Second Week: July 13 th -19 th 2009

Our week was started off with a first aid course and an introduction to how things operate here at Bushwise. Reptiles were our first subject being covered, Steve is very happy about that! Some of us also made drawings for Jonny and Anja. Steph was our amazing teacher. We also did some amazing game drives seeing rhino, elephants and a lot of birds! We were able to relax and celebrate Chris’s birthday on Saturday and then out for a fun night on the town.. Sunday we had a great time while some played football, but there were even more injuries! It was a great week mixed with education and fun!

Third Week: July 20 th -26 th 2009

Week three had followed the trend of last week, lots of education dazzled with a chunk of fun. We were given a cultured lesson about the reptiles at Khamai Reptile Park by Chris. To much of our surprise we were able to handle a few specimens including a puff adder, golden baboon spider, and sun gazers. Students’ were given the opportunity to drive the 4 wheel drives around Makalali. Interesting sights include leopard cubs, elephants running at full stride, and a buffalo. On Thursday the two teams competed in survival techniques, including navigation, food gathering, fire and rope making. Needless to say there is a fair bit of room for improvement. Friday we were given the day off to study for our first test, reptiles. Everyone put in the hard yards, and was rewarded for doing so. Steve celebrated his 22 nd birthday with a sleep out under the stars, which was apparently there was a few ice crystals on the sleeping bag the next morning. Oh yeah the injuries list continues, maybe football was not a good idea.

Fourth week: July 26 th – Aug 2 th 2009

We started the week with VPDA (Viewing Potentially Dangerous Game) on Monday, before doing a full day of game drives on Tuesday. Everybody loves game drives so a full day of it is a blessing to us all. More class on Wednesday but the height of the week was by far Thursday game drive in the morning. Had an AWESOME sighting of Leopard, first eating in a tree, then collecting her 3 cubs to join her, before 2 hyenas’ came to the party and tried to catch the cubs! This was followed by a stand-off between mom and hyaenas! It was an epic sighting, and we all left there with huge grins on our faces. Later we did gardening which ended up being a mud fight and we all had a good time. Friday was a study day, as we had an exam on Saturday, in Game drive procedures, survival, navigation, radio, ethics and communication. Most of us left the camp straight after the exams, as we now had our first week off, with people heading to Mozambique and the East Coast.

Fifth week: Week off!

Every 4 weeks, we have 1 week off and this week was our first one. There were some distant trips planned by the mere part of us but Helen, Steven, Alex and Stephanie defended our bushwise camp while doing some birding, having braai’s, walking, etc.

Rumors go that one of them went for the 'no tan lines' look and scared of a herd of wildebeest.

Sean, TJ H., Norway and Lee went for a road trip to St Lucia where action got combined with relaxation. Maybe a little bit too much action for Sean who wanted to see the rafting boat from the underside while being stuck between two rocks. Thank god his superpowers led him to the surface again!

Chris visited Nelspruit for a few days and Graham had the time of his life in a lodge together with his girlfriend who flew over for the week. Superb wildlife, food, guide, setting and accommodation. Pretty much all you can wish for, if you ask me.

The last group included me, together with Charlotte, Sophia, Rhys, Jonny and Anja. Mozambique! We left on an epic long long drive to Tofo where we arrived in the middle of the night (after some adrenaline moments regarding identity switches for the police checks). From then on pure relaxation on the beach, mainly at Tofoscuba where some of us did our PADI diving course. Buoyancy seemed to be the most entertaining factor on the trip... ask Alexandre, our dive instructor :)

Milkshakes and cocktails found their way to our mouths easily and soon our vacation ended after a few hours of pothole-paradise which caused a flat tyre. Luckily the Condor was tough enough and brought us back safely after all.

Everybody recharged and ready for another month!!

Sixth Week: 9 August – 16 August

We have tests every Saturday, last week was basic mammals, this Saturday coming will be mammal behavior and geology. This upcoming week should be very exciting. We have rifle handling today, a 2 night sleep out in the Makalali game reserve on Wednesday till Friday, and then our week off next week. We might head to Kruger again to drive around. We are now conducting game drives on our own, having to identify and describe animals, birds and trees. Trees are particularly tough this time of year as they have dropped most of their leaves and all look very similar. The snakes are coming out again now that it’s heating up. We have seen several black mambas, a Mozambique spitting cobra and a puff-adder, all very dangerous.

We had a visit at camp from a civet the other night, while we sat by the campfire. His confidence seemed to grow by the minute, coming within 5 feet of us at some points. He was snooping around for pieces of fat and bones dropped from our Braai. They are very similar to raccoons, and will eat just about anything. Other sightings include leopard with cubs (again), lion with cubs, and a pangolin! Now they are truly amazing animals, but very rare indeed. He was being released back into the wild after being rehabilitated at the local animal sanctuary. It has been an all round awesome week!

Seventh week: 17 August - 23 August

Trees and botany was the order of the day on Monday, with an in depth lecture on every aspect of trees and plants. This was followed by a walk around camp to put our new knowledge to the test with a tree identification session. The afternoon was spent standing around trees trying desperately to identify leaf structures and bark colourations.

Tuesday was spent with half the students having an action packed morning in the Hoedspruit traffic department doing the learners’ theory test. The other students had a full day’s game drive, which was enjoyed by all. The roles were reversed on Wednesday with half the students going into town to book their learners theory test, while the rest spent a day on a game drive spending a few hours watching hippos and having lunch overlooking the river.

The highlight of the week was Thursday with a morning game drive and an afternoon spent with a visit to the Daktari rehabilitation centre and sundowners on the reserve where a few beers were drunk while watching the sunset.

Friday was spent studying for the astronomy and trees test on Saturday morning. Post test mini-golf came and went with everybody looking forward to the Braai at Twines, which was a good end to an eventful week.

Week Eight: 24 August - 30 August

The week started early with a lecture on mammals, followed by some entertaining student presentations. Thankfully, rather boring facts on gestation periods and body mass were dealt with swiftly, and the majority of afternoon was spent debating the sexuality of the honey badger and the merits of the LA femme fatale punk rock band 'Civet'.

The following day the group was split: half headed into Hoedspruit to experience the thrill of a learners' theory test whilst the others headed out for a game drive. The weather was overcast but the birds were showing well for the Bushwise paparazzi. Thankfully the sun shone for the geology lectures and remaining mammals presentations on Wednesday, and things held up for some gardening around campus on Thursday. Kudos went to Rhys and PJ for carefully dismantling the newly repaired road outside the gate for the benefit of the Bushwise vegetable patch. The hard graft was rewarded with a drive on to Makalali for the release of a pangolin from the Daktari wildlife orphanage. Despite best efforts to get the thing to stick around for the obligatory Kodak moment at a water hole, in the end it just waddled off into the bushes. Spectacular stuff indeed.

Study day came and went, and before we knew it the weekly exam reared its ugly head. Thankfully it didn't disrupt the intense mental preparation required for post-exam mini golf, and records were smashed at both ends of the scoreboard. New rule for next week: loser gets thrown in the pool. Beer o'clock came early, and the subsequent antics may or may not have explained the rather lacklustre enthusiasm for Sunday's feature sport - volleyball. Those that made it, however, were rewarded handsomely. Some exciting action on the baking sand was followed by an impromptu braai at Twines featuring kudu steak and some attractive female company for PJ.

Week Nine: 31 August – 6 September

On Monday, the morning was filled with rifle theory. In the afternoon, we went over the cleaning of a rifle and practiced making a rifle safe and the correct shooting posture.

Tuesday, Group A went to Sasseta for practice. We put a few rounds downrange from a .22, .223 and a .303. Good times, wish we could have shot more. Group B did a walk in Makalali. On Wednesday, the tables were turned.

Wednesday afternoon saw us prepare for and leave for a two night camping trip in Makalali. We saw some elephants on the way in and then set up camp. After collecting firewood, some of us went for a game drive, while the others hung out and defrosted the frozen meat. That night, hyenas got within about 50 meters of the camp and their loud calls woke me up. It was simultaneously very cool and slightly eerie.

Group A did a game drive Thursday morning while B went for a walk. We spent the afternoon at Garonga, hanging out by their pool. The afternoon was spent on an awesome game drive to a lion sighting by half of us, while the rest hung out around camp. Hyenas again called during the night, though not as close. We did have a visitor; unfortunately it was of the 3 ton variety as a rhino walked by within earshot of our fire.

Game drives back to camp on Friday got us there in time to study for a Geology/Ethology test on Saturday, which everyone passed before the week off. Mahlahla Saturday night got pretty crazy as Robin and Steph captained the dance team.

Week 10: 13 – 20 September

The off week is unfortunately over, back to school… Whoop!! All excited to be back. Monday consisted of camp cleanup in the morning followed by VPDC (viewing potentially dangerous critters), and bird audios in the afternoon. Now we all know what’s going to kill us. Tuesday up early to listen to the dawn chorus before some bird theory. There was a Game drive in the afternoon, so it makes up for it.

Wednesday brought a massive bird competition between the groups, with group B (of course) coming out on top with 84 bird species, new camp record. On Thursday a game drive before reserve task. The wall has been spruced up and the herb garden is now the 8 th man made wonder of the world. Friday study before bird theory and audio exam on Saturday. Week ended with a messy Saturday at the other Bushwise camp, Garonga. Good week all around….

Peace

Mr Richards

Week 11: 21 September - 27 September

It has been a busy week, starting off with loads of game drives, so it means early starts for all of us. It was birds lecture on Tuesday and a drive in the afternoon to test our practical abilities, with numerous birds ticked off the list, we not doing too bad so far.

Thursday morning was the one we all waited for….. Lecture on fish! The rest of the day was spent a bit better by planting seeds to add onto the tree population a bit, watering them, and then it ended in a water fight, which was started by one of the instructors.

Friday came, and even though it was study day, we caught up on some sleep, and eventually studied for Saturday’s test, weather and climate, and rifles. The week has been rather busy, but worth it.

Steven Gilham

Week 12: 28 September – 4 October

Monday started off with a lecture on arthropods, pretty interesting but also accompanied by some really scary photos… or at least some of us thought so. We also got our presentation assignments for the week, five groups and five different insects or insect groups. The afternoon was study time.

Tuesday was game drive day with the positive effect of an enthusiastic guest (Robin’s mom) making us all cheerful Group B had an amazing cheetah sighting, as usual, and group A was fascinated by a male rhino, giraffe males necking and the vultures trying to make the most of the cheetah kill.

Wednesday was study day and pool time. Those of us that were going to do our driving tests on Friday also did some dry practising with the rifle.

Thursday morning we woke up early, as usual on test days and tried our best with arthropods and fish. In the afternoon there was rifle practise for eight of us as well as assessments, for a couple of people.

Friday was one of the most nerve wrecking days so far. Driving test in Thulamahash!!! Not fun at all and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. The evil lady remembered me from the eye test and decided to make my day hell… not a very nice person. We all passed but we were also drained when we arrived back at camp late that afternoon. The rest of the group had had rifle practise and Graham had left for a wedding in England.

Saturday morning started with five presentations on insects of which one will stay with me for a looong time… I didn’t know that wasps and horse flies could be that entertaining! Jonny and I left for Kruger and in the evening some people went to Garonga and some to Mahlahla.

Sunday was a time for much needed rest after a hectic week for some and a late night for most.

Week 13: 5 October – 12 October

Another week and another student journal, this time it is up to yours truly to try to remember the events of the past seven days.

Monday morning was a seven o’clock lecture as usual and this week amphibians were on the agenda. Not my favorite subject thus far but the late afternoon we went frogging in and around our dam, it was pretty entertaining.

Later in the week we took off after dinner and headed into Makalali for a night drive and a sleep out. During the nightdrive group A was taught how to ward off curious elephants with a hat! and group B had a close encounter with a spotted hyena, that came up right next to our gameviewer. The two groups went to two different bird hides to spend the night.

Two topics have been dominating conversations this week: the weather and plans people have for the approaching week off. The weather has been hot and sunny with temperatures well past 35 degrees (Celsius, not any of that Fahrenheit nonsense) in the beginning of the week. Now, when the week off is almost here it has apparently started to cool off a bit. The other hot topic has been the coming (well-needed) week off and what different plans people have made. A few students will most likely hang around the campus, one student is already on his way to Maputo ( Mozambique, if you didn’t know already), another one is volunteering in Khamai Reptile Park, there has also been students talking about Kruger and so on. Yours truly and the ol’ ball-and-chain are heading down to the coast via Hluhluwe and it’s going to be great!

The bush will, most likely, still be here when we all come back after our week of rest and if the waste line of certain female animals in Makalali is some kind of sign of things to come, I guess we can expect to hear the sound of baby hooves in the near future. I guess that summer has arrived.

Oh, and before I wrap things up, there has also been quite a lot of talk about placements and assessments. The first students will do their assessment drives on the second of November so they are beginning to feel the pressure.

Jonny Riise

Week 14: Week off: 12-18 October 2009

The week ended with everyone sitting by the braai on a warm Sunday night exchanging stories of their week away, every tale was different and usually full with misadventures.

For some, the camp remained their basepoint, with daily towntrips to organise their driver’s licences and PDP. Others’ used the week, to study and prepare for the looming exams and assessment drive or just relaxed with a well earned Black Label. Mahahla, the local waterhole, was visited and once again some perilous stories of survival in the bush were gained. One particular story of amusement was told by Sean and his predicament of losing the car in the bush and trying to jump an electrified fence.

Alex and Charlotte took a few days to visit the nearby camps of Siyafunda and Selati (Leo) and began to arrange their placements in the field of research, on the whole, they were very excited to begin their placements in the near future.

Carter and Norway, wholly immersed themselves in the African culture and also visited Nelspruit to enjoy some Western creature comforts such as movies, good food and good company.

Sophia and Rhys trekked down to the Drakensburg and spend days hiking the mountains and exploring the old battlefields. Jonny and Anja spent the week fixing flat tires around St. Lucia and Hluhluwe.

PJ, utilised his amazing camera lens once again and enjoyed a photo safari through Kruger National Park and not surprisingly produced some amazing shots of Honey Badger, Lion, Elephant and Secretary Birds.

Graham experienced a very different side to South Africa and visited Cape Town with his lady, Fleur. One Sunday braai story detailed how they cage dived and encountered Great White Sharks and generally enjoying the beautiful scenery of Cape Town and the nearby Table Mountain.

Steven, not surprisingly, returned to his home away from home and worked once again at Khamai Reptile Park returning with stories of rescuing a three metre python from a game lodge. He also, admirably rescued a kitten from a tree.

Our resident pirate Robin, spent the week succumbing to the clutches of Sophie’s dogs. Many a frightening tale were told of the naughty Rhodesian Ridgebacks. The princess of the camp Shirell and her soon to be husband, Charles, searched high and low in Pretoria for the perfect Bakkie to serve as the stallion to take them off into the sunset.

Week 15: 19-25 October 2009

The fourth semester began in spectacular fashion! On our Monday game drive we saw our young male lion, Million, battling with hyenas over a recent giraffe kill. This eventually led to the carcass being torn clean in half with each party running off with sizable chunks of meat! It was quite a sight to see.

In class we learned the ins and outs of grasses and how to identify them in the field, a task some found quite challenging, and we also learnt about the biomes that make up South Africa which has really helped link together all the material we have learnt so far.

Also, throughout the week the group have been fine-tuning their shooting skills (and actually hitting the targets this time!). Many students passed their assessments which for some involved a simulated lion charge and people running with a target on a sledge. This resulted in lots of screaming and shouting which could be heard throughout camp as they made last ditch attempts to intimidate the “lion” and prevent an “attack”!

We also got a chance to walk out onto the reserve (always a nice change to game drives) and identify trees – a task made much easier over the last couple of weeks by the fact that they now actually have leaves!

All in all, not a bad week, The pressure is now on though as many have their assessment drives in just over a week and we still have our grass and biomes test to study for!

Helen Jones

Week 16: Oct. 25 th- Oct. 31 st

The week started with a lecture on South African culture and history, followed by a lecture on conservation. In the afternoon, Charlotte and I went to Karongwe to meet the staff and have a look around, before starting our placements. The rest of the group had an optional tree walk around camp. We came back the following day, in time for a game drive with the whole group.

Wednesday morning was instructor game drive: Charles and Robin took us on a simulated client game drive, to give us an idea of how it is supposed to be done, before our assessments next week. After brunch, Ross, the head manager of Makalali came to talk to us about Makalali and conservation issues which led to the start of an interesting debate about hunting. The afternoon was free.

Thursday Charles and Robin took us an a surprise excursion to a forest biome about 40 km from here; we went on a short hike up a hill through the forest, spotted some Samango monkeys, and went to swim in the waterfalls, a very enjoyable day despite the chilly weather.

Friday was dedicated to study for our last Bushwise exam the next morning: culture, conservation and tree identification. The afternoon and the night was pretty quiet, considering it was Halloween. Most people stayed back at camp, and only a few of us went to Mahlahla where Lee won a bottle of tequila for his pirate costume.

Today is Sunday, another day off for some, and a study day for others who have their assessment drives coming up this week.

Sophia

Students Journal 2009 # 1: Yvonne Span, 10 January 2009

“Oh my god, it’s coming out!” Those were the final words on our own “exploring Bushwise trail” or as someone called it, ” the cheetah hunt” Unfortunately we didn’t see the cheetah. But the one thing that was coming out of it’s home was a big baboon spider! It definitely won’t be the last amazing creature we see, because we only arrived two days ago.

Three days ago I was in a small country, the Netherlands, where temperatures were dropping and reached minus 20 degrees. Snow was falling and the airport had been closed for a couple of hours due to the snow. That is where Florian (my boyfriend) and I kissed my friends and family goodbye and got on to the plane, to warmer areas. Well warmer it is indeed, pffff unbelievable; I had never in my whole life dreamed I would be asking for a bit of rain to cool me down. It is hot here, but very beautiful.

At the airport in Johannesburg we met the other students, a diverse group of people dying to start this exiting course. After a long bus drive we arrived at Bushwise camp, in the middle of nowhere, only other reserves surrounding us! After we have been shown our rooms, we went for dinner: real African Bobotie, and it tasted good!

We all went to bed pretty soon after dinner as we had all had a long flight, and a long bus drive, and the next morning we had to be in class at 8:00.

I had a pretty good sleep, despite the heat. Most of us were in class by 8:00. Next morning, by the way, we were all in time for class. So don’t worry, we are getting used to it.

In the meantime we have had introduction lessons and health and safety lessons, and we are all really anxious to learn more, as much as we can. In the meantime we are getting to know each other, although I haven’t spoken to everybody that much, I think we are going to have a lovely, enjoyable time together. Everyone is here with the same thing on his/her mind: to enjoy Africa, the bush and to have a good time!

Yesterday we had our first Braai, a south African BBQ, which we will have a lot more of in the next few months.

Helen and I spent the day cooling down in the swimming pool. It didn’t take long for others to join us. e ending up taking a nice walk around the Bushwise camp, without getting lost! We have even seen a wildebeest and some birds, but Al wasn’t with us, so we are not sure what kind of birds we have seen. But just come with us in a couple of months and we would be glad to tell you everything we see!

I can’t wait to dive into all these modules we are going to learn, from mammals, to shooting, insects, reptiles and many, many other things.

This is it for now, it is almost time that Lucy rings the bell, which means dinner is ready and you don’t want to miss that!

Yvonne

Student’s journal week 2 Florian Bouwsema

Monday we started with first aid, and the other group went to town.

The next day we went to Hoedspruit to get some groceries, and our new outfits for the course. The khaki field guide look. After spending hours finding the right size, we finally went to the Deli for breakfast/lunch. At the Pick and Pay, as we like to call it the “Nick and Run”, everybody did their groceries and bought, of course, some alcohol. But the conclusion is, as we noticed this Saturday, that it wasn’t enough. So the next time we get more!!

The Wednesday was a typical day in class studying reptiles; the more exiting part will be the trip to the reptile park for some lessons about snake handling, which we will be doing next Monday and Tuesday.

Thursday we learned everything about 4x4’s from Mark. So we can take a landy apart but probably not get it back together! At least we know what is wrong with it. After the theoretical stuff about cars, we went for a game drive. This is what everybody had been waiting for. Everybody got into the game viewers and we were off to Makalali. But before the game drive finally could start, we had to take a look underneath the game viewer, to learn to recognize all the parts. It seemed to take ages, ok, in reality it took us 3 hours, which still is a long time in the sun. But now we know how to change a tyre with a very dangerous high lift jack. And we know where we can find the all parts of a vehicle.

Finally our first game drive: I was in the car with Mark and after driving for not even ten minutes, we already found our first animals: some Wildebeest and Impala’s. Then all of a sudden Mark saw a cheetah sitting on the road ahead of us, as soon as they spotted us, the moved away into the bush. After Mark called in our findings on the radio, we were on our way to track the cheetah. When we found them again, we saw that one of them had a collar around his neck. Mark told us that these were to keep track of their movements and to learn more about the Cheetahs. We got some nice pictures. The two lazy cheetahs were just relaxing in the shade, so we were off again driving through Makalali, trying to spot other animals. On the way back to Bushwise camp it was already dark. As we arrived the braai was waiting for us.

A good way to end the day.

Students Journal #3 Thilo Heinecke 31.01.09

On Monday morning everybody had to struggle a little bit with getting up, because our first morning game drive was announced and getting up and be ready at 5:30 is as hard as it sounds like. Finally, I got the proof that the world is already alive and very much existing at that time of the day. The definite highlight of the Game drive was tracking a lion on foot. Even though we didn’t find it, we learnt a lot about how to behave in the bush if on foot and tracking animals.

After having lunch back at the camp we did some maintenance work, what meant in detail, that one group sewed pillows for a bench, another group placed this bench on a foundation and the last group repotted plants. It may sound uninteresting but through several mudbaths and “fights” - it was very fun.

Tuesday started with one of the big subjects in this whole course, VPDA (Viewing potentially dangerous game) and was finished by another Game drive through Chimoya, one of the surrounding private game reserves. We would soon learn that this drive had nothing on the following day’s drive……

A full day Game drive of about 13, 5 hours, meant everything we needed was packed in Cooler/Thermo-boxes and backpacks. Starting at 5.30 and finishing shortly before sunset -the only ones that had to get up even earlier, were the persons on vehicle duty. Which in this case, meant myself and my roommate. This was a test for durability! But I think that everyone of us had as much fun as I had throughout this day (even if I was not able to prevent my first sunburn). Everyone in the group drove for at least one hour, and believe me, driving off-road in a proper 4x4 Landrover is pure fun! As a final treat for this day we saw a whole herd of Elephants feeding along the road and a female White Rhino, grazing with its young.

These are definitely pictures that everybody of us will keep in mind for a long time, maybe even lifetime.

Thursday and Friday everybody was learning for the big VPDA, Radio and Vehicles exam on Saturday. That was only interrupted by the meals and another nice little drive. We headed to a bridge nearby with a wonderful view over a small valley of the Makalali game reserve and had a couple of drinks as sundowners. I surely needed that after this week and as a break of all that learning.

Monday 09 th February

Today we had a seven o’clock lecture on taxonomy and listened to a bird audio tape to see if we could identify bird calls. In the afternoon we went on a game drive and it was my turn to drive. We headed for Makalali and as I was driving around a bend, a bull elephant suddenly appeared. He was on the side of the road. We could tell he was in musth because of the sweat patches on his temple. I was quite nervous as bull elephants in particular can be dangerous. However, we stopped and took photos, and the elephant seemed at ease. Throughout the drive we came across impala, zebra and wildebeest.

Tuesday 10 th February

We had a seven o’clock lecture on ecology. In the afternoon, we went on a game drive to track lions. We set off about two pm. and were following the lions paw prints for about forty minutes, when suddenly a lioness jumped out in front of our vehicle. She didn’t seem too stressed as she slowed down to a walk and eventually headed off into the bush. It was the first time here at Bushwise that everyone got to see a lion. On the way home we came across a puffadder on the side of the road. We also spotted a genet in a tree eating a snake.

Wednesday 11 th February

This mornings lecture was on grasses and how to identify them. In the afternoon we went on a walk to identify all the different types of grass species.

Thursday 12 th February

Today half of the group went to sort out their drivers licence in Hoedspruit. The other half of us went on a game drive. We came across impala, wildebeest, zebra.

Friday 13 th

We got to practice how to hold the rifle today, and had time off to study.

Saturday 14 th

We had our exam on Taxonomy and ecology today.

Week 8 Journal Entry - Alex Morton

Monday

Monday morning started at the early time of 5.30am for a game drive in Makalali game reserve. Straight away we briefly saw an African Wild Cat and after a short while on drive we picked up some good Lion tracks and began to follow in the game viewer. The tracks went in to the bush so we went off on foot (with a rifle of course!) and followed the tracks for about half an hour to try and find them. Unfortunately the tracks went over some very rocky ground and eventually they went cold so we returned to the game viewer for coffee and rusks yebo! For the rest of the drive we stumbled upon the usual Impala, Zebra and Giraffe.

In the afternoon we had class and studied amphibians looking at frogs, toads and salamanders. Funky!

Tuesday

On this day, my group went to the rifle range in Mica to try target shooting for the first time while the other group went on a game drive. We shot a .22 calibre rifle for 10 rounds at a target the size of an A4 piece of paper. Everyone did well mostly hitting the target nearly every time. In the afternoon I stumbled upon a poorly girlfriend and whisked her away to the doctors on my trusty steed. Everyone else went on game drive and got stuck in a ditch right next to two female lions! Scary! They got towed out of the ditch by the other group!

Wednesday

On Wednesday the other half of the group went to Mica to shoot and we went on game drive. After only half an hour we came across some fresh elephant tracks and decided to follow on foot. We were walking for maybe an hour when we came across the herd, including a very large bull. We stayed a safe distance back from the animals so as to not disturb them but it was still very exciting to view them on foot. By the time we got back to the car it was time for coffee and a slow drive back towards camp to prepare for the nights sleep out!

After making all the preparations we left to set up our night camp in a drainage line on Makalali. We collected fire wood and set up two braai areas. Some of the group went on an evening drive which turned out to be very eventful spotting a male Lion and a Giant Eagle Owl. On their return dinner was served promptly by our Dutch braai master. After chilling out for a couple of hours people started hitting the hay and guard duty started. Nothing dangerous was spotted during the night around camp but hyena tracks were found in the morning close by.

Thursday

After clearing up the sleep out camp we set off for a walk along the drainage line concentrating on tree identification. There was a good diversity of trees along the drainage line including some I hadn't seen before. After the walk we set off for a morning drive on the way home. My group found leopard tracks but we didn't manage to find her, they are too damn sneaky those leopards! The other group had a good sighting of a Martial Eagle on their drive staying with it for about half an hour. When we got back to Bushwise camp most people ended up going to bed for a snooze after brunch having had a less than perfect nights sleep in the drainage line the night before. The rest of the day was left free for us to study for the exams on Saturday.

Friday  

The day of study. After having a nice long sleep we spent the day studying rifles and amphibians to prepare for the test on Saturday.

Saturday  

The test started at 7am after which the group settled in to our second week off. One of my fellow students will let you know how that goes!

Until next time this is Alex Morton on Bushwise RMFM signing out.

Week 11 journal entry- Helen Bastin

Monday

Pio, Thilo, Joe, Bridget and myself did some shooting practice while some of the others went for a game drive. Our shooting went really well and was so much fun!!! We shot targets of 15m, 10m and 5m with the .375 magnum. Joe, Pio ad Thilo did so well that they were able to do their shooting assessments which they all passed. They had to shoot 15m then 10m then 5m within a certain time and degree of accuracy, shoot 8m and 12m in the same way, deal with a misfire when shooting at the 10m target and then load, aim and unload the rifle whilst blindfolded.

The others had a very successful game drive seeing a female leopard hanging out of a tree in full view! They also saw a lone hyena taking a walk!

The afternoon consisted of everyone chilling out and studying.  

Tuesday

We had our only lecture of the week today, mammals. Its a big module so took us right up til brunch. In the afternoon we watched the amazing bonus DVD of Planet Earth about the future of the planet and the awful fact that we as humans are destroying it and all the beautiful habitats and animals in it.

After a lovely brunch cooked by the wonderful Lucy we all headed to bed.

Wednesday

Game drive this morning so we were out by 5.30am, as we were driving into Makalali we saw 3 hyena taking a morning stroll so we followed them for a while. One was fully grown with a wound on its rump and wasn't bothered by our presence; the two younger ones were a little worried by us so we kept some distance! After a while they had to go off the path as we were behind them and some elephants were in front! Group A followed the elephants while we unsuccessfully tried to relocate the hyena.

I took over driving with Alistair as my tracker and drive into my first elephant sighting. They were very relaxed and so we watched them for quite a while.

A few harmless April Fool's jokes had occurred but we were waiting for a big one! Eventually we heard Mark and group A over the radio call in a cheetah sighting. When we were nearly there we saw the other group who were acting very strangely, giggling and getting their stories mixed up about where the cheetah were. Naturally we suspected them and so drove through the bush in the direction they pointed us in, but just kept driving. Later on we realized it was not an April Fool's and there were I fact 2 male cheetah there that we had driven right past! S**t!!!

After brunch everyone went off to do their own thing, some revising for birds on Saturday and some to practice maneuvers for driving tests. Just as I decided to practice a few parallel parks myself the car's back left indicator decided to break so we had an emergency town trip to pick another Golf! By the time we got back it was dark making it impossible to practice but the good news was that Sarah had returned from her day trip at Mhala doing her test and had passed!

Thursday

Well the dreaded day of travelling 2 hours to Mhala Traffic Centre had arrived. Bridget, Thilo, Joe, Alex, Pio, Kim and myself were all up at 5.30am to leave at 6am for our practical driving tests. Kim was first up at 8.00am, being the cool collective type she passed with flying colours (congrats Kim!). Then it was me at 8.20am and being the nervous wreck I was with a crappy Citi Golf, I failed!!!! Next was Alex, Thilo and Pio who all did really well and passed. Bridget's nerves got the better of her and she didn't make it where as Joe couldn't fit in the car and when trying to use the handbrake, couldn't as he was sitting on it, so has to do his again too!

So Joe and myself joined the queue to book again for our test...15 th April! We decided the car we would hire for then would be a bit bigger and have power steering!!

Back at camp Yvonne, Flo, Mike and Ash went on a game drive and had a blast! Brian, Chewie, Alistair and Chris did their shooting practice with targets of 15m, 10m and 5m, they all did really well and Brian passed his shooting assessment.

In the afternoon everyone at camp chilled while me and Bridget (joined by Alex and Pio) drowned our sorrows in food, and lots of it, in Hoedspruit before coming back for a few beers.

Friday

Most people had a little sleep in and then we got down to the usual Friday routine...studying!!!!

Saturday

Birds test this morning which was quite a big one...70 points plus 15 bird calls! Everyone seems confident with the calls but less so with the theory. Mahlahla in the evening for some of their heavenly food a few drinks. Mike from Khamai joined us again and we all had a great time ad walked home afterwards!

Sunday

For some odd reason Mike (from Khamai) and Flo decided getting up before the sun did and going fishing more than 2 hours away was a good idea. The rest of us thought staying in bed was a good idea so we were all rested in to prepare for the next week!

MONDAY 6 TH APRIL

Well, fish was the order of the day today and so we set about a new week with a new lecture and a new addition to the group in the form of past student Jenny who is going to be helping out until the end of the course.

With the now full understanding of the swim bladder lodged somewhere in our already crammed brains we set about preparing for our 2 night sleep out in Makalali. Armed to the hilt with sleeping bags and childrens tents, oh and the footie, we headed out. That evenings game drive yielded little, but unbeknown to us the joys the following day would bring!

TUESDAY 7 TH APRIL

The childrens tents made their debuts and were a huge success, the night passed by without event except for the odd Hyena howling. Game drive started around 6am and it wasn’t long before we were trailing 2 cheetahs along the fence line, if that wasn’t enough minutes later the cry of “Rhino!” echoed through the morning air. So off-road we went carefully following the huge male (whose tracks we had found in the area earlier). The sighting was short and sweet as he made a hasty retreat into deep bush, but a rhino sighting is always a memorable experience. Another call from the radio took us to a resting male lion (unbelievable!) who was chilling under a tree with his nearly fresh wildebeest kill stored safely under another tree about 15 metres away.

After a perfect morning it was time to head out for a walk, 14 of us in total due to Helen unfortunately falling ill that morning. It wasn’t long before we came across our rhino from the previous night and the adrenaline was pumping as we were about 30 metres away, the experience even greater as we were on foot. The rest of the walk through the bush was enhanced by the sighting of a Boomslang (my first in the wild) and another chance encounter with our rhino.

Back in camp the fire danced, the food devoured and sleep was needed…..a perfect day!

WEDNESDAY 8 TH APRIL

Tonight myself and Pio had the unenviable watch duty of 2am – 3am, uneventful but tiring. As soon as camp was packed away we headed home , but throwing in a game drive along the way, and luckily for me I got to log another dangerous game approach, this time the lion from yesterday although he was reluctant to stay once we had located him in the drainage line.

Finally back at camp and the first thoughts on everyones mind was that of a shower (and to check on Helens wellbeing), however I found a visitor waiting outside our room – a spitting cobra! (Beautiful), I am still 4 days away from my advanced snake handling course so I had to leave the capture and release to my fellow students Brian and Yvonne who did a grand job despite Brian getting spat at, at every opportunity. The whole mission was a success and my part was played as driver for the release.

I hope the rest of the week continues to rock!!!

THURSDAY 9 TH APRIL

Initially the day looked like it was going to follow the footsteps of the previous days when I heard part of our lecture would contain ‘alien invaders’ , but to my disappointment it was not to be little green men with kick ass lasers, it was more leaning towards alien vegetation like the Prickly pear. Initial disappointment over the lecture on conservation turned out to be unwarranted as it was interesting and varied.

FRIDAY 10 TH APRIL

Study day was spent studying surprisingly only interrupted by the odd dip in the pool. Last nights drunken conversations of tractors and home made explosives gradually coming back (don’t ask!) Friday is always a subdued day as the exams follow 7am on Saturdays.

Good luck everyone for the Fish exam!

SATURDAY 11 TH APRIL

Exam went well I hope, now off for a week woohoo!

A quick trip to town for some last minute Kruger supplies then headed back to camp to wait until the nights festivities. Safari club delivered usual high quality steak and beer was cold so all good.

SUNDAY 12 TH APRIL

A couple of cars headed out to find waterfalls while the rest of us kicked back had a swim and panicked about the up and coming assessment drive. After a lazy day , movie night was suggested so the class room was once more transformed into a cinema and we settled down for a double bill before calling it a night. Tomorrow sees the start of our week off so let the good times roll.

CHEWIE over and out!

Pio

April 12 – 19: …… WEEK OFF !

After several weeks of sleeping-outs dire straits, alien invaders (hopefully plants and fishes), hard study on hard books on hard desk in hard times (etc.), duties of all kind and shape (dish-washing being always the most requested and enjoyed and vehicle still the most hated in the first, fresh air of the first morning) you would expect that most people would wait for the week off to relax, chill out with a good beer in a hand and a pair of binoculars in the other and do some good to the whole bloody World eco-system, staying in the roundavel patio to do home-made birdwatching and having some good naps (and related snoring sessions…).

Although few people were intelligent and wise enough to understand that this was exactly what they needed (Alistair and Joe), for most of us the program was:

• adventure
• elephants
• hippos
• snakes
• lions

or a combination of the above.

Relax ? Absolutely no. We are too tough.

Kim and Sarah keep on doing the long series of Bushwise Campus students snake-handling courses, with related snouted cobra management, pythons runs on the meadow and gentle harvesting of boomslangs from trees, kindly made available by Chris & Michael of Khamai Reptile Park.

Yvonne and Florian visited Pidwa Game Reserve, and were lucky enough to witness an unlucky dead giraffe being eaten by a lucky big pride of lions (the luck having the shape of an electricity high voltage cable picked at by the big big necked antelope).

Helen and Alex visited the Elephant Sanctuary in Hazy View…. we do not know exactly what they did, we only saw some photos where they walked around with a huge 3- tons tusked-beast with the trunk handled as a collar and the air of a Sunday morning stroll with your Yorkshire Terrier in the park.

And last and least, a pretty group of us (me included, the prettiest, with Thilo, Michael, Chris, Brian, Chewie, Bridget and Aisling) went to Kruger for a 4-days trail around the fresh and hippo-dung rich waters of Olifants. We learned how to drink the above hippo-dung cocktail, on the rock (extrusive, granite mainly) with chlorine and mud. We have been also introduced to a couple of Guides (Yakob and David, amazing and wonderful all the way along) and to several elephants, all of them involved in some sort of relaxing activity, such as:

-stampeding in our direction just before completing a perfect river crossing, probably pissed off by Chewie’s downwind deodorant (we think….);

-doing a lot of noise, mock charging and some trumpeting to declare to the World that he is a bull in musth (who cares ?)

-playing some good tricks to scare a handful of promising, young (…most of them), future Nature Guides.

Anyway, all of us returned to base, more or less in a healthy condition…

And for this week off, game over.

Student Journal - Sunday 15 th to Saturday 21 st of March

The 1 st Week of the 3 rd Semester

Sunday 15 th

Last Saturday it seemed as if the 2 nd Semester had taken forever to end, but that didn’t matter so much anymore as everyone was excited to see that our week off was finally within reach. That felt like yesterday, but now here we are on Sunday well rested, reinvigorated & ready to knuckle down once more. With the various stories from the week off still fresh in the mind ( St Lucia, Kruger National Park, Horse riding, White Water Rafting, Waterfall climbing & more) the upcoming 4 Day Walk in Kruger was moving ever closer & anticipation was mounting.

Thankfully this semester marks the beginning of the shift from theory to practical, so after spending most of the early months studying we now hope to see ‘Game Drive’ become a more integral aspect of our weekly routine.

Monday 16 th

It feels unusual to be back in uniform yet we spent the day easing back into the course by fulfilling our camp clean up duties, operating on a rotating basis it was time to clean the Kitchen area. Not so bad a task when compared to the banality of endless sweeping & removal of the various weeds that had infiltrated the poolside area.

Brunch came & went allowing us some customary time off until, in the afternoon, each student was welcomed to take part in a one on one session with Mark & then another with Sophie. The aims of which being a discussion based around the individual placement preferences & general life at Bushwise respectively.

Tuesday 17 th

Today we started by looking at the theory for Astrology, hopes for a practical that night were dashed by the swift sight of clouds on the horizon. Greek Mythology, Star constallations & the differences between meteor & meteorite soon followed.

The afternoon was to be dominated by my 16 th Game Drive of the course. It turned out to be one of the best as we came across 3 out of the available 4 Big 5 Animals; A solitary male elephant, a Female White Rhino with her calf & a solitary male Leopard just as we were nearing the gate to back to camp. We were even lucky enough to spot a Caracal too. This was certainly quite a bit for a single trip into the African bush at this time of year.

Wednesday 18 th

Today was another good day for Big Game sightings as the 17 th GameDrive brought us a Leopard, Lions & Rhino. The weather was less kind as a torrent of rainfall came down & soaked us through. My books are still recovering & a few notes were lost but upon reflection it was certainly worth it. A leak somewhere under the dining area was waiting for us upon our return, so after a quick shower, & a short wait for the rain to stop, we tried to find the problem pipe.

Our reward was an afternoon spent watching David Attenborough DVD’s. Hopefully the seasonal change won’t bring much more of that weather & then we can enjoy the next few months for what they are; the best time of the year to be out on safari.

Friday 20 th

Today was spent in the company of a select few who were yet to take their drivers lesson with the arranged school as the last of the whole group to take this further step in the everlasting & elusive pursuit of a South African driving licence, so that we could then go on to obtain a PDP (Public Drivers Permit), a prerequisite for anyone wishing to go on placement. Unfortunately it is much more complex & time consuming than would be expected yet it is a necessary step that we all must take if we are to become a fully qualified & registered safari field guide.

Saturday 21 st

The last day of the working week finished as always, with a Bushwise test. Insects was the subject for this week & I think it went well but I guess I’ll find out later.

Joe