Week Two at Mhlopeni
Ordinary tasks become way cooler when the sounds of African mammals are calling in the distance. Hanging my laundry earlier I could hear the zebra yelping in the valley. On most mornings while I eat breakfast I sit on the verandah and watch a gray Lanner falcon at its nest on the facing cliff. Just now I hear impala barking at each other near the stream below.
Highlights since last week:
=Andy went hunting and within minutes I heard the boom and echo of his rifle. Then I learned how to skin and butcher warthog. It's delicious. Chris Lambert, Richard took photos for me to show you.
=We went on a long hike to the grasslands at the top of the mountain. I saw the land change from apex forest to typical African grassland and acacia trees. Minus your scene of rhino, giraffe, and elephants. But I did see a small herd of zebra!! Pretty monumental. Eventually they took off in a gallop and I almost peed myself.
=I discovered two species of orchids not yet recorded as present at the reserve. NBD. Richard said if they're novel species then I can name them. uhhhh. Only every science lovers dream!
=An almost sad story occurred. One morning we heard dogs on the chase. Typical of poachers. Andy went after them and in 20 minutes I heard 5 shots. Feral dogs, but still there because of poachers who abandon their dogs when caught. They had cornered a male kudu (males sacrifice themselves to protect the females and young) and he was bleeding from the rear in very poor condition, stuck in the mud. A few hours later I went with A and R- to check on the kudu. They had me dressed in camo and I asked if I should take the air rifle to fit in. Poachers weren't ruled out yet so we had to be quiet and stay low. A kudu his size they said would go for 17,000 Rand (10=$1). The best of the options occurred. The kudu was standing, still obviously in loads of exhausted pain. But he was fighting for survival. In the end, they diagnosed him as okay, no need to put him down. Just prior to leaving him he turned his great stoic head around and locked eyes with me. I almost peed myself in such proximity to an epic breast. A- went back with the game guards just after and watched the kudu walk off in the distance. I learned a lot about the actual world of poaching that day.
=We captured a few photos of a trio Bush Pig family on the camera trap. Cuties.
=A- and I did a toprope climb on one of the upper cliffs, which was really hard for me but I made most of the moves. Andy is a strong climber with a lot of wisdom of becoming better. I am talking his advice to heart.
=Today I went for a hike to the falls and caught my first baby rock python!! There was also a young Nile monitor lizard. Both come out to be huge species, but just babies for the day.
And that's about it! We watched the Springboks kick butt last night. Rugby is a very fun sport to get into. It has the best features of multiple sports in one!
Sorry to family and friends for little to no responses. Like phones, we run on limited data so I can only use the net for a few moments at a time.
But much love to all of you! I am working on putting together a phlog (photo blog) to share.
Highlights since last week:
=Andy went hunting and within minutes I heard the boom and echo of his rifle. Then I learned how to skin and butcher warthog. It's delicious. Chris Lambert, Richard took photos for me to show you.
=We went on a long hike to the grasslands at the top of the mountain. I saw the land change from apex forest to typical African grassland and acacia trees. Minus your scene of rhino, giraffe, and elephants. But I did see a small herd of zebra!! Pretty monumental. Eventually they took off in a gallop and I almost peed myself.
=I discovered two species of orchids not yet recorded as present at the reserve. NBD. Richard said if they're novel species then I can name them. uhhhh. Only every science lovers dream!
=An almost sad story occurred. One morning we heard dogs on the chase. Typical of poachers. Andy went after them and in 20 minutes I heard 5 shots. Feral dogs, but still there because of poachers who abandon their dogs when caught. They had cornered a male kudu (males sacrifice themselves to protect the females and young) and he was bleeding from the rear in very poor condition, stuck in the mud. A few hours later I went with A and R- to check on the kudu. They had me dressed in camo and I asked if I should take the air rifle to fit in. Poachers weren't ruled out yet so we had to be quiet and stay low. A kudu his size they said would go for 17,000 Rand (10=$1). The best of the options occurred. The kudu was standing, still obviously in loads of exhausted pain. But he was fighting for survival. In the end, they diagnosed him as okay, no need to put him down. Just prior to leaving him he turned his great stoic head around and locked eyes with me. I almost peed myself in such proximity to an epic breast. A- went back with the game guards just after and watched the kudu walk off in the distance. I learned a lot about the actual world of poaching that day.
=We captured a few photos of a trio Bush Pig family on the camera trap. Cuties.
=A- and I did a toprope climb on one of the upper cliffs, which was really hard for me but I made most of the moves. Andy is a strong climber with a lot of wisdom of becoming better. I am talking his advice to heart.
=Today I went for a hike to the falls and caught my first baby rock python!! There was also a young Nile monitor lizard. Both come out to be huge species, but just babies for the day.
And that's about it! We watched the Springboks kick butt last night. Rugby is a very fun sport to get into. It has the best features of multiple sports in one!
Sorry to family and friends for little to no responses. Like phones, we run on limited data so I can only use the net for a few moments at a time.
But much love to all of you! I am working on putting together a phlog (photo blog) to share.
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