Sabbatical in the Nature: Experience

Another 2 weeks have flown by again and I have found myself back in Cape Town again. The experience with the elephants
I can't describe how amazing these animals are. They look and walk so gentle that you can't hear them approach unless they stand on a branch and make a noise. They have the most beautiful eyes that look so sleepy and the biggest dark eyelashes. I have met some amazing wonderful people. It’s great to see how different we all are in personalities but still want to achieve the same goal.

The build weeks were a little disappointing. The 3rd week we did get a chance to build but we were all so keen and eager and good builders that we had run out of cement as we were all building so fast. It was great team work as we all saw how the wall was growing in height. This meant we went back to base camp 1 day earlier. This did give us the opportunity to go to the school that EHRA is supporting. In the last year EHRA have received donations from volunteers ranging from books to computers. Ollie at base camp had made tables and these needed to be transported to the school. We all helped with this and at the same time got to meet the kids and teachers. With the help of Max, they will be installing these computers with educational programs for the kids at school. The next stage that EHRA want to help is providing new mattresses for the school. Currently the school children, who are all boarders, sleep on the floor with very thin bed rolls.

The patrol weeks were also fascinating as Jo, our expert, just knew so much about the elephants, the local people and the country. I sometimes felt he just had so much knowledge to share with everybody as his knowledge range was endless. If it was not animals, it was the mountains, or the history of the area or country. Or how the bushmen hunted and lived. The patrol weeks I sometimes felt like a real tourist just sitting in the cruiser following the elephant tracks but at times where we had to climb up the hills to see if we could see the elephants were fabulous. The unfortunate was that this was not often. In the afternoon during our siesta time some of us would usually go for a walk to keep those muscles moving. Other times a nice snooze was also enjoyed.

The food was outstanding and well above anybodies expectation. The cooking was a great experience, cooking on an open fire and using the typical South African potjie to cook our meals. There were set recipes and the food would be packed in boxes that we needed to take along with us for the build week or patrol week. We would have a lamb potjie or chicken potjie, or leg of lamb roast which was quiet a favorite. The fire making was always fun, looking for wood in the riverbeds or around the camp that we would have set up for the night. A couple of elephant dung or dry grass and we would be on our way to a fire. In the evenings we would have these lovely big fires, to keep the animals away. At times when all you could see was sand and the clothes that you are wearing are covered in sand, then Jo would always find some watering place where we could have a quick wash. On the patrol week we also tried to fix one of the diesel pump motors but unfortunately it looked like the pump was not working correctly. In the area there was a tank of water that was full up so we could all have a wash down. At times a ice cold drink was very welcome, and this was often found at the local shop, which was in the middle of nowhere. On the Sundays we would all pile in the cruiser to go on a hours drive to Uis to stock up with food for the next week, and at Uis we could then make use of the swimming pool of the Brandberg hotel. Of course a well enjoyed cold drink went with that.

The last 2 weeks will stay in my memory for a long time. Maybe because the 1st impression of the area I was able to absorb and I could enjoy the surroundings more. The people definitely made a big difference. The group was smaller, only 6 people and we all got on really well with each other. Maybe because we also enjoyed the big spit braai at base camp with EHRA people and so you could hear how each person is making an effort to help with the desert elephants. The minister of conservation and tourism was also at the spit braai at base camp and it was very interesting talking to her. Finding out what the local people think of the elephants and how they keep trying to find ways to improve the situation for the elephants as well as the local people. One topic was the tracking of the elephants, the conservation people don’t want to see collars on the elephants as then the tourist guides will use the signal to find the elephants. The conservation people do want to know where the elephants are and to be able to follow there trails. It has been found that elephants leave the area and then come back a year later.

After spending 2 weeks in the desert, getting back into the civilization is difficult to adjust too. At Swakopmund we usually tried to keep outdoors. We did a lovely kayak trip to see the seals and flamingos in the Walvis Bay lagoon. My flight back to Cape Town was delayed by a day as the incoming plane when landing broke the front wheel. We had to wait until spare parts where flown in from Windhoek. We were put up in Walvis Bay Pelican beach hotel, which gave me a chance to see the pelicans.

I have made so many pictures and just don't know which ones I can load onto the website taken but I have select some to give you some idea. Enjoy them, I certainly enjoyed the area.

Afternoon walk up the mountain