Braai at Greg's

Although it seems like old news by now, last weekend all the volunteers were fortunate enough to be invited to Greg's house for a Braai. He does this about once a year, and I'm so glad it happened while I was here!

Greg lives on a "wildlife estate" about an hour away from Daktari (although actually geographically very close, the roads aren't great and you have to go in circles around fences etc.). This means that driving to his house you can see all sorts of animals, and then once you are on his property it's possible to see even more. When we first arrived, Greg took us on a walk down to the river near his house:

We walked along the river for a while:

Then we turned and walked up an empty riverbed:

The bottom of the riverbed was covered with all these really cool smooth rocks:

After we made it back to Greg's house we swam in his pool, read books, and hung out for a few hours. then we cooked delicious boerewors and lots of snacks: 

Next, Greg took us on a drive in his land rover to a different part of the river where the hippos stay. They were just waking up for the evening, and we stayed for about half an hour watching seven hippos swim around! 

Just as the sun began to set we headed back to Daktari, just in time to start another full week.

Tomorrow I'm off to Bloemfontein for a week, to help lead a training for the parents and teachers in the creches where I visited before. It should be very interesting! They still don't have internet at MUCPP so I will be off the grid for a while, but I'll try to write a post or two for when I get internet back. 

Baby Season

Remember when I said that I would get to hold the baby bushbabies soon? Well, it happened, and it was amazing. Imagine the softest, cuddliest, cutest thing ever and then make it TINY and multiply it by two:

Definitely one of the highlights of my time here so far. The same day that Chico gave birth to these beautiful creatures, our bushbuck Maxi also had a baby. Maxi leaves her babies (one from last spring, one from this spring) out in the bush when she comes into camp to eat, so originally we could only tell she had a baby because she was half the size from one day to the next. The coincidence that our two mommas would give birth on the same day, and that it was the same day that Michele returned from a trip to France, was pretty astounding. We have seen Maxi's baby outside on our dog walks, and she is similarly ADORABLE, but we haven't been able to get a photo yet. For those who are wondering what a bushbuck is, here's a photo of Maxi drinking her bottle (I promise a better photo sometime soon, she's gorgeous):

We also have found four baby squirrels that drop from the thatched roofs onto the ground all over Daktari. They each have a "mom" who feeds them porridge from a tiny syringe, and makes them pee and poop after they eat (it's a glamorous life being a mommy squirrel). Here's one of the tiny babies curled up in my dress:

They are also very sweet. Some of the kids are a little scared of the squirrels, but some want to dive right in and help us feed them: 

I have to run off to dinner now, but here's one more photo for good measure. This is Spikey, our porcupine, who comes around for food every night and then goes back into the bush to live. He's super friendly. He also might be a "she," because he/she has a baby that follows him/her around, who we have named Bo. Bo is very camera-shy so I don't have a photo of him, but picture a smaller version of Spikey. 

I'll try to post again before I have a week off in Bloemfontein starting next Saturday. I have so many more photos to share! 

An Eventful Week

It's been an eventful week here at Daktari. Right after the last post, when I wrote that we had started construction and then had a rain-storm, we went outside and took the kids on a dog-walk. When we returned we were preparing to send children to see the leopard when the wind picked up and the sky suddenly turned black. Out of nowhere it began hailing nearly golf-ball size hailstones at an incredible rate. Looking out from the Lapa the whole sky looked white. Our poor blind donkey, Eeyore, clearly had no idea what was going on. To him it probably felt like someone was throwing rocks at him repeatedly. Michele basically threw the two baby squirrels she was feeding into my hands and ran out to try and bring Eeyore under shelter. The hail-storm lasted about ten minutes and was basically terrifying.

Right after the hail-storm, Eeyore and the white landscape:

Huge hailstones:

It was really cool. Until the hail melted and the camp looked like a huge bomb had hit. We had to do a lot of emergency care for terrified and soaking wet animals, running around a flooded camp trying to find the meerkats, and cleaning out the genet and caracal's roofs (which collapsed from the weight of the hail). Then there was the raking. The whole camp was covered in a thick layer of twigs and leaves, and it did not look so good. The volunteers were really valiant, raking during all their free time and whenever they weren't teaching in the classroom. As of Thursday the camp actually looked cleaner than it had before. I can't say the same for my room, which is covered in a layer of thatch and dirt since they are basically demolishing the roof above my bed. It will be so worth it when I don't have to cover my room with buckets and towels every time it rains. The construction is coming along, I'm documenting with photos, and I'll post them soon. 

Thursday morning we noticed that Elvis, one of the pied crows, had what appeared to be a bloody bone sticking out of his left (broken) wing. After a quick consultation with Ian and Michele, Risette and I hopped in the bokkie (pick-up) and brought Elvis into town to visit the vet. It turned out that it was not a bone, but rather a feather that was nearly pulled out from the root, which the vet compared to ripping a nail out at the base. She pulled the rest of the feather out and cleaned the wound: 

It was nice to get into town, and we're thrilled that Elvis is ok. I also was able to buy a GUITAR in town! Since I arrived at Daktari, I've been pining for a guitar, especially when we sit around the campfire. Apparently this notion of sitting around the fire playing guitar is especially American (and camp-oriented, obviously). I'm so excited. 

Last photo for good measure is a photo of Ian and I cleaning out the ostrich eggs. The ostriches have laid a bunch of eggs recently, but apparently they are not smart enough to sit on their eggs so if we want baby ostriches we have to create an incubator. This might happen eventually, but for now we are feeding the ostrich eggs to the other animals. Emptying the eggs was a rather gross process involving a drill, a syringe, and a LOT of pumping:

It is amazing the amount of egg that comes out of those things.

We're preparing now to head to Mahlahla, which is a lodge nearby where all the volunteers go to party on Saturday nights. After another driving lesson today I think I'm ready to be the DD on the way home! 

Roofs, Rain, and Raffles

It appears I have been a bit delinquent in publishing the blog recently. I apologize. My day to day has been very busy, and I keep forgetting to sit down and write for you all. In addition, my office time has become much more limited with the return of Risette. She held my job before me, and has returned in a new capacity to begin the "outreach program" where we work with the wildlife clubs that the children have formed in their schools after attending Daktari. She stole my office computer - which is fine, because I don't really need it too much - but I have been less available. It is nice to have someone who understands the ins and outs of the job around, to answer the random questions that keep popping up.

This week we are back up to eleven volunteers, seven of whom are French. It is a bit tricky because my American accent can be difficult to understand, but usually the messages don't get too mixed up. We also have three long-term volunteers who are here through December, which is amazing because it means that they can become strong leaders for the group and help the newer volunteers find their way around before asking me. Overall things are running very smoothly!

We have nearly raised enough money to re-do the roofs! Because of the time constraints, Ian and Michele have purchased the materials and are beginning the construction even before we reach our total goal. Other volunteers have had families contribute separately, so we're nearly there, but we could still use a bit more money if there's anyone who was waiting to donate! Today was the first day of roof construction, and started out with clear and beautiful skies, perfect for climbing roofs. Right when they got back to work after lunch the wind picked up, and the sky darkened, and it is currently thunder and lightning and heavy heavy rain. After a quick check of my room (one substantial leak, a few more minor ones), I am very pleased that you all helped me raise the money to fix this problem. This rainstorm today is nothing compared to what will hit us when the rainy season arrives for real!

This weekend Daktari set up a booth at Hoedspruit's annual "Sustainable Living Festival." We spent three days (I was there Friday/Saturday) advertising Daktari and selling tickets to our raffle to raise money. We were raffling off one night at Makalali Private Game Lodge, which is the four-star lodge we work with. We raised a bunch of money and made a lot of new contacts, and were able to tell a lot of locals in Hoedspruit about the important work that we do. Here's a photo of me and Risette in our booth:

 

It was nice to get the weekend in town, we were able to go out to a proper dinner without dozens of people and kids (which is nice, don't get me wrong), and stay at one of Ian and Michele's friends' amazing house. A proper shower, a proper bed... you cannot underestimate the rejuvenating power of a night in a nice house when you live in the bush! The owners of the house also have the sweetest bushbaby, named Boris, who visited with us all night: 

I really need to look into getting a bushbaby when I get home. They are the softest, sweetest, most amazing animals ever. Oh! Speaking of which! Our very own bushbaby, Chico, just had twins! Their names are Pepita and Pepito, and while I haven't seen them with my own eyes yet, I think this picture tells the story:

 

Chico is still in the protective phase of new mommy-hood, so she only lets Michele in to see the babies. Soon, though, we should be able to go snuggle them! I can't wait! 

That's all the news from this end for now, I have to go find a replacement rain-activity for mini-golf as it is still dark skies and thunderstorms. I also should probably check that my room hasn't been washed away yet!

We're Famous

Woke up this morning to news that a piece Emily and I wrote while we were in Mangaung has just been published in the Bank Street Alumni Blog. By Monday we should be featured on the home page of the college's website, with a link to this blog. Pretty cool!

http://bankstreetcollege.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/report-from-south-africa/#more-1694

Also, we're still trying to raise money! We seem to have slowed down considerably, please pass the word! Thanks a lot for reading.

http://www.globalgiving.org/dy/fundraiser/prevfund/gg.html?regid=6298

Thanks!
Laura

Last Weekend #1

It has been another busy week at Daktari, and I've had a hard time fitting in time to update. Last weekend was very busy, and it was nice to get out of camp and do a bunch of different things. Saturday afternoon after our trip to town we headed towards Maholoholo to pick up Charlie, who was a volunteer there for two weeks after she left Daktari. Maholoholo is a huge game reserve that also has a rehabilitation center, where they take care of injured animals on a much larger scale than Daktari. They have lions, cheetahs, hyenas, wild dogs, and a huge assortment of birds. I will post about my tour at Maholoholo as my next post.

Greg, a friend of Ian and Michele, was our driver and tour guide for the weekend. "We" here refers to me and Andrea, the previously mentioned long-term volunteer who works in the office. With the constant revolving door of people in and out, we rely upon each other for consistent friendship. Anyway, Greg picked us up in town and took us towards Maholoholo, but we were early so we stopped at a restaurant/pub called The Upper Deck for a drink. As we were sitting and drinking, a woman came running in saying that there was a fire nearby that they weren't sure was intended (there are a lot of controlled burns, so sometimes it can be hard to tell). No one panicked, a few people went out to check it out, and then they came right back in. About five minutes later, someone else came in and let us know that it was an out-of-control fire heading our way. And STILL no one panicked. The general attitude was that there wasn't a lot anyone can do, and we'd get in our car and drive away if it got any closer. We went outside to look and saw the fire approaching, as the owner of the pub hosed down the perimeters of his property:

The fire did look pretty scary, although it ultimately didn't cross the hose-line: 

Unfortunately the properties behind the restaurant were unattended, and the fire jumped onto one of their thatched roofs: 

By this point all the neighbors were mobilizing, gathering barrels of water onto tractors and pick-ups. Once the thatch caught it was too late to save this house, but everyone went to work spraying the thatch on the house next door so it couldn't spread. They were lucky that the fire didn't jump across the road to either side, as there were some large houses, also with thatched roofs, just across the road. It was really interesting to see the community come together to fight this fire, as the municipal fire department was basically non-existent. We drove back the following day, after dropping Charlie at Maholoholo, and saw that the house had burned completely: 

Overall it was a scary experience, but everyone agreed that it could have been much worse. 

After I did the tour at Maholoholo and we picked up Charlie, we drove back to Daktari for dinner and to meet the new volunteers who had arrived (three new French and one American, for those keeping track). Sunday morning we woke up and ate breakfast, and then drove to a pub called The Trading Post to watch South Africa's first game of the Rugby World Cup.  South Africa narrowly defeated Wales, in a relatively entertaining game. I'm trying to get into rugby as a surrogate for the NFL season, but it's not quite working. I still missed home a lot when I realized it was opening sunday of the NFL and also the ten year anniversary of September 11, and I had no one around to understand!

Next we drove to the Blyde River Dam, which is a beautiful area surrounded by mountains where there is a large reservoir. Here's Charlie, Andrea and I in front of the mountains: 

We were able to take a short hike to a swimming hole with a waterfall, which apparently was very low because it hasn't rained in a few months. The water was FREEZING but it was beautiful and a lovely place for a picnic and relaxation away from camp: 

After such a lovely weekend it was time to head back to camp and brief all the new volunteers on the week to come. Being South Africa, though, the ride home was full of interesting things to look at. The first phenomenon that needs to be documented are the "farm taxis" that carry 25-30 people in the back of a truck on their way home from work: 

And this is on the highway. Greg was recently pulled over for not wearing his seatbelt - and was passed by a truck like this while he was being ticketed. It's a little bit ridiculous. 

And finally, on our way back into Daktari, we saw the saddest thing. Two giraffes, a male and a female, talking to each other from the opposite side of two fences. They apparently do this often, and it's pretty heartbreaking. It's an old male and a younger female, so of course we hypothesized that they are either father/daughter or star-crossed lovers:

Apparently they can be found there frequently, trying to communicate with each other. Of course this made me want to write yet another children's book. We decided that they would go enlist the help of some elephants, who would knock down trees and create a bridge so they could be together again. Maybe it will happen someday?

A Mongoosey Morning

First: Thanks so much to everyone who has donated so far! We're almost a third of the way there in less than a week! Ian and Michele can't believe how awesome my friends and family are (and I can barely believe it myself!) They've already begun making contact with workers who can come repair the roofs, and I'm hoping we can meet the goal. Thanks for all your donations and for sharing with your friends and family!

I wanted to share with you all an example of the type of minor crisis I have to deal with before breakfast. First, an introduction to our Mongooses. (Yes, mongooses is the plural of mongoose. I just looked it up.)

We have five mongooses: Leon, Weasel, Sidone, Mango, and Groove. They are super cute, and make very weird noises. They also bite your fingers off if you put them inside of their cage. When I arrived they were separated into two separate cages, with Sidone, Mango and Groove on one side and Leon and Weasel on the other. Weasel is the most tame of the mongooses, and the others beat up on him. Leon has some type of mental issue and constantly rotates in circles, and always to the left. It's really amusing to watch. Here are some glamour shots of the babes, sorry for the wire in the way but I was not risking my life to take the photos:

Last week builders finished a brand new giant enclosure for the mongooses, generously donated by the Brigitte Bardot foundation. We moved them into their new home, and tried keeping all five together, hoping that with more space they wouldn't fight. They've been in there for about a week with no troubles.

This morning as one of the volunteers went to clean their cages, he noticed that Weasel wasn't moving. He asked me to come over and have a look, and I noticed that his back foot was seriously hurt. He's missing at least two toes. He was walking ok, but clearly had been attacked during the night by his cage-mates. Here are some photos of poor Weasel:

 All of our cages can close into at least one smaller compartment by the use of sliding doors in the middle attached to ropes. This way we can close the animals into one side while we clean the other, then let them through. The new mongoose cage has three compartments, so we shut weasel into one of them, and let the other four stay in the two smaller compartments.

When we were about to open up one side of the compartment (with the four mongooses safely on the other) they came running through. They had burrowed a hole through the sand under the door, and now could get from one side to the other. So we sent Jacob (one of the staff) bravely in with gloves and closed shoes to put bricks under the door. From there, we were able to close them off properly, and clean the cage.

Last thing to do was to pick Weasel up (carefully), spray his foot with bright blue antibiotic spray (carefully), and move him into their old cage where he can spend some time alone to heal. We already have Princess Maya in half of the cages, so Weasel is getting the other half. I'm praying that they will become friends through the gate and we will be able to put them in together, because if that is not (another) children's book waiting to happen I don't know what is!

It's dinner time now so off I go, but I have taken a lot more photos that I want to share when I have time. Please spread the word about the roofs, and thanks so much for reading!