Research Amidst Beauty

As we got out of the truck outside our mountain home for the week we all turned around and with a collective smile looked at our view- it was incredible! You can see out either side of the Mariepskop mountain range and the panorama is stunning! The cottage itself is very cute and cosy, and (with what was now a novelty to us) hot water and electricity! During our mountain week the main aim was to collect research data on small mammals from 3 different sites. Our sites were cut pine, high altitude grassland, and the fynbos (which means fine grass), which was at the very top of the mountain range- about 1,800m high. At each site we had 20 humane Sherman traps arranged over 2 lines, and we checked them every morning and evening to see what we’d caught and collect data. Our conservation study was centred on studying the biodiversity of different species returning to natural environments after the land had been reclaimed from agricultural use.

Over the week we caught mainly striped field mice, which were gorgeous, and a few shrews, which were slightly less gorgeous- and slightly smellier! It wasn’t all work though, one morning we also went for a 5 hr mountain hike around the edge of one of the peaks of the mountain, and were walking literally on the very edge of the mountain, with huge drops around every corner. It definitely got the adrenaline going, and the views were unbelievable. The bush itself almost felt subtropical, with creepers and vines covering everything, and huge black millipedes with bright red legs popping up everywhere! Without doubt though the 2 highlights of my week were when we went swimming in the waterhole (with its ‘harder-than-it-looks’ rope swing), and our sundowners, where we watched the sun go down over the mountains from a hidden rock ledge right on the tip on the mountains overlooking the Blyde River Reservoir and the entire mountain range. They were definitely moments I will never forget- and not just because of the thousands of photos I took!

Madeleine Wass, Volunteer, UK

Research Amidst Beauty