15th March: Our first solo walk!
Bruce made our day yesterday when he told Marianne and I that we could go out walking on our own. The only prerequisite is that we have we to take one of the other back-up's who have their Lead guide qualification already. He said we must practise leading and backing up, and that we are also to carry live rounds - exciting! So this morning, we set out on our first walk, Myself, Marianne and Lorenzo (a back up here for a month from his guiding job in Tanzania to get some extra walking experience). We walked from camp into the Fever Tree forest which is one of my favourite walks and had some fantastic sightings. We were stalking zebra and practising approaches when all of a sudden a hyena emerged from the bushes across the pan in front of us. We froze then edged slowly to a nearby Lala Palm, where we crouched down low. To our surprise, another 6 hyena followed the first one out into the open and they were all headed straight for us. They must have got to within 20m before they smelt us and turned and ran, but it was such an exciting encounter and for sure probably the hyena sighting of he year! After that on the way back to camp we bumped a huge herd of Eland in the Lala Palm pan and did some more practise approaches, creeping slowly and quietly, using bushes for concealment to get to the best view point possible. Although not a big 5 animal, it was brilliant being able to practise such a valuable skill.
 |
| Spotted hyena's crossing the pan just 20m in front of us |
22nd March: Anti poaching
Today we got set an anti poaching task, to do a sleepout with the aim of putting in a presence along the Limpopo River to deter Zimbabwians and poachers coming across. We have a big problem at the moment particularly with fishing on the reserve, which is of course counted as poaching too, as it is illegal to remove anything from a national park, including plants, animals and fish. Since the floods, a lot of the pans which we previously dry are now full and teeming with fish, so there is a big draw for the Zimbabweans to swim across the Limpopo to catch fish on this side to take home and sell. Bruce walked recently in the Makwadzi area and caught a large group fishing - he fired a shot into the bank next to them and they went tearing off. He said that by us walking and camping in the area that they may be deterred from coming across, so sleepout and walk there we did.
 |
| Setting out for our sleepout along the Limpopo. L to R: Lorenzo, Marianne, Willem (with 3 stitches in his leg having had a huge acacia thorn surgically removed the day before), Me, Dan Fenton |
 |
| Crossing the Limpopo! |
Having walked the pans, we found a beautiful spot on the banks of the Limpopo to set up camp, making sure we were high enough to be out of reach from a flash flood (don't laugh, an ecoTraining group camped in the dry riverbed there last year and got caught in a flash flood in the middle of the night and lost half their things, including a rifle, which belief it or not they have since found!). Camp set up and wood collected, I was itching to explore the river and having seen so many Zimbabweans cross, the though of standing on Zimbabwean soil (mainly for you, Dad) was just too tempting! So Dan and I told the others we were going to "pop to Zimbabwe" and we'd be back soon! Well we waded a good 3/4 of the way across when it started to get very deep and given that during the recent flood some 3000 crocs were freed into the Limpopo, we decided not to risk it and swim, and conceded that upon reaching 3/4 of the way across the river that we were surely on the Zimbabwian side, so settled at that! It was a fun adventure and lots of laughs, and Dad I feel I can now say that I've been to your home country!
 |
| Me in Zimbabwe (just about - it's behind me - this one is for you Dad!) |
Later on that evening, relaxing and chatting around the fire, we heard a bizarre sound coming from the river, it sounded like gushing water. We rushed to the banks edge to see a herd of some 150 buffalo crossing the river from Zimbabwe to our side! It was quite strange, they came across, then slept on the waters edge for a few hours, before returning back, only to cross yet again in the early hours of the morning to feed in the Makwadzi Pan! Quite incredible.
25th March: Playing chess with elephants
Today Marianne and I walked with Jonha Turner, a very nice man who spends a lot of time at Makuleke, who has been tracking and researching the flood damage and its effects on animals and plants in the concession, since the first major flood in 2000. We walked from Mashisiti spring to Hutweni gorge via Mangeba, a walk just short of 7 hours. He taught us loads about grasses and vegetation and we helped him photograph and take notes of plant species in different areas. He wanted to see to what extent the grass had recovered in those areas following the most recent floods - some areas were doing better than others. In the Mangeba area, there is still no grass and the area looks more like a desert with dunes, especially with over half of the tree's destroyed and washed away, its terribly sad.
 |
| Still a lot of signs of flood morning in Hutweni |
As with most things, you always find what your not looking for, and on our way to Mangeba from Mashisiti Spring, we caught up to a huge breeding herd of elephants. We had seen their tracks and fresh dung along our path, and by feeling the dung noticed that it was getting warmer and warmer, so we knew we were getting close. Suddenly we heard rustling in the bushes ahead, and across the whole horizon elephants were feeding in the Mopane thicket. We climbed to a point of elevation to get a better look, and tried to see which way the herd was heading. In the middle of the drainage line was the main herd, mostly distinguishable just by rustling tree's, and on the edges the bulls lurked. We watched them for sometime, but then needed to find a way to pass! Jonha suggest we backtrack a few hundred metres, then re-route and hug the ridge on our left. We headed that way, and along the ridge we turned a corner and nearly walked straight into a bull elephants bum! We froze and backtracked again, and had to stop and think. It was a long way around to try the other side, and we decided it was safer to take on the males then the main herd in the Mopane. So we tried a new path, leading in between the outside bull and herd on our right. A few meters down there we herd and saw the rustling of a tree just a few meters to our right...another male! Again we froze and back tracked a few meters, and in doing so, the bull that was on our outside on the ridge side suddenly popped out of the bushes just meters in front of us. We all froze, both him and us, and he stared at us trying to decide what we were! He must have decided we were uninteresting, because after taking a few steps toward us, he walked off at pace to join his buddy that we'd also just bumped. It was like chess, we move, they move, all of us trying not to get taken! His move from the ridge meant that now (hopefully) the ridge line was clear, so we re-routed up there and finally made it past the herd. It was an amazing encounter, and Marianne and I got a valuable lesson on how to get past big herds of elephants when you can't see them because they're all hidden in the bushes!
 |
| Walking into the male elie's bum! |
27th March: Tracking rhino
Last night we went on an evening drive along Rhino Boma road near crooks corner to look for signs of Rhino. They havn't been seen on the reserve in some time, and we'd heard reports that rhino tracks had been seen in that area so we went to check it out. Indeed we found some very recent ones, so made a plan to go back the next morning to find the freshest ones and try to track the rhino down. We started at sunrise this morning and spent a brilliant 3 hours tracking spoor. Some of the tracks were easy to follow, like when they were in sand, but at other times it was really tough, like though long grass or on gravel. We managed to keep on the trail for a good 4km, but had to call it a morning after 3 hours as we had to get back to camp. It was amazing tracking experience, and although disappointed that we didn't find the rhino (they sure make any poachers work hard!) we still had fun. We ended up bumping two different herds of buffalo though on the way home which was really cool - never a dull moment in the bush!
 |
| Marianne, Lorenzo and me during our rhino tracking walk |
31st March: Running the gauntlet; return of the giants
What an absolutely incredible walk we had this afternoon in the fever tree forest. We set out late afternoon, our group of three intrepid explorer back-up's, to do some birding and see what the forest could offer us. We whiled most of the afternoon away stopping often for birds and tracks, and realised after a time that the sun was beginning to set and that we still had a way to go to get to our point of pick up at Nhlangaluwe Pan on Middle road. Well needless to say we never arrived at our pre-planned destination due to a series of very exciting events! It started with us admiring a great herd of Kudu mixed in with Impala and Nyala, and Marianne's fly-away comment about how perfect it would be if there was buffalo too. Lorenzo suddenly piped up with "mamma mia buffalo" (in a very sexy italian accent), and there in the pan ahead was a large breeding herd of buffalo. Sun setting fast, we had to make a swift decision as to whether to turn back to get back to camp or press on and to try get passed them before they reached the pan in front. Wind was in our favour and sun setting to our back, and the herd was moving slowly, so we decided to try and cross in front of them. Creeping quietly and ensuring we stayed behind solid fallen trees and vegetation, we moved past the herd. I, as back-up, kept a close eye on them, it was me watching them watching us.
 |
| The buffalo in the fever tree forest |
Almost passed the buff, we saw a big herd of Eland which unfortunately saw us and spooked (beware of secondary disturbances), which scared the buffalo a bit, but we were safe behind a fallen tree and all was well. Having passed the buffalo and watched the Eland run off, we stopped to think, hearts pumping, when all of a sudden we saw a heard of Elephant moving through the tall grass in Lala Palm pan ahead of us, moving straight in our direction. With it being to close to sunset, we had hoped to try to cross the pan at this point, but now the elies blocked our path. Buffalo behind and elies infront, we were almost trapped. Some speeding thinking from Lorenzo saw us move diagonally into the fever tree forest, taking a wide berth around the elephants. It was absolutely fantastic to see the herd, the first breeding herd seen in the area for a long time - it was just such a shame not to be able to stay and watchthem for longer. Dusk falling, we hurried on towards Nhlangaluwe, the original crossing point. As we neared the pan, we couldn't believe our eyes when we saw a second breading herd of buffalo, atleast 40 of them crossing the open plain. They were moving swiftly towards our crossing point and blocked yet another of our paths home. It was way to late to turn back, and with both elephants and buffalo behind us, there was no going back.
 |
| You can just see the heads of the elies in the tall grass |
We saw Bruce on the other side of the pan waiting to pick us up, some 500m away. I climbed a fallen to tree to get a view from an elevated point to try and see if there were any more buffalo in the tall grass, with the idea to try and cross behind them. We radio'd Bruce who had a better view to ask if he could see anything and get clearance and advice from him to cross the open plain (usually it is not at all safe to walk in open pans you have no cover should an animal chose to charge), however with the sun almost set we had little options left. He gave us the go-ahead that it was clear and we hot footed it across the pan. We made it safely to the other side with and Bruce was waiting with a cooler box of sundowner drinks, which we devoured immediately and filled him in on our epic adventure in the fever tree forest. Absolutely amazing walk, fantastic encounters and brilliant lessons leart. Winner...absolute winner!
 |
| Bumping the buff in the fever tree forest |
Although the walking part of my back-up job is the obvious focus, in the last month or so I've learnt a huge amount of just about every other useful skill you ever need to know in this industry. My general maintenance skills have come on ten fold and I've probably learnt much more in that department than walking. Aside from having learnt how to build a wooden deck (including laying foundations, sawing, drilling and putting up the structure, hole filling, sanding and varnishing), I've learnt how to fix and install new boilers/ geysers, fix leaking toilets and taps, how to fix creaky floor boards, how make rounds (bullets), the list goes on. And aside from guide and maintenance "man", I've become a tree feller, gardener, conservationist (alien weed puller), anti poacher, and mechanic. I feel quite proud of all my new skills, can you tell?!
Some cool pics from the last few months....
 |
| Walking into Buff can be intimidating! |
 |
| I have finally accepted that when in the bush it is impossible to keep clean! |
 |
| View of Lanner Gorge - my new favourite spot on the reserve....just stunning |
 |
| One of our camping spots on a sleep out - nice see through tents so you can be safe but still sleep under the stars |
 |
| Nothing better than a camp fire on a sleepout watching sunset |
 |
| Sun setting down on the Zimbabwean side and the Limpopo River on our anti-poaching sleepout |
 |
| Waiting for a pick up after our Limpopo sleepout. L to R: Lorenzo, Marianne, Willem, Me and Dan |
 |
| Lion stalking a hippo...incredible tracks |
 |
| Me taking in the view during our rhino tracking walk |
 |
| Golden Orb web spiders mating - the males are tiny in comparison and often get eaten by the huge female afterwards! |
 |
| One of the vervet monkeys in camp everyday |
 |
| Impala in camp feeding on the lush grass in relative safety! |
 |
| Little Bee Eater |
 |
| Brown hooded kingfisher |
 |
| Woodland Kingfisher |
 |
| Juvenile Martial Eagle |
 |
| Old female elie we bumped at Lala Palm Windmill |
 |
| Zebra trying to find grass in a sea of Datura |
 |
| Button Quail |
No comments:
Post a Comment