesterday I spent the entire day getting red sand and bricks for the construction of the elementary school. We went to this quarry and used a pick-ax to loosen the hard sand, and then shoveled the sand into the back of a pick up truck. We loaded about four truckloads, and then we went to the brick site, and loaded 4 truckloads of those as well. I came back from a long days work and went on a nice relaxing jog though the hills of Philippolis. Kate was not feeling great, so I didn’t bother her to use her internet to update my blog. Today I went to the elementary school to work with some of the kids. It was quite difficult to communicate with the kids, because their English wasn’t that great, and my Afrikan is a notch above poor. Anyways, it was fun interacting with the children, and funny to see how fascinated they were with my beard and hair. I taught another one of the kids how to read someone’s pulse, and he was going around to his other friends bragging about what he had learned. I played soccer with the kids on their break and was very impressed with the skills these young kids have. Besides being skilled, they were very physical with one another. This kid got tripped by one of his colleagues, then got up, and pushed him to the ground and kicked him in the face. The kid cried for about 20 seconds, then got up and continued playing soccer…I am amazed how tough these little kids are. After I went to school, I came back and had lunch with the rest of the group, and then went back to school to watch a conservation movie with Kate and the 6th grade. The movie is called “White Lion”, which is a nice film. We will meet with them again next Wednesday, and discuss what everyone has learned from the film. Tomorrow I will continue building the elementary school.

Started to Build the Kiddies School

Today I woke up at 7:30, had breakfast at 8, and headed to the elementary school to start constructing the brick building, which will eventually be an extension of the school. We started out by sifting the sand, and then combining it with the cement mix and water. We then built up the walls slowly but surely, about 6 bricks high for the day, which was a success. We had lunch at noon, and got back to working on the building around 2. I left the construction site around 5 to go on a nice jog before the sun goes down. As I was running I was stopped a few times by the locals. One asked me if I had any books for them, another asked if they could have my “hair scarf” which is my bandana, and another told me I looked to serious, at least I think that’s what he said… Ha! The run was very nice though after I got out of the town. There was a nice grassland area that looked over the entire town of Philippolis, which was an awesome view. Anyways, it was a nice long day of work, and I’m sure I’ll be doing much of the same for the upcoming two weeks. I will also be doing sports with the kids, and possibly teaching English and/or Biology to all age groups.

First full day in the Free State!

Today I got to sleep in for as long as I wanted to, because Kate was going to pick up the rest of our crew at the airport. I walked around the town, went to the only store open on a Sunday, which was some old fashioned book store and talked to the owner for some time. Then I walked to the area where Kate and her volunteers have been building an elementary school for the children who are living in poor conditions. As I was walking into this area, where there are hundreds of shacks, people were staring at me, but always with a smile. After I checked out the school grounds, I walked over to an area where I saw a large gathering of people. I looked over the fence, and saw a soccer match about to take place. One of the young men asked me if I’d like to come in, but I noticed there was an entrance fee to come in, and unfortunately I didn’t have any money on me, so I told him I would love to, but I have money on me. He shrugged, and said that’s ok, just come in. I watched for about an hour, and everyone was really getting into the game. All of the older men were drinking 40 ounce beers, which they call rhino horns, and it was only about noon. I left, and went Kate’s house to wait for her and the rest of the group to arrive. They got here around 2 pm and we had some lunch. There are 3 teachers from England, and about 14 students that go to English schools. The kids are from ages 14-16 I believe, which wasn’t what I expected at all, but I’ll make the most out of the situation. After lunch, we headed to an area where the kids always play rugby and soccer. We played with them for a good two hours, and all the kids were so excited we were there. Tomorrow we will continue to build the elementary building, by moving bricks to the location, and then beginning to stack them. I will also be asked to coach on the soccer teams that will be started tomorrow. Should be a fun day!

Made it to the Free State- Philippolis

Hello everyone, just made it to Philippolis in the Free State. We left Samara at 11 this morning. We stopped at Mieuw Bethesda, which is really a ghost town, but we saw a cool art exhibit, had some lunch, and then went on a tour to see some of the fossils which are prevelent through the Karoo. We just got to Philippolis, and moved into the two bedroom house, with a living area, kitchen, and a bathroom. There are 16 other people coming tomorrow to join us, and they will be living in other houses. We will then have all of our meals together at some backpackers spot in the middle of us all. I unfortunately cannot use my computer to get on the internet, because Kate has a specific internet program that only works on her computer, and not my Mac. This means there will most likely be less frequent blog posts, and minimal pictures, because I don't want to load my pictures onto her computer. I will post them once my 2 week stay is finished. If Kate will allow me to do so, then I obviously will, but I don't want to overstay my welcome at her house. She's a very nice woman, and has addopted an adorable little black girl named Maya. Can't wait to see what Philippolis brings!

Last Day at Samara

Today was my last day at Samara. Everyone except Alexa and I left this morning, so Hayley moved us to the official lodge, where guests come and stay, so that we could be supervised. The lodge is so nice, so I was very excited when she told us that. We are having a nice dinner that the cooks will make for us, so it should be delicious! Today I went out with the trackers, and learned a ton of new things. Porkie, the master tracker here, was very impressed with the amount of tracks I knew. He would point out a track, then look at me and ask if I knew it. I would say I knew about 80% of the tracks he pointed at. It is amazing how much he knows about the bush. Like I said before, he is one of the two master trackers in all of Africa, and when you think about how many trackers there must be, it’s remarkable that he knows that much. When we got back to the trackers living quarters, 3 of the trackers asked for my email so that we could stay in touch with each other. It was cool that they actually enjoyed my presence, and that I wasn’t just a pesky tourist thinking I knew things about the bush. I’m starving right now, and cannot wait for dinner! Tomorrow I get picked up at 9, and after a 3-hour drive I’ll be in the Free State for 2 weeks. I have no idea what the internet availability is like there, but hopefully I can keep up with my blog!

More Rhino Capture Pictures

Pictures of the Rhino Capture

White Rhino Capture!!

Today was one of the coolest days I have had so far at Samara. Peter, the game manager at Samara, phoned Hayley this morning to confirm that the male White Rhino was going to be darted, and transported to another private game reserve today. The whole ordeal is a long process, because there is a lot of paper work that needs to be taken care of before the game capture can occur. We got into our cruiser at around 9 o’clock, and had to wait until the helicopter pilot, named Richard arrived, then the vets to arrive, and the new owner of the male rhino to arrive. The new owner was here to measure out the length of the horn, which ultimately declares how much the rhino is worth. Once all the pieces were put together, the pilot took off with the vet, who shoots the rhino with a dart, and located the rhino. Once they located it, the caravan of trucks quickly drove to the area where the helicopter was hovering. Once we arrived to the rhino, it had already been darted twice, because it is such a massive animal. It was standing there for only a couple of seconds, and dropped to the ground with a loud thud. The head game capturer, named Mike, who controlled the whole operation, put a chip into the rhino’s horn, took a blood sample, and then the vets injected the rhino with something to wake it up slowly. Once the rhino was less drowsy, Mike and his team used cow prods, ropes, and muscle to pull the rhino onto his feet so they can pull him into the truck. Once it got into the truck, I was able to touch his horn, and feel the texture of its skin, which was very similar to an elephant. The new owner of the big male rhino measured its horn, which turned out to be 31 inches. I’m so happy that this game capture happened today, because I leave Saturday! Such a great way to bring such an amazing stay at Samara to a closure.

Climbed up Mt Aasvoelberg

Today we woke up around 8 to climb Mt Aasvoelberg. The hike took about 5 or so hours, and we saw some great views of the property at the top. We made sure to lock all the doors to our hang out area, so that the monkeys don't break in again and cause another mess. Once we were on the top of the mountain, we relaxed there for about an hour, and walked to different sides to see the great views. Tomorrow we are hopefully going to help out with darting the huge male White Rhino that charged me the other day. There are evidently too many rhinos on the property, and they need to move the male so that others don't reproduce anytime soon. Should be exciting if it all works out. Tonight the monkey people are coming over for a braai, for a goodbye party for most of us, even though I leave on Saturday morning. The rest of the group leaves Friday morning.

Pics of the Day

Great Day at Samara

Today we went on a morning drive to do an animal survey. The first animal we saw were the 4 rhino that chased John and I yesterday. Check out the how big the male rhino’s horn is. It’s 40 inches long, which is ridiculously big. Thank god he didn’t catch up to us yesterday… After we saw the rhino, we went to patch up the tube of the tire we popped yesterday, and then we went to track down Sabella. She was still on her Kudu kill that she killed 3 days ago, but I doubt she will be there tomorrow, because it looked like the Kudu meat was going bad. Cheetah are very picky when it comes to the freshness of their meat. When the meat goes bad, she’ll move away and digest for a couple days, and then kill another antelope. After looking at Sabella for some time, we came back to our living quarters, and for the 3rd time, the damn Vervet monkeys raided our kitchen. Evidently the monkeys have the ability to pull the handle of the door down and open it. We came to a horrible mess of egg everywhere, monkey poo on the couches, and rice crispies EVERYWERE. After the clean up, we drove up to Kondoa Mountain, and took a nice hike on top. I crawled towards a territorial male Black Wildebeest, and it starting going crazy… quite comical. We also saw a dead snake, which we are yet to identify, but most likely poisonous. We just returned back to our living quarters, and are making some food on the braai. Cold, but lovely night!

Pictures of Bushman Paintings

Rhino Encounter & Bushman Paintings

Today John, one of the Alabama guys, and I woke up this morning at 6 to go with the tracker students for the day, but when i got there Porkie, the master tracker who teaches the students, said that I would have to go tomorrow because his car is broken or something and he needs to get it fixed before we can go with them... I didnt really understand what he was saying, but i just nodded my head and agreed... The rest of the group was supposed to go on a river walk to count the vervet monkeys, but I didn't really feel like doing that, so I convinced John to go on a walk with me instead. It ended up being the coolest walk yet! We ran smack into a group of 5 White Rhino, and since our scent was blowing right towards their direction, I told John we should just keep walking, and eventually walk back behind them. So we walked for a while, and then started coming back into rhino country, and all the sudden the break of a twig from one of us stepping on the ground startled them, and they ran for a second and then stopped and looked right at us. I told john not to move, because they have horrible eyesight. We started backing up slowly, because they were only like 10 yards away from us. We moved back a bit, and watched them for like 20 minutes, and they weren't moving a bit. Then all the sudden two of them came charging right at us, but I had a good escape route already planned through the dried up river, so we were safe. Got the heart beating a bit, but it was awesome! Once we got back from our rhino adventure, we had a bit of lunch, and then headed to the cave mountain to see the bushman paintings inside this hidden cave. On the way up the mountain we stopped to hike up this cliff side to see if there was an eagles nest on the top of the cliff. It was a fun climb, and a great view once we made it to the top. We continued up the mountain, and unfortunately had a flat tire, which set us back a bit, but then we eventually made it to the mountain. The cave was awesome…and saw these paintings that were done 100,000 years ago!

Pictures of the Day

To the South - Porcupine - Sabella - Cheetah Boma

Today we went down to the south, and brought along a few trackers, to try and find the giraffe that hang out down there. We didn't have any luck finding the giraffe, but did see a porcupine close up, which was really cool. We then came back, had some lunch, and went off to find Sabella. We are supposed to track her every day now, because she either has her cubs, or will give birth to them soon, so we need to monitor her behavior, and her feeding patterns. When we came up to her, she was eating a freshly killed female Kudu, but then shortly came off her kill and laid in the dried out river bed. After watching her for some time, we went to the cheetah boma, to do our daily couple of laps around the boma, to try and habituate the 4 cheetah that are inside. While we were driving around the boma, I spotted the lone male cheetah that is brothers with two of the males inside the boma. A week ago, we trapped this same male inside a cage by using piece of zebra meat, but he busted out of the trap door with his head, while we were trying to transport it into the boma. I'm just glad to see that it wasn't hurt from that episode. Now we are back at the living quarters, about to make some food for dinner. Today was a great day!

Pictures of Graaf Reinet Kids Day

Graaf Reinet Kid's Day!

It was a lovely day today. About 75 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. A group of ten orphaned kids from Graaf Reinet came to our volunteer quarters today at 10 in the morning; we introduced ourselves, and then took them on a nice drive around the property so they could see some of the animals. Once we returned to our living quarters, we made some hotdogs for the kids, and had some lunch. Shortly after lunch, we walked to the Manner House, which is used for guests, but no one has been there since I have arrived. The trackers from the tracking academy all came with us to do some activities. We used the grass at the Manner House to play soccer and cricket with the kids for a couple of hours. After a short water break, the trackers walked around the property showing the kids different animal tracks, which they were very interested in. It is cool that these kids have a chance to get out of their orphan houses, and come appreciate nature at its finest. They left Samara about an hour ago, and Hayley has already set up another time for them to come back. I’m about to go collect some wood for the fire, and start up a nice braai. It’s getting kind of lonely around here with some of the volunteers leaving. I miss home, my friends, my family, and my lovely girlfriend Catty, but I know there are still great adventures to come! Time flies when you’re having fun!

Sunny Day at Samara

Today is a great sunny day with blue skies. Three volunteers left this morning, and another one is coming in today. It’s kind of sad to see Drew leave, because he has been here before I got here, and also Alwyn left for his vacation, so I’m going to have to man the braai, and do more than usual which will be good. We took a group picture of all of us last night. We went to find Sabella again today, because we think that she has given birth to her cubs and want to see her with them. If she has already given birth, she most likely has them hidden up in the mountainside somewhere, or in a thick bush, while she hunts during the day. While I was tracking her with the telemetry, I nearly ran right into her, and she let me know by giving me a noticeable hiss. I quickly backed up, and she became relaxed again. It seems that she has become more agitated with humans lately, and this may be because she has cubs that she wants to keep protected. We are going to Graaf Reinet tonight for dinner, which will be a nice change of pace for food. Hopefully we will get a good burger or pizza! Last night I made burritos for everyone, and they all agree that I should set up a burrito restaurant. I’m going to name it “Lekker Burritos” which means amazing or unbelievable burritos. There are no Chipotle-like restaurants in South Africa, and everyone here agrees that it would be a huge hit.

Rainy Day in Samara

Today was a very overcast and rainy day. It started raining in the morning, and hasn’t stopped yet. We were inside for most of the day, but decided we needed to do something, so we went on another search for Sabella. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long at all to find her. When we got to her she was eating a freshly killed Duiker, which is a very small antelope that normally roams around the thick bush. Since there is not many areas of flat grassland, which is normally the ideal area for cheetah to use their speed to hunt, Sabella and the other cheetah on the property use more of a stalking method of hunting. We watched Sabella eat the Duiker for about an hour, and when we left she had nearly stripped all the flesh off of the animal. Unfortunately since it was raining, I didn’t bring my camera along to get a good picture, but I’m sure this won’t be the last time I see her eating. She usually eats twice a week if its small prey like a Duiker, and once a week if she manages to kill a larger antelope like a Kudu. I think we’re going to stay indoors for the rest of the day and warm up. Hopefully tomorrow brings blue skies.

A few Pictures

Windy Day in the Karoo

Today we all woke up at 7:30, had some breakfast, and then half of us went to do some land rehab, and the other half, which I was in, went on a nice long walk to see how many Vervet monkey troops are along the river. It was a very windy day, which is never good when you are trying to find animals, since the tend to smell you from far away, and run off. After our walk, we had some lunch, and then some of the group went to walk around with the Vervet monkey people, while my group went to track down Sabella. While we were walking through the thick brush trying to find her, we ran smack into a huge male White Rhino. The wind was blowing right at us, so he didn’t smell us before we got to him. Luckily we startled him so much that he just bolted through few trees and ran off. It startled all of us, and unfortunately I couldn’t even get a picture of him because he ran off so fast. We searched for Sabella for 3 hours, and couldn’t find even though we were getting decent signal at some spots. I think since the wind was blowing in her direction, she was able to smell us and wasn’t in the mood to be followed, so she just kept walking away. We tried tracking her again once we got in the car, and Alwyn thinks she is heading up the mountain to give birth to her cubs. I hope she has her cubs soon, because I’m leaving Samara next Saturday. So crazy I’ve been here for almost 6 weeks…

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

Trip to the South & Feeding the Cheetah

Today we drove down to the south side of the property to do a mammalian survey. We saw lots of zebra, springbok, eland, gemsbok, red hartebeest, and a few impala, which aren’t even supposed to be on the property. We came back, had a little lunch, and waited until Faunie gave us a call, telling us that he is going to feed the cheetahs at the boma. Faunie is the land manager, and is the one who has been working the hardest on habituating the cheetah. After we saw the cheetah eat zebra meat, we went on a short night drive and we saw a waterbok, a very photogenic ground squirrel, and some guinea fowl. We are going to make a braai tonight, and go on a night drive later. Should be a good night to see some animals.

Pics

Another Day in Samara

Today we went on a nice hike through the river to find Sabella. We found her but couldn't keep up with her because she was moving so fast through the bushes. We had so much rain the past 24 hours that the roads were so slippery, and we got stuck once. It was pretty fun cruising through the huge mud puddles though. We then came back for lunch, and went on a nice walk to the land rehab spot to see if my reed project worked or not. I was scared we would get there and all the reeds would be washed away, but they weren't and it seemed like they were doing their job. Just got back from the walk, and the sunset is going to be a great one. I think we're going to go on a sun-downer soon.

Bat Pics

Overcast and Rainy

Today is the day of rest. It is cloudy, cold, and has been spitting rain all morning. I don't think we are going to do anything today but watch movies and relax. It's nice to have a day to unwind, take a day off from activities. Last night we were playing some poker, and a bat flew in the room. We caught it, put it in a sock for an hour or so, which makes the bat fall asleep, and then we checked it out. I'll post a few pictures of it.. it was pretty cool to see a bat that close with out it trying to bite you. Can't wait for the World Cup game tonight. I bet Spain will win, but I don't want them to.

Peaceful Day

Today I woke up at 9, just after some of the volunteers left for Addo Elephant National Park. It’s nice to have some peace and quiet for a day, with less people bunched together in the hang out area. We went to the main house, where the owners of Samara live, to watch the South African rugby team play New Zealand. South Africa lost, and didn’t play well (according to the South African fans, since I don’t know a whole lot about rugby). We came back to our living quarters after the game was over, and saw a Vervet monkey on top of the roof where the kitchen/hang out area is with an orange in its hand. The monkeys quickly retreated back into the bush, and we soon after realized that they had snuck through a cracked window, and had taken full advantage of any food in the open. We cleaned up the mess, and went on a short game drive, because we had heard there was a group of giraffe near the lodge. The group of giraffe was so close to our cruiser, and they were so curious as to what we were as well. After our game drive, we headed into town to get some much-needed groceries, since the monkeys cleaned out a fair amount of food. We just got back from town, and are trying to find a couple of hand held spotlights, so that we can do a fun night walk tonight.

Walk Pictures- Vervet Monkey print, Jackal print, Leopard Tortoise