A Volunteer's perspective - Rosie Wilkes
It has been three weeks since we arrived
from Venetia camp to Karongwe; joined by five new volunteers and such a lot has
happened! We are a mixed group from across the globe (USA, UK, Australia, Switzerland,
Spain, The Netherlands, Germany and France), and are getting along famously;
especially after bonding over home-brewed beverages! So far we have seen so
much wildlife here in Karongwe and are enjoying it immensely. We have been
tracking the resident lion pride and had awesome sightings of them stalking
prey, on a kill, chasing giraffe and getting amorous. There is nothing quite
like hearing a full grown male lion roar right next to your vehicle (or while
asleep in your bed for that matter). The other main focus animals are the male
cheetah coalition, Jabu and Djuma, who we have been lucky enough to get very
close to as we can walk into the bush near to them, guided by our reliable rifle
slinging South African; Dawie (pronounced “Dar-Vee”)!
By far the most entertaining animals for me
have been the local clan of spotted hyena who are always up to no good. One
morning, the lucky Marga (from the Netherlands) actually found one helping
itself to our leftovers in the kitchen around 5am, just after we’d left for
morning drive! They have also been seen sloping around the camp at night and we
had a very close encounter during a sleep out under the stars in a nearby river
bed. It was a fantastic evening made further memorable by various hyenas
visiting us twice during the night. For most of us, the first we knew of their
visit was loud shouts and swearing from those who were on watch duty!
I would say that we have been very lucky
with our sightings of wildlife; having seen a few of that very elusive creature
the leopard, brown hyena, the endangered ground hornbill, three badass honey
badgers, a wildcat with kitten and a porcupine. I’ll never forget how Dawie was
just telling us how he’d never heard a giraffe before as it is such a rare
occurrence, and lo and behold one of the giraffe herd in front of us proceeded
to utter their strange cough-like vocalisation! Besides these rarities, the
more common wildlife is just as entertaining. There is now an abundance of insects
after the rains, with hilarious consequences during mealtimes by lantern light.
You are guaranteed the odd scream as they land in your food or hair, and don’t
get me started on the menace that is alcoholic moths! The herds of impala with
their newborn lambs is also a treat to see when they are practicing their
jumping skills, and so far I have been subjected to threatening displays from a
cute baby elephant and a baby hippo. Somehow I don’t think that “Awwww” was the
reaction they wanted!
As well as all the wildlife sightings, our
time here would not be as enjoyable without the GVI staff that do their utmost
to keep the rabble entertained. We have had some awesome outings, including
Khamai Reptile Park where I got to feed a chameleon from my mouth (and got
attacked by two bad tempered blue and gold macaws), to a local school at
Diputhi where we got “attacked” by small and very excitable children, and also
Daktari; the animal orphanage and education centre where we were also attacked
(nibbled) by their hand reared squirrels! So much fun to be had!
Above all I think it’s safe to say that we
have all had lots of laughs here too. From Kaggie’s remarkable impressions of
the Hadeda Ibis (you have to YouTube it!), to the not so remarkable impressions
of roaring lions, from myself and Laura from Leeds, there has been an abundance
of animal noises. Then there has been the universal love felt for our man from
the Basque country, Pedro! I think by now we have all become a bit too
comfortable with each other as passing of wind is a common occurrence, much to
the hilarity of (not always) the younger members of the group! There is so much
to write about, but I shall hopefully be contributing again soon following to
my exciting trip to the mountains, where capturing small mammals and “frogging”
is a regular occurrence…
Rosie Wilkes
Volunteer Nov – Dec 2011
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