The warthog and the cactus...

Ok, not played this for a while, so here goes.....whats in the box today?

"President you are really spoiling us" - the Ferrero Rocher guy

"Can you tell what it is yet?" - Rolf Harris

No, not a snake - it's a scorpion in a Ferrero Rocher box - they seem to be all over the place at the moment.

Here is another one caught by the meerkats for dinner...

"I won't eat anything green." - Kurt Cobain 

"Simples" - Aleksandr Orlov

Ok, so this is a bit of a sore subject, literally, but its too funny not to share...

We have a new warthog - she was kept as a family pet and we suspect (by the way she hops onto the staff beds, roots her bum in the corner and squeals if you try to move her) that she got a little spoiled and out of hand.

Wait til you see her on her little throne - until she moved to an outdoor pen she ruled the bathroom at night!!

She had managed to bust her way through the gate again, and muggins was leading her over to her pen to put her in, I was about 10 meters from the pen with an apple in her teeth pulling her along, thinking ' mind that cactus you are really allergic to.....owwwwwwah' 

By really allergic I mean one tiny pin prick, my hand bruises, swells and I can't move the joints. I am now stood there, as the arrogant warthog trots off, with 25 cactus spines stuck in my arm!

"Naw, I'm not goin' out there and comin' back, lookin' like you, cactus butt!" - Shenzi The Lion King

Luckily for me, our clinic doctor was here and I rushed to the car before she left for town, explaining how allergic I was and how many spines I had just ripped out of my arm. 

Worrying I was going to end up looking like this... 

...I grabbed her from the car and we went to the clinic.

After washing it down and pulling the last spine out of my arm before the swelling skin swallowed it permanently I was the lucky recipient of two injections in the backside (definitely have a closer relationship with our doctor now than either of us needed!)- antihistamine and steroids! Once I was sure I wasn't going to go into anaphylactic shock we all had a good laugh.

"Everything is going in the wrong direction, the doctor wants to give me more injections" -  The Rolling Stones

We seem to have had a raft full of new animals recently - several new cheetah cubs, several caracals, a barn owl (released the day it came), a baby ostrich, a baby jackal and a mongoose!

We were very glad to pick up this little cub and are not sure how they got it in the box, it was a little bijou in our opinion! we were quick to get the cub out and settled with more space.

Here is one of our newer additions to the family - Mia the baby jackal, just like a puppy!

This could  be all the rage on the kings road - a replacement for the chihuahua 

There is always some animal dwelling somewhere or in some form of rehab, from sick baboons in the office to an owl in a box on the back seat of the car between the pizzas and the shopping, this little sparrow found his way onto a plate of seed one afternoon in the office - never a normal office day. 

Mum was here with me for a month, 2 weeks volunteering, an 11 day trip through Southern Africa with me and 3 days travelling on her own to the South of Namibia, it was strange not to have her here when she left :0( 

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love."- Mildred B. Vermont

OK that one is a bit pukey, how about this?

"I hope they're still making women like my momma. She always told me to do the right thing. She always told me to have pride in myself; she said a good name is better than money."  -  Joe Louis

[see mum, you made the cut, you're in the blog - as promised xxx]

In the same week we lost one of our team- who will be sorely missed! You know who you are!

After a hard week it was time to let my hair down a little, a new game from that week could be, what's in the mug? (rather than the box)

I am sure a certain someone who used to pass wine off as tea in an evening would have a good guess at this one....nope on this occasion not wine...

Oh, you don't drink this in mugs? Oh dear, oh dear!

I had my first trip into the Wild Dog camp in the same week also, nervous, but awesome to see those puppies up close!

Nothing to fear with these three posers to look after me though!

“When the Man waked up he said, 'What is Wild Dog doing here?' And the Woman said 'His name is not Wild Dog any more, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always.'” - Robert Brooke

Mid October we had our directors 40th birthday party,  an airline themed, open air sit down dinner with a DJ and bouncy castle on our airstrip in the middle of the African veldt. I was delighted to be able to finally wear a dress after 8 months, so funny the longer I am here the more girly I become?! Smirnoff or Bompass and Parr (with their amazing events) couldn't have pulled a better one. Everyone was so relaxed and perhaps a little merry! The dancing went on late and from what we can remember we had a great time, some very tired eyes and sore heads the next day. Everyone was up dancing and laughing one of my favorite funny moments was the fire hose being turned on the dance floor, which was quickly followed by the plane engine being turned on which covered the wet people on the dance floor in sand which instantly stuck all over them. 

"Never a dull moment, we wouldn't know what to do with one if we found one! " - me

A Southern African Tour - Part III

Here is the final part of the holiday epic!

"After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working. "  - Kenneth Grahame 

We arrived in Zambia and were at the mercy of the Kwatcha - ever tried to work out what something costs when there are 7896 kwatcha to the pound? - at the same time as trying to convert in to Namibian Dollars? - which I am now used to. 

We stood outside the bank for 20 minutes trying to work out what was going on. Finally took 1.75 million out of the bank and went and bought 2 cans of pop from the supermarket for 30,000! Once we got to the campsite I spotted a bag I liked in the shop - but refused to pay £100 for it, upon closer inspection of the maths I realised it was actually £13 which was fine! Argh flaming kwatcha!

We pitched camp, had a rest and headed to the stunning Victoria Falls.

Amazing rainbows - saw a couple of double ones also

What Livingstone had to say....

On the other side and near the edge...

Right on the edge! and that infamous bungee bridge.

"The point is that when I see a sunset or a waterfall or something, for a split second it's so great, because for a little bit I'm out of my brain, and it's got nothing to so with me. I'm not trying to figure it out, you know what I mean? And I wonder if I can somehow find a way to maintain that mind stillness." -  Chris Evans

We discussed going over to the Zimbabwean side to see the falls from there, but with time and expense in the end decided to take part in a couple of activities instead. After some intense negotiations between doing a lion walk and a rhino walk - we each more tempted by one than the other - it was decided to do both!

"Love is like a Rhino, short-sighted, but always willing to find a way." - Anon

The morning started with our rhino walk. We were taken by armed guards to the edge of a national park where the rhino reside. As it was an early morning pick up we got a mini game drive also and saw buffalo and ellies...

The guide was really knowledgeable and very interesting. 

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." -Benjamin Franklin 


We set off on our walk and he knew all about the spoor (footprints) and scat (poo) and which animals they came from etc. He started to test our knowledge a little and to everyone's surprise I discovered I knew quite a bit- some things must be transferred by osmosis from those around me at the farm - either that or sometimes I actually listen?! 

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens. " - Jimi Hendrix

I picked out giraffe spoor, zebra spoor and scat (not so difficult for me), hippo scat and knew the answers to a couple of his other questions, I also taught him a thing or two about zebra. 

Speaking of zebra, on this walk we saw a little herd, and this little fella in particular caught my eye...

The guides were so good at spotting the rhino, they had seen them long before mum and I could, we were practically on top of them before we saw the large grey rock like figures poking out of the long grass. Our first encounter with the rhino was with a mother and calf, they were so relaxed it was amazing and we got to within around 10 meters of them.

"For an actress to be a success, she must have the face of a Venus, the brains of a Minerva, the grace of a Terpsichore, the memory of a MaCaulay, the figure of Juno and the hide of a rhinoceros." - Ethel Barrymore

Mama and baba

baba

We walked on and found another rhino  - the dominant bull, absolutely stunning with a really long horn, as we watched him another bull came into view, the two eyed one another and we moved back, our guide a little nervous they might start a scuffle, but the sun had started to come out and it was getting warm, the young bull moved off, knowing the effort it might take  to fight. 

"He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious. "-Sun Tzu 

After our walk, we were driven to the river for tea and cake,  was pottering around on the rocks at the shore when all of a sudden the armed guard came running towards me reminding me that there were crocs in the water and really I shouldn't get so close! We had all forgotten for a moment what could be lurking beneath!

That afternoon we headed to a lion project where they raise and release second generation lions back into the wild. We took two lions on a walk. Beautiful females who are not too far from being taken off their interaction with the public as they are getting bigger and stronger and more playful, this will also ready them for the next part of their programme where they can breed and their cubs will be the ones to be released.

After some ground rules had been established....

 we went off into the veldt where we met the lions and the volunteers. Very odd being the 'guests' on a similar project. We were told we could walk next to and stroke the lions, everyone else was a little nervous, but I was straight in there, they were amazing to interact with and watch play.

"The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort." - Chanakya 

Two ladies (lionesses not the vols) on a walk

.

Having a lie down and a stroke in the sun.

Having a wash.

Just after a bit of play fighting and thinking about chasing a vervet monkey on the other side of the river.

Is that a vervet I see again?

2 million kwatcha later we have some excellent memories and photos of interacting with two of the big five. Awesome.

We waved goodbye to the rest of the group as they were all flying out of Zambia / Zimbabwe and we set off from Zambia and headed back into Namibia. Our camp was on the banks of the Chobe river and we had views of Angola just 100 meters away. Apparently the children wade / walk/ swim or canoe across the river to come to school.

We had a lovely dinner with the guides and the next day continued our long drive back to Windhoek.

Many of the villages along the way in all three counties looked like this...

 A warning sign about smoking at a petrol station!

 On the way we fed mums inner geek and went to look at the worlds biggest meteorite.

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. " - Jack London 

Eventually the tour was over and we were back to the farm. Sad to end the holiday, but happy to be back on the farm with friends and my little herd! especially as I had the chance to spend the last couple of weeks with Mr Benjamin before we had to say goodbye to the little stripey fella.

“Of the gladdest moments in human life, me thinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands.

Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of Habit, the leaden weight of Routine, the cloak of many Cares and the slavery of Home, one feels more happy.

The blood flows with the fast circulation of childhood…

A journey, in fact, appeals to Imagination, to Memory, to Hope – the three sister graces of our moral being.” - Sir Richard Francis Burton

A Southern African Tour - Part II

Welcome to Chobe National Park, Kasane, Botswana. This place is teeming with wildlife!

Throughout the trip we had been promised hippo, rhino, elephant, giraffe etc etc and hadn't seen so much up until this point. I think the guides were a little nervous that the group felt we hadn't seen enough, especially as we had seen no hippo in the Okavango Delta. 

"I found in one of the tombs an inscription saying, 'If you touch my tomb, you will be eaten by a crocodile and hippopotamus.' It doesn't mean the hippo will eat you, it means the person really wanted his tomb to be protected. " - Zahi Hawass 

But what can you do?! wild animals are wild and where they are one day isn't always where they will be the next, they are unpredictable and don't perform, you are always lucky to see whatever it is you see. All that said we had been promised Chobe was the place to see everything and I have to say, we were not disappointed!

We saw some baby elephants...

"Words are cheap. The biggest thing you can say is 'elephant'. " - Charlie Chaplin 

...some angry mama elephants, warning us they were protecting their babies...

"Love will draw an elephant through a key-hole." - Samuel Richardson 

...more babies and youngsters...

...and a young bull showing us he could handle himself and he could protect his herd.

Abbey Road?!?

Some tiny baby baboons.

We got to camp in time for a wonderful sunset, a photography class was going on in the background and I was desperately trying to pick up some tips, after chatting to the teacher he took a look and said my pics weren't bad?! nice :0) 

If you look carefully can you see the ellies on the bank?

Sunrise in Chobe...

fish eagle

stunning cape buffalo

views in Chobe

family of giraffe

Whilst in Chobe we saw 2 very rare sights - one the president of Botswana and the president of SA in convoy and the other, rarer and (in my opinion) more impressive sight - a wild leopard! We actually saw two wild leopards, one as he ran into a bush and then through the veldt and another - below, utterly gorgeous and very relaxed for being out in the open, especially seeing as there were 10 game viewers parked about 10 meters away.

The pictures speak for themselves and anyone who knows anything about leopards knows how special an experience this was.

"I have seen, tasted and touched many places. This has made me realize, how small, how connected, how wonderful the earth is " - Anton Verwey

Following the morning game drive we headed back to camp, had lunch and a relax and headed out on the afternoon boat cruise, now to see the animals by river...

Firstly, after moaning at our guides for several days that we hadn't seen a hippo close up, we ended up with our own resident hippo who was living in the shallows next to the camp site...

Just as we got out on the river we spotted this croc on the banks

And saw some glorious sights of elephants bathing and playing in the water.

"The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?" - David Attenborough 

Here comes the hippo mama and baba, she was such a big girl her belly was almost touching the floor!

A few more ellies for you....

Matriarch mud bathing

Teeny ellie - a couple of months old

Big ellie

Come on guys this way!

Night night ellies!

Hippo hiding in the shallows

Crocodile very close to the boat

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Winston Churchill  

In the middle of the Chobe river there is an island - between Botswana and Namibia. The island was fought over for years and finally it was decided to measure the depth of the river on either side- from this it was decided the island belonged to Botswana- but lets just say the flag is very close to the Botswanan side!

One of the 'ugly five' - marabou stork

"I'll bet your father spent the first year of your life throwing rocks at the stork" - Irving Brecher

Giraffe aren't built for drinking!

Night night Chobe river!

Now we cross over to Zambia for "A Southern African Tour - Part III"to see Vic Falls, the lions and rhino! In the middle of river we crossed  you can see Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“When you travel, you experience, in a very practical way, the act of rebirth. You confront completely new situations, the day passes more slowly, and on most journeys you don’t even understand the language the people speak. So you are like a child just out of the womb. You begin to attach much more importance to the things around you because your survival depends upon them. You begin to be more accessible to others because they may be able to help you in different situations. At the same time, since all things are new, you see only the beauty in them, and you feel happy to be alive.” - Paul Coehlo