Kruger

Sorry for the delay in posting, more lightning has meant interrupted wifi here at the house! It's now quite late so this won't be a huge post but I know an update is overdue. 

We got back from Kruger last night and it was the most amazing trip. We had a 7 hour drive to get there but it was well worth the travel and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to get there while here in the country. 

Travelling in Kruger involves a LOT of driving and you can go for quite long stretches without seeing anything. There are also never any guarantees as to what you'll see. The park is huge, about 350kms long and 80 wide. That's a lot of space to try and find animals in! However we were very lucky. Sadly we missed out on seeing cheetah, but that is extremely rare and I suppose we can't say we've had a shortage of cheetah on this trip :) And we managed almost everything else! Elephants, giraffes, lions, leopards, warthogs, impala, wildebeests, zebras, buffalo, baboons, monkeys, hippos, rhino (black and white!), African wild dogs, crocodiles to name a few. Also about 50 species of birds, most of which were the most stunning colours. 

A few of those were special sightings. Leopards are by no means guaranteed and we were very lucky to get a fantastic moment with one on a night game drive we did. Black rhino are extraordinarily rare to spot so that one was amazing as well. And finally the African wild dog - you almost never get a chance to see them and not only did we spot them, but we saw them start a hunt and take off after some impala! Unfortunately they ended up heading into the distance but it was very exciting. 

I've taken too many photos to upload onto my iPad while I'm here so I just have a small selection. I didn't do as well as I hoped to, but I still got some nice ones and some to give a good idea of how close the animals get, and how they just wander on the road in front of you! I'll sort through them all when I get home and post more then :)

Finally, after Kruger we stopped at Moholoholo rehabilitation centre where they care for a lot of different animals. There I had the unique experience of having a vulture land on my arm! And back, and head, and anywhere they could put their claws actually. Apparently they're not usually that lively, but you can tell from the photo they were going a bit nuts - it was supposed to be a nice posed shot of one on my arm! Certainly something not everyone gets to do though!

Extra photos

Here's a few more, including me getting to feed an elephant :)

Elephants and Monkeys

Yesterday was our day off and we all piled into the minibus for the two and a half hour journey to Hartbeespoortdam. I'd been looking forward to this trip, but Isabelle and I had decided to wait until there were more volunteers and we could share the fuel costs - plus it is more fun with a group!

Our first stop was the Elephant Sanctuary. This was an amazing experience. They run tours at set times and you go through as a group, first learning a little about elephants and the history of the sanctuary, then getting right up close to feed, touch, and walk with the elephants. The intro talk was really interesting. I enjoyed getting a close look at an elephant skull - I didn't know that they only have 4 teeth, but go through 6 sets throughout their lifetime! At the moment they have 5 elephants, and are hoping to reintroduce them to a game reserve when they find somewhere where there is enough space for them. They also want the elephants to be behaving as a family group and to relocate them all together. 

We all had a chance to feed them small pellets that the elephants just loved. They see you coming and hold out their trunk, and you just drop a handful of pellets in there! You have to get back nice and quickly though as apparently their patience can run thin if you're standing too close and don't have any food left!

We moved to another area to touch a different two elephants who are more used to human contact. I expected to just get a small stroke but this part was great. Two people at a time went to an elephant and they showed you all the different parts, where it was soft under the trunk and under the belly, and super hard on the knees. We also got to feel their ears (quite like pastry or a pizza base!) and under their feet, plus have a look inside their mouth! Their tails were also fascinating, the hairs were just like thick wire. 

Finally we went out to the main area again where we each had a chance to walk an elephant. I stood in front and held my arm back with my fingers cupped, with my thumb ready to hold the trunk. The elephant pops his trunk in your hand and follows as you walk! The trunk feels very heavy, they seem to just let you have the weight of it. You can feel their breath too! A very cool experience. 

For lunch we went to a huge African market which was a lot of fun to look at though we did get somewhat harassed by the stall holders. We were grateful to have Hardus with us who knows the place inside out and exactly how much we should expect to pay for something. It would be a little daunting alone!

Then it was just down the road to the monkey sanctuary. This was a beautiful spot. They have a huge area that feels like a rainforest, with gorgeous wooden walkways through it - I think about 3kms worth. They take in monkeys that have been rescued from various environments - quite a few used to be pets. Here we couldn't touch the monkeys but they were not at all shy and came very close - we got to see some month old babies who were just gorgeous. They also had a few lemurs, both ringtail and common brown. 

It was an amazing day - I'm so glad I've had the chance to do some of these extra experiences while I'm here. This country just has so many opportunities to see animals and get up close to them, it's incredible. 

Photos below and there are some extras on my phone I will post as well :) 

We leave for Kruger park first thing Saturday morning. I may get a chance to add some more tomorrow, but otherwise I'll be offline until Tuesday night. Then I certainly hope to have a lot more photos to share!

Shaka's Run

I also just wanted to post a new video of Shaka doing his run. It is a bit of a better view than my first video. He does a shorter distance because he is just young, but he's learning quickly and just loves that lure!!

http://youtu.be/ySdTyfVQnk0

Jasmine and Nala

When we had cheetah time yesterday afternoon we were all commenting on how much Jasmine's belly has grown even in the two weeks I've been here so far! She is due around the 20th of March but is already looking about ready to burst. Everyone has their fingers crossed that that means lots of babies, but it is very hard to tell. I'm guessing 5 but it may be a little ambitious. Estelle has been very busy getting all the baby things ready - bottles, little collars for identification, a new small enclosure for them to play outside, blankets and so on. There haven't been cubs here for a couple of years so it is pretty exciting! 

Unfortunately the pregnancy has meant Jasmine and Nala have started to clash a little bit. They are scrapping with each other fairly regularly, which is why we are trying to work so quickly on getting the new enclosure ready so that Nala can move in and Jasmine can have some space. The new little shelter is hopefully then where Jasmine will have the cubs, though they are building one in all the cheetah camps as well so Nala will get her own :)

I took some new photos of Jasmine to try and give an idea of how big her belly is getting!

And a couple more of Nala, in her new favourite spot on top of the shelter. 

Sunday Afternoon and Climbing Cats

The house feels a lot fuller now with the three new volunteers who arrived on Saturday afternoon. It is great to have some new company and some extra pairs of hands! Gemma, Hannah and Jeff are all lovely and it was nice to get through the jobs a bit quicker this morning. 

Last night we got to do something a bit different. About 20 minutes from the cheetah project is SunWa - Pieter and Estelle's river lodge. The American school group that did a day's work here last week are staying there and doing various activities. One of these was to have an astronomer come in with his telescopes and we were able to organise to join in. We got to go to the lodge early evening and relax first - see the photos below it is an absolutely stunning place. Right on the river. We were also able to eat dinner there which was a bit of a treat, a delicious buffet selection. Then Vince the astronomer first gave a talk and presentation for an hour or so - lots of fascinating stuff about our universe and how far away everything is, as well as just how tiny we really are!!

The time outside with the telescope wasn't as good as it could have been because the moon was amazingly bright which obscured the stars a lot. But we did get a great view of the moon itself, and a look at Jupiter with 4 moons clearly visible, plus various other star clusters and a nebula which was very interesting and cool to see. A really nice way to spend the evening and fun to get out and about!

Here are some photos taken by the lodge:

I also wanted to mention climbing cats! You sometimes read that cheetahs can't climb trees. However that is definitely not true. I've seen Jasmine climb the one in her enclosure a few times, and managed to snap a pic this weekend. I also caught Nala this morning on top of the new shelter that is being built - just enjoying the view! Apparently they are quite fond of leaving poos on top of shelters so we'll have to watch for that now. 

Tessa

I know that my photos are very biased towards the few cheetahs we normally spend time with. It is hard to get some of the others as I don't have many opportunities. However Tessa's enclosure is adjoining Nala and Jasmine's and today Estelle was with her right by the fence. 

Tessa is a funny one. She absolutely adores Estelle and will do anything for her, lets her cuddle her and touch her and seems just like Nala if not more so! However she lets no one else near her. Usually she just keeps her distance altogether, except when it's time to feed. Then her desire for the food wins out, but as soon as you put it down she hisses for you to go away and leave her alone! Apparently many volunteers have decided they'll win her over but none have succeeded!

She is a beautiful girl though. Unfortunately she recently suffered a mange infection on her neck but it is now healing nicely and the fur is starting to grow back. 

Her usual expression when I feed her:

And some more of her looking gorgeous: