A morning in the African Bush
The alarm clock goes off and I'm searching desperately for it in the dark, it is only 4am and I really don't want to get up...other alarms are also going off all around me and I drag myself out of bed to get ready with the other volunteers. After breakfast we climb into the vehicle to search for Thika, a collared lioness.(Panthera leo)
It is still dark outside as we leave camp, and I am still feeling sleepy. Suddenly Grace stops the vehicle, there is a spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) in front of us! It is the first hyaena we have seen since we arrived here, they are rarely seen on the reserve. We get to watch the hyaena for a few minutes as it walks past us before disappearing into the bush. Suddenly we are all wide awake and chatting excitedly about what we have just seen!
The hyaena sighting woke me up and I start looking around, realizing that the sun is coming up. It is one of my first sunrises here in South Africa and it is beautiful. The sunsets here are very dramatic with red and orange colours painting the sky but sunrise is very gentle and calming with the sky becoming light pink and blue. I feel very calm and I get a warm feeling inside my heart and it spreads to the rest of my body, I just know that this is going to be a great day and I am so happy I decided to come to South Africa and volunteer with GVI
As the day unfolded we found Thika laying under a bush relaxing ( I have no idea how Grace managed to spot her), a black backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) came to drink from a water hole close to Thika, and we saw an African wild cat, (Felis silvestris lybica), which is rarely seen, in addition to many different birds and antelope.
This was one of our better days in the bush, we have had days were it seems like all the animals are hiding, but that is what makes the African bush so exciting; you never know what you might see next.
Ann-Catherin Evensen, volunteer, Norway
It is still dark outside as we leave camp, and I am still feeling sleepy. Suddenly Grace stops the vehicle, there is a spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) in front of us! It is the first hyaena we have seen since we arrived here, they are rarely seen on the reserve. We get to watch the hyaena for a few minutes as it walks past us before disappearing into the bush. Suddenly we are all wide awake and chatting excitedly about what we have just seen!
The hyaena sighting woke me up and I start looking around, realizing that the sun is coming up. It is one of my first sunrises here in South Africa and it is beautiful. The sunsets here are very dramatic with red and orange colours painting the sky but sunrise is very gentle and calming with the sky becoming light pink and blue. I feel very calm and I get a warm feeling inside my heart and it spreads to the rest of my body, I just know that this is going to be a great day and I am so happy I decided to come to South Africa and volunteer with GVI
As the day unfolded we found Thika laying under a bush relaxing ( I have no idea how Grace managed to spot her), a black backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) came to drink from a water hole close to Thika, and we saw an African wild cat, (Felis silvestris lybica), which is rarely seen, in addition to many different birds and antelope.
This was one of our better days in the bush, we have had days were it seems like all the animals are hiding, but that is what makes the African bush so exciting; you never know what you might see next.
Ann-Catherin Evensen, volunteer, Norway
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