Volunters at Knysna

For our March Volunteer Trip, we cruised down the Garden Route in search of beaches, relaxation and fun! On the N2 freeway we passed through the vineyards, down to the coast to Mossel Bay where the official start of the Garden Route begins. Passing through thick forests, floral sanctuaries on the windy, rugged coastal highway, we finally arrived in Buffalo Bay! Buffalo Bay is an oasis for those who really want to get away from it all, the white sandy beach stretches for miles, the surfing is impeccable and development is scarce! We stayed the night in the Buffalo Bay Backpackers, where we met people from all over the world, tasted a traditional South African braai supper and watched the bright stars before heading off to bed.

We made a bold excursion into the Goukamma Nature and Marine reserve which is famous for its marine life, bottle-nosed dolphins and whales off the shoreline and coastal fynbos. We decided to tackle the Coastal Hike, a 10km trek in the hot sunshine! Before beginning our hike, we realized that in order to even get to the trail head we had to use our woman (and one man) power to pull the “ferry” across a river! We managed to do this with no casualties and had a laugh the whole way!

the “ferry”

We also enjoyed a day in Knysna, checking out the local shops and quaint town famous for its oysters! The volunteers also visited the Knysna Elephant Park, where they learned a lot about elephant conservation and rehabilitation. Jolanda Vroling, Ruth Hamilton and Lindsay Smith gave them some exercise by riding on their backs! We had a great trip, can’t wait to come back!

-Alyssa Myers

Conservation in South Africa and Botswana

Why you should go to Botswana in four sentences by Gerrit Prinsloo (our Conservation director in Botswana and South Africa):

We need to ensure the survival of species and sustaining the environment for future generations to experience. We can only achieve this through the help of other likeminded people and by showing them what could be lost if the rest of the world isn’t made aware of what we still have.

I like to get to know people from all over the world and their different cultures. The best part of my job is to have the opportunity to show people with the same passion how awesome Africa is and get them to experience its humbling effect and absolute wildness.

Gerrit and a Monitor Lizard

What is happening at the Conservation project by Harry Kent

7 months into the project and were still going strong, after completing our first water hole a short walk along the river , we have decided to begin another right in the front of the camp, this will eventually mean the further attraction of wildlife making the Legodimo camp even more of a paradise retreat.

In our last update I commented on the progression of the Elephant hide we were building in the north of the reserve, since this the Elephants sadly destroyed all of our hard work, they were obviously not keen on the design or location, we are now looking at possible new areas for the hide taking into consideration the Elephant tastes.

Brian the Porcupine is still up to his old tricks, he has began bringing his lady friend to the camps kitchen restaurant, all cannot wait for the eventual long line of Brian juniors, he has now become so tame we can even get down to give him a stroke, yet his demanding hunger gets out of hand when no ones home, the state of the cupboards, cooler boxes and anything else for that matter are no sight for sore eyes.

Harry with Brian the Porcupine

A current social activity is dance classes from fellow volunteers. Surely I can’t be the only one who wants to see that. Maybe Gerrit doing jazz or modern dance…priceless!!!

That’s it for this month, let’s hope next time we can share some good news on the dreaded viewing hide.

By Harry Kent, former Desk Officer for our Southern Africa Conservation Program

I had been mentally preparing for the last 4 months for the cold I would experience when landing back in London, let me tell you it didn’t help, being propelled from 40 degrees African sun to barely 1 degree was a real shock to the system.

Living without electricity was far easier than I ever could have imagined (and a hard habit to kick), as after a welcome home party on Monday I was found by my girlfriends parents wandering around their house, in the pitch black using only my phone as a torch which was shortly followed by “we do have lights here Harry”.

Driving to the Office on the Monday was a far cry from transporting the volunteers around the Legodimo reserve, firstly a Nissan Micra doesn’t come close to a great green Land Rover, and by skidding off the road only to notice it was only a piece of tyre not a Black Mamba I was avoiding made me feel right at home.

So now I sit here in the UK office, and I am not saying Rich is not pretty but the view doesn’t come close to that of paradise.

Volunteers and staff ready to build!

A special thanks to our volunteers for giving up their sunny Saturday to help build homes for Habitat for Humanity in the Mfleni Township, a half hour drive from Cape Town city. Our team of ten volunteers started the work day with digging deep ditches to create the foundation for the house. It sure isn’t easy to dig a hole up to your knees, we soon found out! Nevertheless, we were able to get the job down before lunch. Now came the hard part, making concrete from scratch. This meant mixing sand, gravel, water and concrete powder by hand on the concrete and then quickly shoveling it into the foundation holes to dry.

Digging a foundation

Mixing cement

After a grueling day of work, some of the volunteers sat down with the locals and were able to try traditional South African beer called “umqombothi” (the “q” is a clicking sound). This beer has been home brewed all of South Africa, it is made with sorghum and millet mainly, then mixed with with maize meal, water and yeast and left to ferment, making it a beer rich in B vitamins. The taste isn’t as refreshing as a frosty cold pint you would find in an English pub, it is served at room temperature, or in our case, fairly warm in the midday sunshine, and tastes quite sour and thick!

The adventurous trying some umqombothi

We left that day hot, sore and with many blisters, but we couldn’t have felt better about helping the initial process to build a home for someone who has never really had a real home of his own for his family.