Cape Town

The view from atop Table Mountain

The next day was a day of goodbyes, as most of the group flew back to their homelands or off on other adventures. I was lucky that not only were 6 or 7 of the group spending a few extra days in Cape Town like me, but 2 of them were also staying at the same hostel as me. Despite the torrential rain of the morning, the afternoon turned out to be gloriously sunny and clear, giving me and a few of the others the opportunity to go up Table Mountain. We would have climbed up, but we realised that at 3pm, with a 2 hour hike up and no cable car back down, we should probably just take the cable car up!

The views from the top were fantastic, and we were so lucky because the next few days it was too windy and rainy to even see the top of the mountain- the locals call the clouds that cover the mountain the ‘tablecloth’. We could see for miles around, down to Cape Point and all across the city. And of course, what better way to finish a nice day trip out than with a cup of tea and a slice of cake in the tearoom at the top.

Later in the evening we met up with everyone that was staying in Cape Town for an Ethiopian meal. We all sat around these little tables, and when the food came it was presented on a huge pancake for us to share and we ate with our fingers.

A Stellenbosh winery

I had pre-booked some day tours as I had no idea that anyone else would be staying in Cape Town with me, and so on the Saturday I went on a wine tour. We had a great tour guide called Ferne who took us to 4 different wineries in the Stellenboch region. The first was voted the most green in SA for its sustainable practices and use of renewable energies. The second was also on olive oil producer, so we got to taste a few of their varieties of oil. At the third we had lunch, which I imagine would be Michelin starred if the Michelin man knew about it! The last winery also did goats cheese tastings alongside their wines, which funnily enough were named ‘Goats do Roam’ after the famous Cote du Rhone wines of France.

By the end of the day, me and the two Irish lads (who were actually getting on a flight later that night, and were drunk before we even started the 9am tour!) were more than a little merry! Unfortunately due to the amount drunk, I then bought myself 3 bottles of wine which I then had 2 days to drink before leaving for Australia.

African penguins at
Boulder Beach

Sunday was an early start to go on a tour down the coast to Cape Point, the most south-westerly point of Africa. Our first stop of the day was Camps Bay where a few people took a boat trip to see some seals, but I opted to take a walk around the harbour and enjoy the sunshine. Next we headed down to Boulder Beach where a large colony of African penguins reside. These penguins didn’t actually reside on this beach until the mid-80’s when a naval base was established in nearby Simonstown and they restricted fishing activity in the area. The penguin colony has grown massively since then, and they are everywhere (even breaking into local back gardens to use the swimming pools!).

Attempting to not fall off with the cross winds on the
 peninsula!

From Boulder Beach we headed on down to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point to explore the end of the Cape Peninsula. From Cape Point, we were all set up with bikes and let loose on the roads (I had actually forgotten I had booked a bicycle tour which was interesting!) with the challenge of getting back to the information centre where we had lunch. It was actually a lot of fun, especially with my roommate who was on the tour too having not ridden a bike for about 20 years! We even chose to do a bit extra as we were having such a laugh!

By the time Monday rolled around there were only 3 of us left, and the only big thing we had left to do was Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was interred for most of his 27 years in prison. The island has been used as a prison of sorts for hundreds of years, right from when the Dutch and German invaders first landed, with a brief stint as an insane asylum and leper colony, and finally as a prison for political prisoners and black men during the apartheid era up until

View of Table Mountain from
Robben Island

I really enjoyed Cape Town, and felt very safe there- probably as a result of the FIFA World Cup being held there last year. There was a noticeable police presence, and even at weekends it didn’t look like there was too much trouble from weekend revellers! I would definiteley recommend Cape Town, but next time I would like to spend more time exploring the surrounding areas and countryside.

Goodbye Namibia, hello South Africa!

Orange River

Firstly we had to officially leave Namibia, before driving a few hundred metres through no-mans land to cross the border into South Africa. I did worry a little when our  passports were taken for inspection by the police, but we all got through in the end. We drove a short distance down the road from the border to our next stop at Orange River. This river essentially marks the border between South Africa and Namibia- you could throw a stone back into Namibia it was that close!

And even better, after the cold, damp few days we had had in Namibia we drove into glorious sunshine. The campsite was beautiful- right next to the river and a short distance from the bar (even better!). Some of us chose to go canoeing down the river in the afternoon in double inflatable canoes. I shared with my tentmate Emma, and at first we were absolutely useless! I think we probably did double the distance of everyone else zig-zagging from one side of the river to the other! But eventually we mastered the steering and were chasing the others, having splash wars along the way. It was certainly hard work, and the amount of flies around inspired us to paddle even fater!

An excellent playground

Awaiting us when we landed back at the camp site was a beautiful spit-roasted lamb and other dishes all cooked in a traditional South African style. We feasted until we could eat no more, drank until we could drink no more, and went back to our tent to find the resident dogs (who had spent the whole afternoon digging up stones on the beach) residing in it!!!

The next day was our final full day as a group, and we spent almost all of it on the bus. It was a looong drive down from Orange River to Cape Town, but it was so different to driving through Namibia. As soon as we crossed the border into South Africa it was so much greener, and at times you could be forgiven for thinking you were looking out at rolling English hills and farmland. 

Driving down to Cape Town

We could tell as soon as we were on the approach to Cape Town, as Table Mountain loomed into view in front of us. The city really is sprawled out right across the base of the mountain and all over the sand flats surrounding it. When we got into the city, we were told that we had been upgraded and were going to be staying in a much nicer hotel. We went out as a group for a final meal at Mama Africas, where I tried a delicious traditional Cape Malay South African dish called Bobotie, which consists of minced beef and ostrich meat in a sweet and spicy gravy, topped with egg custard (like an African version of sheperd’s pie!). 

Namib Desert, Sossuvlei and Fish River Canyon

Sunrise over the desert

This was by far the most beautiful part of the whole trip, and my favourite part of Namibia. We drove south from Swakopmund to the Namib Desert, through yet more fantastic and desolate scenery. We spent 2 nights in the desert, which is hyper-arid and experiences less than 10cm per year. So of course while we were there it chucked it down- in the middle of the dry season!!! And on the day that I had to cook and wash up!

On the first morning we woke up at (literally) the crack of dawn to drive down to the enormous sand dunes so that we could hike up the 300m high Dune 45 to see the sunrise over the desert. The dunes are all numbered because they don’t move- the winds are equally strong in both directions. It was strange that as we were driving we weren’t surrounded by sand like you would expect in the desert, but we drove between enormous sand dunes. 

At the top of the dune

A gruelling climb to the top

Overnight the wind had wiped away the footprints of the previous day, so we climbed a seemingly untouched dune. At first we all set off at speed, but the climb quickly became really tough. Imagine walking on a sandy beach that’s a 30cm wide ledge at a slope of 35 degrees. It was a bit hairy, but on the way back down I realised that even if I had fallen off the edge, it would have been a soft landing at least! It was pretty chilly and windy, but well worth the early start and the climb- as you can see, it was spectacular! And even better, breakfast was waiting for us when we got back down.

Deadvlei

After brekkie we headed over to Sossuvlei,  which is where the water in the desert collects creating an oasis in the middle of the sand dunes. More incredible however is Deadvlei. This was once the location of the water collecting and so a number of trees have grown there- when the waters moved to what is now Sossuvlei, the trees without a water source died and have been preserved by the hyper-arid desert conditions. I could have spent hours photographing all the trees, and learnt quite a lot about my camera while I was there.

Fish River Canyon

The next day we drove south to our next and final stop in Namibia, Fish River Canyon. The Fish River is the longest river in Namibia, and over time has formed a spectacular canyon which in parts is 550m deep. We took a short walk along the edge of the canyon, and at the end we were greeted with a cheese and wine dinner ready for sunset over the canyon. It was a lovely way to say farewell to Namibia.

From Etosha to Damaraland and Swakopmund

Traditional Himba woman

I was really hoping that in Damaraland we would get the chance to interact with some local tribesmen, as this area of the country is where many of the semi-nomadic Himba tribes are located. However the only interaction we got was when we stopped off along our drive on the roadside at some tourist souvenir shops. It is really incredible what the local people can create from things that you find on the ground! We were told that if we wanted to take photos we would have to pay as this is the main way the Himba people make their money. The Himba woman in the photograph is wearing traditional tribal clothes (which was brave considering how cold it was!). The people coat their hair and bodies in a local red clay as protection from the sun- must be very itchy putting that on your head!

We drove on, leaving civilisation (and tarmacked roads) behind. We stopped for lunch at the petrified forest, and got a guided tour of the site. The trees had been washed to the area from central Africa during some spectacular floods millions of years ago, and then buried in clay sediments. Over time the organic matter of the trees was replaced by minerals, so when the trunks were finally exposed, the trees were exactly as they were when they were buried only made of stone. 

Me and Emma at the stone carvings

That afternoon we had the option to go and see some stone carvings made by tribes thousands of years ago- I should have realised when only 5 of us wanted to go that it wasn’t exactly going to be exciting, but I went anyway. The cave drawings were ok, but I still don’t understand the point of them! It’s supposed to be something to do with spirituality and the afterlife, but at the end of the day a map would have been more useful!

Shipwreck along the Skeleton Coast

The following two days we spent in Swakopmund. The drive down the coast was very beautiful, and for some reason all the houses in the small towns along the way were all brightly coloured! The roads in this part of the country are actually made from salt, which is similar to tarmac when compacted (a nice change from dirt tracks!). Swakopmund offered a huge range of adventure activities, but I after a few hectic weeks I chose to rest and recuperate. 

Me and Kristen on horseback

We explored the town a little, but due to a power cut there weren’t many shops still open. It was a bit cold and miserable while we were there which is quite common there due to the cold ocean air hitting the warm landside air, so we didn’t even venture to the beach! I went on a genteel horse trek with one of the girls through a dry riverbed and some spectacular countryside. I actually was riding a very quaint mule called Spock, but it took me three weeks to work out it was a mule as the German girl guiding us called him a moolay! I did wonder why he looked a bit different to the other horses! All was going well until Spock got spooked and bolted off with me hanging on for dear life- I think I was more terrified than when a leopard was seen hanging around our camp!

Riding in the lunar landscape

We spent a couple of good nights out at the limited evening venues Swakopmund has to offer, even showing the locals our singing talent on karaoke night!

A new adventure begins

Windhoek to Etosha National Park
 

The start of my adventure tour through Namibia was a little hectic- I wasn’t given a time to arrive at the starting hotel, and I just so happened to arrive at the exact same time that the tour was pulling into the hotel. My tour through Namibia was the final leg of several tours that had travelled across Africa, so some of the 19 strong group had been travelling together for nearly 6 weeks.

 

I quickly learnt that whenever we were told a time to be at the bus, we would always be at least half an hour late-our 2 guides could not time keep to save their lives! The guides were nothing like I was expecting, both of them were young surfer types! I spent my first day on the back seat of the bus, which I soon found out meant that I would spend approximately 50% of my time with my arse off the seat- and that was on the tarmacked roads. 

Perched on top of Waterburg Plateau

Thankfully it wasn’t far until our first stop at Waterburg National Park. This park is dominated by the Waterburg Plateau, which is a beautiful 200m high rock structure, containing fossilised dinosaur tracks, petrified sand dunes and hundreds of native flora and fauna species. Before dinner most of us set off to climb the plateau, which from a distance looks like a sheer cliff face. The guides told us it would be a gentle climb but it was more like an extreme scramble over rocks! But it was well worth it for the views from the top. The food every night was so good- we cooked on the braai which basically means cooked on an open fire. We had steak, salad and a special kind of South African bread called roosterkoek, which is cooked on the fire. 

Springbok

Black rhino

The next day we left early- every day we would get up between 5 and 6am (depending on how far we had to travel) in order to take down the tents, have breakfast, pack up and leave. We travelled north to Etosha National park, the biggest national park in Namibia and the third biggest in Africa. As we entered the park I spotted a black rhino, which we were incredibly lucky to see. We went on a quick game drive through some of the park and I got to see my first elephant, but unfortunately not a lot else.

A pretty huge group of 13 elephants!

We spent 2 days in Etosha National Park, and on the second day I paid a bit extra for a day's game drive through the park with our own guide. We got to see plenty of springbok, impala, kudu, wildebeest, zebra, giraffes and elephants and a few bird species too. We were on the hunt for some of the lions that we knew were hanging about but unfortunately we didn't get to see any. I was more than happy though, as at the end of the day we came across a group of 13 elephants (including lots of babies) coming up to a waterhole for a drink. 

Zebra

That evening we stayed at a campsite where there was a lit up waterhole so we could sit and watch the animals at night. I got to see plenty of rhinos, giraffes and some elephants too. Apparently there were even a few lions who made an appearance; I did hear a lion roar but I was in bed and thought it was someone in the tent next door snoring!

And onwards to Windhoek!

Jane, Harry, Kin amd me at the
Africat offices

And so we come to the end of the first 2 weeks of my adventures in Africa. It has been hard work, and I have plenty of cuts and bruises to show for my hard work! I have learnt so much about the animals and the place, and the people have been really good fun. Clive and Roma, who run the project, are incredibly passionate about the work that they do here along with all the volunteers, and Beth who helps to run the project (and coincidently is Australian) knows so much about the plants and animals of the reserve. To end my time on the project we had a visit to the Rare and Endangered Species Trust, where I got to feed a vulture!

There were 11 volunteers helping throughout the 2 weeks from across Europe and further afield. There were certainly a few characters in the group, but a lot of hard workers and a lot of laughs were had by all. Luckily there were a few people who stayed on in Windhoek after the project had finished, which was nice because it meant that I wasn’t alone while I was there. On the way back to civilisation we stopped off at an African wood market which was an experience- every two steps a vender would ask if we would like to visit their stall, and we were told that if we wanted anything we should halve the asking price and haggle from there!



Christuskirche, Windhoek

On the recommendation of every person who had ever been to Windhoek, and every guide book going, we booked into Joe’s Beerhouse. I can tell you, everyone was not wrong! I had an amazing kebab of ostrich, zebra, kudu, springbok and chicken (very strange having spent 2 weeks watching half of these animals from a truck!). I would definitely recommend zebra if you ever get the chance to try it (as cute as they are!).





Cocktails on the roof of the Hilton Hotel

Windhoek itself is quite small, and not particularly interesting. All of the locals warned us that Windhoek was not very safe but I didn’t run into any problems- apart from the internet being so very slow! I was fortunate that one of the other volunteers had far too much money and not enough sense, and was staying in a suite at the brand new Hilton Hotel. So for two days myself, Anja and Ben sunbathed by the pool, sipping cocktails and eating good food. It was a nice relaxing way to end my time at the project before starting my adventure tour of Namibia.

Bushman Walk

One of the other activities we have done whilst on the project was the Bushman Walk, where 2 of the local workers, Felix and Peter, took us on a walk though the bush and taught us about the lives of the tribal hunters who have lived on the land for thousands of years.

Back before white men invaded Africa, there were 2 main modes of living for the tribes- above the equator the Bantu people farmed livestock and grew crops, and below the equator lived the San or Bushmen who were hunter-gatherers. The people lived peacefully together, trading animal skins for metals and other crops, however the San started to hunt the livestock of the Bantu people, creating conflict between the 2 peoples. Simultaneously, European invaders in the south were extending their rein over the country and forcing the San out of their natural hunting grounds. Now the San people are confined to a much smaller area, mainly in southwest Africa, but they are recognised for their cultural and historical value by the government and so are given a protected status. Modern San tribes are no longer nomadic, and have set up villages and adopted a more modern style of living.

 

Felix and Peter preparing a bird trap



In preparation for long hunting trips, the San people would locate ostrich eggs from the nest and make a hole in the top of the egg, cook the egg and eat the yolk. Then they would then coat the inside of the shell with honey and leave it for the ants to eat the leftover egg. They would locate honey by attaching a thread to a bee and finding where the thread is left thus finding the bee hive. The empty shell would then be filled with water, sealed with beeswax and buried in areas where they would be hunting. Any broken shells would be used for making jewellery.

A large part of the tribal culture was making jewellery and instruments out of seeds, empty cocoons and fruit skins. The San people would also make a very strong rope made from a plant known as Oryx Horn, and they would waterproof the rope using beeswax. I tried feebly to make a version of this rope but was laughed at by Peter!



Peter demonstrating a porcupine trap



The San people will only kill what they need- they have strong beliefs that the spirits of dead animals will return as people and vice versa. They would lay traps for smaller animals such as porcupines and birds whilst hunting larger animals- if they do not catch anything then they will take whatever is caught in the traps, however if they do make a larger catch they will release whatever is caught.

To decide the direction that the San will hunt in, they send a runner (a young boy) to retrieve a praying mantis, and each of the hunters will in turn put the insect on their bow and whoever’s bow the praying mantis gets furthest on before falling off gets to decide the direction that they hunt in. They decide the direction by shooting up a very small arrow into the air from a love bow, and whichever direction the arrow lands in is the direction they will hunt in.

The San people hunt with poisoned arrows, and the strength of poison used depends on the size of the animal being hunted. The strength of the poison is determined by making a cut on one of their limbs, letting the blood run and placing a small amount of poison below the running blood. The faster the blood congeals upon contact with the poison, the more potent the poison.

When a big kill is made, tribes from all around will be invited for a big celebration feast. There is music and dancing and plenty of food. This is also a way for men to meet women- if a man likes a woman he will shoot an arrow from his love bow at her butt and if she likes him, she will hold the arrow to her heart (if not she will break the arrow in half!).

Born Free

Every morning we work from 7am to midday, when we stop for lunch. After lunch we have a few hours to ourselves, and then in the afternoon is usually some kind of game drive. The project leader, Clive, and his assistant Beth, are incredibly knowlegable and have shown us all kinds of animals living in the reserve.

Probably wondering why 2 trucks of
 tasty meat are sitting watching him!

I think the highlight of the game drives has to be tracking all the 7 radio collared leopards. We only caught a glimpse of a few of the leopards, who are so well camoflaged you often don't see them until they are right in front of you. One of the leopards, MJ, has 2 6-month old cubs who she usually stashes in the mountains while she goes off to hunt for them. However they are reaching the age where they need to start accompanying mum to learn how to hunt. We were so fortunate on Sunday morning to have not only tracked MJ to a nice shady spot, but also her cubs who were busily eating a kill that she had placed in a tree for them. The cubs were only a couple of feet long and we watched them for several hours.



Barely hanging on

MJ the mother

Wild dog

Abbey the cheetah

We also tracked hyena and wild dogs. A healthy clan of hyena actually rank above a pride of lions in nature based on the power of their jaws, and I got to stand 10 feet away from one (albeit a sleeping one)! The hyena at Okonjima aren't like normal hyena because they are solitary and would never be solitary normal. This particular hyena, Pooh, was the hyena I mentioned in my post about the vet visits. Luckily he is back roaming free and in good health. Wild dogs are endangered in Africa- there are only about 500 left in the wild. It took a few attempts to track the wild dogs and when we finally saw them it was only very briefly.

Another real highlight was tracking some of the cheetahs that are in the larger rehabilitation enclosures, with the aim of eventually releasing the animals. Having worked closely with the cheetahs in the welfare enclosures and learning about the overall aim for these cats, it was good to see the ones that have a chance still. We saw 3 cheetahs- Mulder, Abbey and TinTin who are all siblings and hunt in a coalition (the name for a group of cheetah). They were all very relaxed when all of a sudden Mulder got grouchy and tried to charge us- a bit scary but luckily we were in good hands. Hopefully one day these cheetahs may be released back into Namibia, but they still need to be a bit more afraid of humans first!

Pretty cute for a squirrel!

 

I've seen plenty of game animals since arriving in Okonjima, but not all of them. The numbers and type of game are controlled in the reserve to maintain the predator-prey balance. Some typical game we have seen are Oryx (the most mountain adapted antelope), Greater Kudu, Impala (nicknamed Bambi), Steenbok (which curl up like stones when afraid- Steen=stone) and Dik-Diks which are the smallest antelope in Africa and mate for life.

One animal that I have seen more than enough of is the giraffe, however they are so graceful and yet bizarre that I never tire of seeing them! Did you know that a group of stationary giraffes is called a tower, but if they are on the move it is a journey?! A group of giraffes is more of a social group- they don't stick in family groups unless it is a mother and her calf- and they don't stay in the same group. And giraffes have the same number of vertebrae in their necks as humans! Enough of the useless facts (might come in handy for a pub quiz), and on with the pictures!


My absolute favourite animal however, has to be the zebra. In Okonjima reserve there are mainly Mountain zebra, which have white bellies, horizontal stripes down their legs, a brown patch on their snout (for lack of a better word) and a grid pattern of stripes on their butts. I didn't realise until I toured the rest of Namibia that Mountain zebra are actually quite endangered so it was a priveledge getting to see so many. [More on zebra later. I might even dedicate an entire post to them.]

Okonjima Reserve

Not so nice in the mornings
at 4 degrees with a breeze

The PAWS project is located in Okonjima Reserve, about 3 hours drive northwest of the capital, Windhoek. Once past the front gates of the reserve it takes another 40 minutes to drive to the project (to give you an idea of how big the place is). The reserve has 3 seperate enclosures: a small (supposedly predator-free) one where PAWS and the other tourist accomodation is situated; a medium one where the radio collared leopards and hyena are kept; and a large one where the cheetah are rehabilitated and which is also home to 4 wild dogs.

Other than PAWS, there are 2 basic lodges which hold all the 'common' guests, 2 exclusive villas where the rich and famous stay, and the Rare and Endangered Species Trust. Having seen the basic tourist accomodation, I certainly wouldn't be complaining if I were a paying guest!! As a basic rate people will pay about 200 pounds per night per person, and another 300 to 400 on top of that for a game drive. The exclusive accommodation costs 700 pounds per person per night, and that comes with your own host, chef and game driver. To put that into perspective, I've paid about 50 pounds per night and I get a free game drive every afternoon!! All the staff that work for Okonjima, including all the managers and the family that owns the reserve live on the reserve also.

The Campsite

A loo with a view!

The camp we are staying on was purpose built for PAWS volunteers. There are 10 tents which have 2 wooden beds inside and are big enough to stand up in, and a large porch area- luckily I've had a whole tent to myself for 2 weeks. Each tent is covered by a large A-fram consturction to protect the tents during the rain and keep them cool in the sun. There are 2 sets of bathrooms, each with 2 open air showers and 2 open air toilets ( a little scary when you see pairs of eyes reflected back at you when you're sitting on the loo at night)- the lock is a rope you put across to let people know it's in use. The sinks are metal buckets.

The lapa

There's a communal area called a lapa where food is prepared and where we spend countless hours playing cards. There's no oven so food is cooked on the fire each night. At the end of the lapa is a watering hole and a hide, built so that we can watch the wildlife as we're eating our dinner- we've seen oryx (a type of antelope), porcupine and jackal all feeding there. Every day there are 2 people on duty who prepare the meals and do the washing up. The food is quite basic but the evening meals are often good.

All in all it's a very nice little camp, and wonderful to be so far removed from all kinds of normal life.

An apple a day keeps the dentist away...

Up to 75% of the work that africat does is funded by tourism, however with over 100 large animals to feed with 3 lots of 5kg bags of Iams per day and 12 donkies (yes donkies) per week, as well as the 4 members of staff to pay, the money does not go far. They don't have a resident vet, and calling the vet out is extremely expensive, so they keep track of which animals need vetinary attention, and when they have enough animals that need seeing they call the vet out for 3 days at a time.

 

I was extremely lucky that I was working with PAWS for one of the very few visits that the vets make every year, and as such I got to see all the action. Over 3 days I saw an incredible number of procedures. Animals in captivity are prone to dental problems, and Africat uses a vet who has specialised in animal dentistry- over the 9 years Africat have been using him, he has learnt to identify problems from just a photograph (this is only way to get an opinion on the animal's health without paying for the vet to come out).

 

Pooh the hyenah on the table

On the first night Pooh, one of the 3 spotted hyena, was darted and brought in as it was believed he had some dental problems. A clan of hyena are actually above a pride of lions in nature's hierarchy, based on the power of their jaws; simply put you keep your distance from a spotted hyena! We got to see Pooh close up on the table and even stroke him! [His teeth were fine by the way, just a bit of tartar!]

A newly toothless Willow

As I didn't get to see a procedure on a cheetah the day before, I was one of 4 who were allowed into the clinic to watch one of the welfare cheetahs, Willow, being operated on. He is one of the biggest cheetah on the reserve, and one of the oldest. Cheetah have a number of health problems as they get older, which in nature may well kill them. Cheetah tend to lose their teeth at about 8 years old, however in captivity a cheetah may live to 14 or 15. Willow is 14, and is fed only on a diet of Iams and donkey meat (no bones), however his teeth were so bad that almost all of them had to be removed. One tooth was so absessed that when it was removed the hole could fit an entire swab and you could see through the bone up to the nose.

Luckily I couldn't see the blood!

You would think I would have passed out by this point, but I conquered my fears and stayed for the whole procedure- I even held up his leg while the vet was trying to put a catheter into Willow's artery. Goodness knows what would have happened if that catherter came out, but luckily I remained standing throughout (if a little green looking).

The highlight of the week has to be going to capture Toby. Toby is a solitary cheetah living in the largest (32,000 acres) rehabilitation enclosure. An unfortunate side effect of all the farming in Namibia is that it is overgrown with invasive thorny bushes. This poses a problem to cheetah, as they are susceptible to scratching their eyes, which is exactly what happened to Toby in April this year. It took 4 darts to actually put Toby out as the darts kept bouncing off the poor guy, and he was still struggling when we got him on the truck!

 

In the wild, catching Toby

While we were there, there was actually a cameraman filming for the production company Tigress, who are producing a documentary called something like Case Files, looking at the case of Toby and how the invasive bushes are protecting cheetah from humans but also are causing injury. I was definitely filmed as part of Toby's capture, and I think I may well be in the programme so you will have to keep an eye out for me!

 

Beautiful Wahoo

On the last day, when we were supposed to be catching up on all the work that had been missed by going to see the vet checks, we got a call that a leopard called Wahoo was coming in and would we like to see him.... that was a no brainer! So we downed tools after a grouling 25 minutes and got to see Wahoo have a root canal. Wahoo was brought to Africat before his eyes were even open, taken from a farmer's land. He was brought up by Wayne Hannsen, the owner of the reserve, until Wahoo turned 4 when he matured and became a solitary animal. He is an absolutely beautiful cat who is used as an ambassador for leopards, used

to teach children about his species. We got to go and re-release him once he had been awake for a few hours- unfortunately he was still pretty dosed up so all he managed was to stand up, wobble around before slumping back down again dribbling.

Not sure if Matata was roaring more loudly
before or after the 4 root canals!

Then as if we thought it couldn't get any better, we were told that they were bringing in Matata, a fully grown, 250kg male lion! Matata had such extensive problems that they were operating on him for 4.5 hours and had to draft someone to get extra anaesthetic from the nearest town 1 hour away as he would use a bottle in himself.

I have been so lucky to not only have seen this animals up close, but stroke them, help with procedures and even have stuck my head in a lion's mouth! Not something you do every day!

Hello from Namibia!

Sunset over PAWS

Perivoli school children

Roadside bush clearing

Trimming trees in the caracal enclosure