Day off at bird hide makes for spectacular viewing!!

What to do on a day off.........Friday 21st August 2009

Relaxing would be the first thought when offered a day off here at GVI Base: Venetia, breaking from the research drives that take place every day. However, it could mean spending a day at the Manoutswa bird hide in the Mapungubwe National Park, taking in the sights, sounds and sometimes smells of the huge variety of wildlife that collect daily around this mini oasis.

So it was.........under the expert guidance of Jon (GVI staff member), five Venetia volunteers, Anna, Matt, Glyn, Luca and myself decided that they hadn’t seen enough wildlife. They chose not to do the weekly “town trip” at Musina or mull around camp. Instead, they packed the usual tuna and cheese sandwiches and set out to “relax”.

To say you are within touching distance of zebra (Equus burchelli), impala (Aepyceros melampus), kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), baboon (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) and the ever comical warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) being ridden, jockey style by red billed oxpeckers (Buphagus erythrorhyncyus), would be an understatement, but what these keen conservationists really wanted to see close-up were elephants (Loxodonta africana)...........and eventually, they turned up in amazing style!

Between viewings Jon took us on a mini safari around the surrounding area, where we saw banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), bush-buck (Tragelaphus scriptus), some beautiful trees and even more elephants
So the next time you get offered a day off, grab the opportunity to explore, whether it be at home or in distance lands.....time is precious!!

Donald Bird, Volunteer, UK

Day off at bird hide makes for spectacular viewing!!