Bad blogger is B-A-D

like wow... what has it been? Nearly a year now?

Granted the Natta is currently in America doing the Kentucky thing but still...I should do a post on that before I go a-travelling around the US of A.

Anyway, I am bored and procrastinating (what's new?) hence the most useless post ever.

I will try write something worthwhile up soon!

240kms in 2 weeks... hell yeah

African sunrise...istant cue for: NAAAAAAAAAA

Day 1

My car nearly died. Seriously. Poor little Getz was forced into finding her inner 4x4 spirit while conquering corrugated (valleyed) roads layered with evil rocks with an interior full of people and luggage. It was rather stressful. (Note to self: make sure you’re on the insurance for dad’s big car before next grand adventure). Anyway, five hours after leaving Durban (I drive slowly to save petrol ok?) we get to Mkhuze for the game census. Rest of the day was spent finding out what will be plotting over the next two weeks, claiming beds and meeting fellow minions. 

Happiness is mud

Day 2

8km transect of up-down rocky terrain to start. Found out I was a lot fitter than I thought I was and it made me want to start hiking more often. Mountains, I want to see mountains again Gandalf [/geekism]. Not much game save for nyala, a red duiker and a grey one and a buffalo. Though apparently elephants climb mountains as seen from the giant poo piles and pushed over trees. I would’ve loved to have seen that.

Talk around camp fire was highlighted by the naming of the semi-tameish genet. First named Brakkies by the Afrikaaner, but then countered with the more dignified suggestions of Cecil and Francois by the Englishman. Much laughter ensued.

Brakkies...or Cecil....or Francois

Day 3

Turns out I sleep like the dead. Bushbabies  Galagos, hyenas and wildebeest all failed to rouse me.

Boredom nearly killed us on the transects in the link property. It was longish, flat and all we saw were pelicans and  a whole lot of cows…and a dead reedbuck. Loverly.

Waiting for the lift after we finished made up for it because it was hilarious. So, we ended up at this huge tree with a shack next to it.

So we sit down and we see this guy walking in the reserve link property thing with these two knobkerrie-type things which aren’t allowed in the park. After he sees the ranger he promptly saunters to the nearest bush and throws them in, in full view of everyone, because he was so inconspicuous like that. Then he continues walking while doing these random air punch-combined-with-dance-steps moves. Our ranger tries to call him over but gets ignored like five times. Eventually this guy (obviously drunk or high or both) comes over and our ranger starts interrogating him in English, then switches to Zulu, then back to English – with no comprehension dawning in this guy’s mind. This goes on for a long time, with my friend and I trying our utmost not to can ourselves laughing. Anyway, the guy eventually gets the point that these knobkerries are not allowed in the park and runs off skipping after our ranger tells him to go find his leader/chief/nduna.

The funny didn’t end there however. Our ranger thereafter decided to trundle off with some new lady friends. My friend and I are left sitting on this tree with these two randoms and a (very unhappy) cow. We tried to cease to exist while the two of them try to figure out how to get the cow across the cattle grid (bearing in mind that there are several long sheets of corrugated iron lying on the floor). After like 20 minutes they worked out that using one of these sheets would be a good way to solve their problem if they put it over the grid.

Once this eureka moment was put in place, they started herding the cow towards the gate. At one point the cow was literally yanked off its feet as they intelligently tied the rope around its leg. We thought it was dead as it didn’t move despite several attempts by these guys to get it on its feet…until it got a kick in the head (not a hard one). It got up after that and the rest of the crossing went smoothly.

Then, when we eventually got picked up and were driving back to camp we came across these two again. Our ranger got out and started questioning them as you’re not allowed to bring cattle into the park without first consulting the head office. The punishment ended up being 20 push-ups, which made the guy very unhappy while entertaining the rest of us.

Just LOL

Day 4

Walking felt like forever today! Was about 7.5kms per transect plus quite a bit of walking between but at least we saw stuff! YAY! Granted it was the standard impala, nyala, wildebeest and zebra story but among those were a few warthogs, red duiker and suni.

Our ranger doing some pondering

Day 5

PAYDAY! Well, not for us since we’re getting paid with food, but all the rangers got paid and went home so no walking for us. We decided to kill my car some more  do a game drive. Didn’t see much until we got to the Nsumo Pan where we saw hippo and were very entertained by an egret landing on the popping up hippo heads and sinking with the hippo when they decided to submerge again. Drive back to camp was more successful but no super cool stuff.

Funny egret on a hippo

Day 6

Best transects! Both were long (around 8kms) but flat so it was easy enough. Actual transects didn’t provide the best-transects award but we had lunch at the Masinga hide which was amazing. It was like the whole Serengeti piled in around one watering hole. So many animals and so many photos were taken. It made me a happy person.

Zebra reflection

Day 7

Hell transects were hellish. Not only were the transects long themselves (~9kms each) but you had to walk so far to get to and from them and the car as well as between them. Easily a +25km day. Meh. I did feel rather accomplished after conquering the physical and mental drain. Only redeeming points were the stunning views at the beginning of the second transect, you could see for seemingly endless miles of bush. It was close to mind-numbing but alas, it was a sense that was dulled by the walk ahead.  

Also saw a hyena which was the only predator I saw in the whole two weeks. Sad Natta is sad at this fact.

I will nap....here

Day 8

Rest day comprising of a shopping trip to the bustling metropolis of Mkhuze and meeting the new peoples.

Impressive tusks are impressive

Day 9

Really dull. Saw ‘nothing’. 8.2km and 2 sightings….greaaaaat.

Look how little it is AWWW

Day 10

Hide transects again yay! Hide was open to visitors again (it was being renovated last time) so had to deal with other peoples including annoying toddler who would. Not. Shut. Up. Gosh, at a hide you should be silent and if your kids don’t know the meaning of the word shush then don’t bring them along. Really, consideration for others, people. It’s not that hard.

Not as many animals but I did end up having a discussion about conservation and park management (in hushed tones when all the animals left) with this random guy which was very interesting. He also saw cheetahs…twice…not fair.

Like a boss

Day 11

Quick day today, finished the 20 odd kms by 12:30. Nice walks too despite the rockiness. Saw 6 rhinos (only white unfortunately). I even managed to spot a mommy and baby that the ranger walked straight past. Kudos to me! There was also a carcass of a rhino killed by poachers (via a snare) which I smelt like a kilometre away and it made me both depressed and really angry.

That's what the giraffe thought of me taking photos

Day 12

Short transects! Seriously first one was 700m through this stunning fig forest. Big, mind-numbingly wow trees. Sadly half the transect was infested with chromelina and there were no elephants. Other transect was 4km but felt like 20 because the ranger walked so slowly.

Big tree is big

Day 13

Another easy day, more painfully slow walking but we managed to speed up on the second transect. Again, nothing super special in the way of sightings.

More cuteness

Day 14

Uuuugh….so much driving to Makhasa and then sooo much walking in sand at a speedy gonzalez pace. Legs were rather unhappy at the end of it. And we saw nothing of great interest…

Wallowing party

Day 15

Leaving day. Yeah, despite the whining above I really loved the two weeks. Got good experience, learnt a lot, found new friends and opened up some new opportunities for the future. Also, the bush just has that ability to make me happy. I miss it already.

On an exciting note: my friend can organise for me to go out and see wild dogs!!!!! YAY for having 

 connections.

And I am out…until next time. 

Somewhat less than enamoured…

Young kudu with the most amusing expression ever

I won’t lie, Kruger was a bit of a let-down after all the hype of going. That may have been part of the problem but still, I can’t say I left with the sense of wonder that usually accompanies my bush escapes. Yes, we saw lots of the standards: impala, elephants, rhino, warthog, zebra etc. The stand out sighting was a leopard casually lounging on a branch just 10m from the road. And, as usual, we kept missing the wild dogs. Seriously, we choose one road to get from A to B, they are on the other. Clearly I need to clone myself and drive all the roads! 

Traffic...African style

A major downer on the whole trip was our stay in Pretoriuskop Camp. My mom specifically booked it because that’s the area where wild dogs are often seen…except when I’m there. The service was shocking. The lady at the office looked like she could think of a million things she’d rather be doing and couldn’t care less about the issues at hand. My hand itched to connect with her face and I’m very glad my mom dealt with her. Also, the units were organised with a shared kitchen, but guess what? There was nothing. No plates, no cups, no cutlery. Nothing. And when we got to the office to ask about this all we got in response was: Sorry, there are no plates. Seriously? Ser-i-ous-ly? This is one of the premier parks in the country and they can’t cater for the basics or be even remotely helpful? And the restaurant was also rather terrible. Not impressed and that camp is definitely not getting my business again. 

Ours, ours, all ours!

The view from our house...I could get used to it

The last place we stayed at was amazing however. It was a huge house at the Skukuza Camp, divided up into five rooms (from what I recall) that each slept two people with a large kitchen and eating area, that overlooked the river. Really was fantastic and I’ll definitely try muster up a whole bunch of people and go road trip there. One day… 

We had a visitor :)

Went on a night drive as well. Watched an awesome red moon rise like on the Kalahari. Didn't see much in the way of predators but I saw my first bushbaby. Those things can move FAST for such little critters!

New type of camouflage for cars...I dunno, it amused me

Another thing I learnt on this trip is that early morning drives are possibly not worth the early wake-up. Can't say we saw anything remarkably interesting during these drives... but, since I was only there for 3 days I was going to get the most out of it.

Science can be rather inglorious

So tomorrow I will probably lose the last bits of this thing called a 'life'... Ok, so I didn't have much of one before (I'm not a very going-out-type-person) but yeah. Anyway.

Tomorrow I start doing two Honours modules on top of running my project...Kill. Me. Now. My project is already taking up so much of my time during the day. I'm up at the farm before 7, collect the seeds in my plots, (go ride, ok not part of Honours but it keeps the fragments of my sanity in tact), get home separate husks from seeds (so much of inglorious science here, at least I have audio books so its not completely boring), weigh them all out and put it into a spread sheet. Then I get to do all that again, minus the riding, at 5. Now, on top of that, I have to read papers to present to class every week, write a 5000 odd word essay (I can be a very slow writer omg, just hope I get one of the topics I want), do a mini group project and prepare a panel discussion (with "invited experts" yickes). And I have not got the breakdown of the second module. AHHHHELP.

And you know the worst thing, the one module we could've done in an earlier slot because there are only two of us doing it and both of us are doubling up now and feeling somewhat stressed. Oh well, at least the course may be a bit more lenient because it's just the two of us....I can hope right?

But Optimism Girl will survive...if somewhat less sane than before (if that is possible)

Things to look forward to:

1.) Kruger (KRUUUUUUGERRRR) in 2 weeks with the fambambly from Canada
2.) Top Gear Festival OMFG
3.) Going to work in the bush for 2 weeks, counting animals and possibly getting paid YAY
4.) Having lessons on my new horse who is slowly starting to come into himself DOUBLE YAY

um...yeah, so until the Kruger Edition, adios!

Late post is late

...as in this should've been written and posted last year >_>

The oldest reserve in South Africa lies up in the northernish regions of KZN and it is a place that never fails to disappoint and remains one of my favourite places to go. 

Everyone is in such hype over Kruger they forget that you can get the same experience, minus the unpleasantries of flocks of tourists and the resulting traffic jams, at the large gem called Hluhluwe-Imfolozi. While Kruger is awesome (and I'm totally stoked to be heading there in May), I would still take Hluhluwe-Imfolozi over it anyday (even though we always seem to bring the rain). The evocative rolling hills and meandering rivers of the park just tick all the right boxes. This is where I feel alive, where my heart is content and my spirit soars. I look out across the old hunting grounds of Dingiswayo and Shaka and I can feel the music of Africa fill my veins. It is in the wilderness where you can forget the corruption and the hate and all those other seemingly petty troubles we live with day by day. Oh! To be able to spend every day in nature's embrace.

This trip definitely didn’t disappoint. Almost as soon as we drove in we came across a pack of lions at a kudu kill. Must’ve just missed the actual chase (as usual) as the lions were all panting and lounging in that exhausted state after a hard day’s work. It was a fairly large pride, probably about 10-15 individuals. The lion-luck continued and we saw them every day, though it was probably the same pride as all the sightings were within the same region as the first day’s sighting. 

 The trip also provided some uh…excitement in the form of being chased by a rhino. Thankfully dad was skilled enough to get the car in reverse quickly as I don’t think that the bull-bar would’ve been of much assistance against a ton of angry, testosterone-filled rhino. It was a male with a female and calf nearby so I assumed it was on rut or something. 

On the topic of rhinos, by George there were a lot, we started treating them like impala eventually! Oh another rhino, and another one, oh look! There’s two more aaaaaaaaaand another one. It was great to see so many with all the depressing news of the increasing poaching numbers due to people being complete and utter morons (yup, that’s a post for another day). I still love rhinos, perhaps one day I shall do some research on them since my supervisor is also a rhino person, who knows right? Though wild dogs are still top of my research list.

We also saw quite a few hyenas, they are remarkably adorable in their odd appearance. 

The other special treat was seeing cheetahs. I am a huge big cat lover (and pretty much any carnivore….or animal), they just have such a mesmerising quality about them. This was a family of five, mother and four (grown-up) cubs. We think it may be the same family we saw a year ago just all grown up. If it is though, it means the mom lost one of her babies :( But 4/5 reaching adulthood is still really good! Apparently this is a super-mom, even Adrian remarked about her when I spoke to him about it last year. 

 

Other than that it was fairly standard game viewing with plenty of impala, huge herds of buffalo, kudu, zebras (though I got some awesome photos of two fighting), warthogs, wildebeest, nyala, waterbuck, giraffe (including a baby that had already come in close contact with a predator but luckily got away) and birds galore. Oh and there was this awesome colour-changing tree frog that amused me during lunch.  

So yes, overall a good trip and can’t wait to go back!

(also WOOO a post!)

Bad blogger is bad

Gosh, aren't I the worst?

I have 3 posts in various states of completion but just haven't got around to finishing them off. This weekend I shall finish one, promise (to whoever cares).

Anyway, I've moved to PMB permanently while doing my Honours. Switched to doing Ecological Sciences instead of Zoology in the hopes that there will be more job opportunities when I go out into the big bad real world. Whenever that happens, at the rate I'm going I may end up being a permanent indecisive student. Fail.

Honours seems like it will be pretty cool if I completely ignore this first module which has like halved my IQ with its silliness (biol200 allll over again). The cool modules to come are Rangeland Ecology: Plant/Animal Interactions,  Topics in Evolutionary Biology, Conservation Ecology and Terrestrial African Vertebrate Zoology. Can't wait for those.

Also, it's so awesome, I get to see wildlife almost every day because the stables where I keep my new horse border Bisley Nature Reserve. YAY giraffes and zebras and impalas! Will be interesting once I get Kiwi on outrides in the reserve.

Aaand I will now end the lamest blog post ever and hopefully construct a better one over the weekend.

Toodles

The bread of the Kgalagadi trip

(ie. the there and back again stop overs)

I really should write down stuff as I go... I probably had a lot more to say about these places, but my mind forgets stuff... often... 

Clarens – Courtyard B&B

Ah…Clarens, a lovely little town in the Drakensberg. Planning on going again in the spring for the cherry festival, not to mention all the other fruit trees that will be in bloom. I have memories of when it was just a lovely little town, now it’s a tourist orientated lovely little town, filled with shops selling all sorts of things and galleries. Best shop? The cherry one. CHERRIES! Love them. Oh and the rock shop, I have an obsession with rocks…if I wasn’t such a biologist at heart I probably would’ve done geology (though, looking at my friends who do geology…bio was the better option!). Also the galleries are kinda depressing, seeing how much people sell their works for (I mean, R8000 for a simple outline in watercolour? Seriously?) makes me jealous. Wish I could sell my stuff for that, would solve many problems. Anyways, we stayed at the Courtyard B&B and it was lovely. The owner was very friendly and made us feel right at home. Whole place was well kept and nicely decorated, super comfy beds (with electric blankets for us coastal wooses) and the breakfast was delicious. Though, I was a blonde and ordered an omelette and was unimpressed when it came with mushrooms. I h-a-t-e mushrooms. Had to swop with mom. (Note to self: Omelettes come with mushrooms by definition).

All in all, if you're in the area, make sure to stop by! 

Kimberly – Jungnickel Guesthouse

A funny town. I’m not sure why but that was the impression I left with. The city is a juxtaposition of architecture; from the frontier-type buildings surrounding the Big Hole, to the Victorian style buildings and right on to modern buildings. We ate supper at the Halfway House, fab atmosphere and great food (mmmm steeeeeeak). We stayed in a guesthouse, was decent enough, but I admit had nothing on the other places we stayed in. Decoration was a tad...tacky, for lack of a better word, and not quite my cup of tea. Me and the parents stayed in the honeymoon suite, which had 3 beds, we still aren't quite sure why. Though the light switched were those long chord ones that hang from the ceiling which were pretty cool. Also, breakfast seemed to be prepared at like 7am and wasn't quite fresh by the time we got to that table...and they were playing Christmas carols... in July... yeah.

We popped into the McGregor Museum. Its collections are housed in a lovely old building, I wanted to steal the staircase... not sure what I’d have done with it after stealing it but... The bottom floor has a zoological component as well as displays showing hominid evolution and the major discoveries in South Africa. These exhibits lead on to modern history, giving details of the interactions between the different races of South Africa and the establishment of towns etc. There is also a military exhibit upstairs as well as reconstructions of Cecil Rhodes's room from when the building was a hotel and a reconstructed classroom from when it was a school.

Yeah, the Big Hole is well, big

The main attraction was naturally the Big Hole and the open air museum around it which we visited the following morning. It was really like stepping back into the early 1900s when it was a bustling mining town, all the place needed was people dressed up in period clothing to complete the picture. It was from this area that the city sprouted as a result of the diamonds (the 'Star of South Africa' and 'Eureka' are the two best known diamonds from Kimberly) found in the region, the mining resulting in the creation of the now-famous Big Hole. Many of the buildings in the museum preserve the appearances from the bygone era and allow you to follow in the footsteps of miners and contractors, including the famous Cecil Rhodes whose company monopolised the world's diamond market. The 'Eureka' diamond as well as a host of other diamond-related exhibits, and an opportunity to walk through some of the mining tunnels also make up the Big Hole experience. Oh! The only tram in South Africa (possibly all of Africa?) is still running in Kimberly...though it is only a single track but...tram! Trams are awesome, wish we had them in Durban. 

Old town!

Northern Cape roads

I didn't realise South Africa was so flat. Seriously, I've grown up in Durban and most of my previous travels didn't go beyond the escarpment so I'm used to hilly terrain. Now all of a sudden it's just flat, horizon to horizon filled with shrubby grassland, the road under the clear blue sky only vanishing from sight due to the sheer distance. It was empty save for scattered farm houses and occasional herds of cows (I amused myself by shouting COWS! every time and giving parents a fright...yeah, hours on straight roads do that to your sanity). Ha, I say that, yet there was a mesmerising quality to this vast emptiness. Most of the population leads cluttered lives in cluttered cities, so this was foreign, exciting...slightly terrifying. You forget that places like this still exist in the world. 

Also, Orange River Wine cellars. Go wine tasting there, the guys were so friendly and the wine itself is really good. There was a genuine feel about the whole place. We even got taken to the storehouse places (whatever they're called) and were served wine right out the barrels! Nice. When you go to the vineyards around Stellenbosch it's all very commercialised and the people working there look and act as if they'd rather whack you over the head with the bottle than anything. 

(Oh and my dad didn't walk on the path and sunk into mud... it was hilarious)

Somewhere outside Groblershoop – Slypsteen Gasteplaas

Me admiring the view from just outside my chalet :)

Honestly, best place we stayed, hands down. All five of us agreed. I would recommend this place to anyone wanting to get away from everything. It's an absolutely beautiful setting overlooking the Orange River valley vineyards and, for what you get, incredibly affordable. The sunset was amazing, the moonrise unforgettable. The owner was very friendly and hospitable, spending time talking to us and making the whole stay a wonderful experience. And the food.. Oh. My. God… the food. Wow. For supper we had biltong soup for starters, then kudu pie, delicious sweet cinnamon-spice pumpkin, salad and some amazing chicken and then some rich chocolate brownie-type thing for desert. Breakfast was equally amazing with a variety of dishes, from an egg salad thing to skewers of sausage and bacon. Yum yum yum! 

If I could, I would go there again and again... such a pity it's so far from Durbs

Augrabies

Augrabies Waterfall

The Gorge with hyraxes/dassies in the foreground

The name means ‘place of great noise’ and that it is. Here the Orange River is channelled into the 18km Orange River Gorge via the falls. It is rumoured that there is a rich bed of diamonds at the bottom, and many have lost their lives in attempts to gain wealth… though really, you must be insane to think you could survive. The sheer volume of water that tumbles down 56m the Augrabies Waterfall is mind numbing. I just stood on one of the remaining platforms (many were damaged by the floods earlier this year and haven’t been rebuilt yet) and stared in awe. Despite visiting before (not sure it counts since I was 7) I was moved deeply by the sight. It was just so… overwhelmingly beautiful. Definitely not an experience I will easily forget.

On the cuteness side: baby hyraxes. EEEEEEEEEEEE I want one. 

Beware: Cuteness overload

[The Kgalagadi]

Kuruman – Die Mynhuis Gastehuis

After (somewhat, actually, very reluctantly) leaving the red sands of the Kgalagadi behind, getting rather upset at the number of dead animals along the road and driving along another straight, seemingly endless road and passing through an assortment of completely random but adorable little towns in which we stopped to have a drink at the slightly dodgy bar as an excuse to use the bathroom because there were no other options, we finally arrived in Kuruman. It is often called the ‘Oasis of the Kalahari’ and is one of the main towns in the region. One of the main attractions is the Eye of Kuruman (or in Afrikaans, Die Oog), a natural spring that delivers 20 million litres of freshwater daily in a generally waterless land. The lady at the Mynhuis said the Eye had gone downhill appearance wise and wasn’t well kept so we didn’t go see it. However what we saw of it from behind the fence didn’t look all that bad. Kuruman is also home to the Moffat Mission (no, I didn’t find God as the entrance board said) where the Moffat Church still stands and from where Livingstone started his travels into the heart of Africa and met and proposed to his wife (who is not a very pretty face, but yeah).

Die Mynhuis was very nice (as you'd expect from a four star B&B), food was also top notch (can you tell food is important for me? lol). Also, I got to sleep in a loft room, something I've always wanted!

Some part of the Moffat Mission

The random but adorable little towns

Were just that, random and adorable. Old architectural gems stood amidst the growing low-cost-housing-type buildings. The people seemed to live an awesome life, very few were fenced like we fence in the big cities, some even stood open to world. It was strange to see but instantly created a root of desire. Why is it impossible to feel that safe back home? Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t live in a house surrounded by electric fences (the only reason we have a 2m fence is to keep our dogs in, damned escape artists) with the latest in high security systems etc., I don’t drive or walk warily eyeing ever black face I come across… It’s not that I’m naïve or ignorant of what goes on out there, hell, our house has been broken into twice, I just don’t like living life in a state of constant fear. Maybe I prefer to believe in the good in people. Anyway, back to the point, reasons for such high security: overpopulation & greed. If people would stop breeding like rabbits the world would be a much better place…there I said it and I’ll probably say it again. On numerous occasions. 

The R34

Avoid if at all possible. The signs said beware of potholes… the drive turned out to be a game of dodge the craters and oncoming vehicles on a very very narrow road… Strangely fun yet terrifying, it does give you an opportunity to test your car’s handling.

Somewhere outside Senekal – Biddulphsberg Mountain Resort

More long, straight roads including the R34 led us to our final stay at the Biddulphsberg Mountain Resort, essentially an old farm house. Yes, it instantly awakened my dream of living out on a farm one day. It’s a great pity that the house was so rundown, not that it was falling apart but it looked more like a place the owner stored all sorts of unwanted furniture. The main house could easily sleep like 15 people so it’d be a great get-away with a bunch of friends. The Resort also offers some game viewing opportunities and a walking trail. There was a rather odd forest thing near the house that had like an open air church thing, benches and some other fairly odd concrete objects. It was rather spooky going out into the darkness to try find this animal with a strange bark-like call (I know it’s something unexpected, like I’ve heard the call before and was told what it was and remember being like what? No way it can’t be a ________, seriously?) and then coming across these weird objects in the forest. The sky was breathtaking again yet for some reason lacked something when compared to what I’d seen in the Kgalagadi, yeah, doesn’t make much sense...

The Old Farmhouse (I want one)

And cookies to those who read all that