3 jobs but still time for cheetah sleepouts

From Harnas Marketing and PR  to Group Leader to Volunteer Coordinator - 3 jobs in one and still time to sleep out with the cheetahs!

Just when I thought things were quietening down it gets hectic again! But thats Harnas life and always.... Expect the Unexpected. Last week was a lot of fun again, Jo finally came back from looking after her mum in Windhoek on Monday night and by Tuesday morning I was in the office with a list of 10 big projects! There is so much to work on here and its all interesting exciting stuff. There are a couple of big proposals to the government Jo has asked me to work on as well as the more fun side of the PR and Marketing stories of Harnas that we need to push out to the Namibian and International media. Office life is not too bad and I generally work 10am - 1pm and then 3pm - 5pm so its not all day and there are lots of breaks in the day as animals need attention or people need help! (already been de-worming puppies and finding lost baboons this morning!)

On Thursday my group leader left Harnas and I was asked to take over leading our group the Hound dogs! So thats awesome fun and the people are still great, its just hard managing a group of 11 people and still spending time doing the long list from Jo. We also won the team competition for the week which was awesome. The competitions were a mixture of Harnas olympics, Scavenger hunts and a game of silent murder. All of which our group won which was awesome! And what do points mean......PRIZES! So our team had a Lapa breakfast on Thursday morning which was truly delicious, full english, toast (which believe me is a rarity here!) and fresh orange juice! It was lovely that Tineke (our group leader) could have a lapa breakfast before she left. So, depressing Thursday arrived (my first of many to come!) and a really good bunch of people left which was sad. On Friday we had 23 people arrive which is the biggest group of arrivals in months! They all seem nice so far and we have 5 newbies in our group.

Main piece of news for the week is that I am taking over from Tess as of Thursday this week. Tess is the volunteer co-ordinator here and does all the inductions and generally manages the volunteer process from arrival to departure. Sadly Tess's visa has ran out despite a huge effort to get an extension. She has been here since January and is the Mum of the volunteers! I have big shoes to fill so it will be an interesting week ahead when she leaves and I take over. Luckily I am giving up group leader at the end of the week as there is no way I can manage 3 jobs! Just the 2 jobs now!

Best part of taking over Tess's job is I get to move into her Cabin (Topnar - for those of you who know). It is a 1 bed cabin with its own bathroom and Hot water when the bushmen light the fire!! So that will be a nice luxury to not have to share cabins or walk through the bush in the dead of night and freezing cold just to empty my bladder!!

It has been super cold these past 4 days with temps of -4 degrees at night. Last night Charlotte and I slept out with the 4 Cheetahs (Nikita's group). It was a bit warmer at about 2 degrees!! But an awesome night nonetheless, we spent the first 30 mins cuddled up with the 4 of them and then we made our beds for the night. Unfortunately the cheetahs didnt come and sleep with us but we didnt really expect them too. Just lying under the african stars with the sounds of lions around as well as the sound of the bush was amazing. It wasnt cold by the time i got into the third sleeping bag and had a surprisingly good nights sleep which bodes well for my future life in the bush!! 

Tess is currently on her 4th page of handover notes to me which is a little daunting, but hopefully my first induction session with the 18 volunteers arriving on Friday will go smoothly! WIll update next week.

For all you Harnas fans - the animals are all doing well, Goeters is very old now and his age is taking its toll on him, he can still walk around just about but spends most of the day lying down in the sun. At the age of 26 he is pretty amazing. Elsa continues to struggle with her back legs, although the remote control car and pattricks massage sessions seem to be helping. 4 cheetahs (nikita, jeanie, shingala and lueke) are all doing well and enjoying the huge amount of volunteer interaction now they are the only tame cheetahs on the farm. Pride is making a kill almost every 3 days which is awesome, she is doing so so well. She even let me sit next to her kill as she ate it the other day! pretty sure she remembered me as soon as a group of us sat down she came right over to me for a cuddle! Baby baboons elvis and lodi are gorgeous as ever and getting walked regularly. the 6 baboons (coco, jessie etc) are getting a bit naughty and biting a lot but still being walked most weeks. Zion and Trust are huge and still gorgeous, the Brothers have also grown up so much and are now on tour but still come to the fence for a scratch and cuddle, the baby lions (now 2.5 years old!) are also big but still gentle most of the time (except martha who is a nightmare!) although all lion interaction has stopped now as they are all too big. Such a shame but for the best!

Keep the emails coming with the news from England and around the world please, its good to hear what is going on outside of this Harnas bubble!

Have a lekker week 

xx

Leopard Release and Wild Dog Darting

So its been a week since I arrived on Harnas and it has not stopped!! Its been pretty hectic and lots going on. On Tuesday we had to dart Tom the wild dog who was being attacked by the other dogs in his enclosure. We went out to his enclosure, schalk darted tom and then once he was asleep we picked him up and drove back to the clinic. Erin (animal caretaker and vet nurse) worked on cleaning his wounds and checking he was in general good health and then we put him in an enclosure. All went well and he is now out in an enclosure with a female. All with the aim to form a new pack of wild dogs.

Then Wednesday night was lapa night, the theme was animals on harnas (orginial!) so Tess (volunteer coordinator) and I went as zebras. At dinner it was announced that the wild leopard who came to Harnas a month ago would be released back into the wild tomorrow and there was space for a volunteer to go with the car to release. We all put our names in a hat and Herman picked one out. Unbelievably I was the lucky one.

So at 3am that night I had to get up and start the 12 hour drive south with Charlotte, a German volunteer who came with us as the film crew who are living on harnas making a german TV documentary were also coming to film the release! And Patrick, who is helping run the volunteer programme. We arrived on the farm at 3pm the next day after the most treacherous journey up a mountain which was on the edge of the desert. Spectacular scenery and a real challenge to get the car up the mountain, There wasn't even a road so it took some time. The 4x4 course i went on with dad a couple of months ago came in handy when i had to guide patrick up the mountain. Sadly i wasnt able to drive. The leopard was in the back of the car with us for the whole journey. Dont worry she was in a cage! She was pretty much silent until we found the right spot to release her when she went a little bit crazy!

We roped up a lever to a tree so we could all be safely in the car when we opened the cage. She initially just sat in her cage looking around for a while and then made her escape and ran off into the bush. 12 hour journey for a 3 minute release but it was worth every second. Seeing her get her freedom back was awesome. We then spent the night in the mountains at a tiny little farm house with no electricity. Luckily one of the guys had picked up a big curly sausage which we braaied and found a random bag of rice to cook as well. We weren't planing on staying overnight but the journey took way longer than planned. We also went for a walk in the mountains and climbed to the top of a peak where there was the most amazing view over the Namibrand National Park. Photos to follow soon!

Friday was spent driving the 12 hours back south, however we were only 60kms from Sossusvlei which is the second oldest desert in the world and is a national park with the most amazing dunes. It would have been a crime to drive 900kms and not drive an extra 60kms to the dunes so with a bit of persuasion Patrick drove us to the park. Charlotte and I climbed Dune 45 the biggest and best and it was totally awesome. I feel so lucky that I could be involved in the trip and get to experience both the release and the desert! We got back to Harnas at 7pm on Friday night absolutely knackered. How Patrick drove for 24hours in 48 hours is pretty incredible! And now I have seen so much of Namibia! Such a beautiful country.

12 vols left on thursday, 9 arrived on friday and now we are 32 people which is a really nice number. Its an awesome group right now, most people in their early 20s and from Norway, US, Denmark mainly. I am the only person from the UK which is unusual.

Yesterday we had a small Harnas Olympics competition which my group the Houndogs won! Today is sunday so a day off, and this afternoon we are playing paintball!!

Thats about all for now, everything is great and having the best time! Jo is back this week so I may end up in the office by the end of next week. Really enjoying normal volunteer life right now and trying to make the most of it before the office beckons me!

Weather is hot during the day about 26 degrees and pretty chilly at night about 3 or 4 degrees.

Will try and update again next sunday

Hope all is well with you, it would be great to hear your news.

x

Back in the Bush

So I arrived at Harnas on Friday and have had an awesome couple of days. The people are really nice and everyone is super friendly.

The Lions (Brothers & Babies) are all doing well but have grown up so much! They are all out in bigger enclosures now and all walks have stopped as it just got too dangerous. All other animals are well too, Goeters (cheetah) is still going strong unbelivably at the age of 27 years old. Pride is out in the lifeline and is very successful. Havent had a chance to see her yet but hopefully in the next couple of days. The 4 Cheetahs (were 5) Are all good but sadly we can't just walk into their enclosure and spend time with them any more. Health and Safety has reached new levels but all for the right reasons. Now we have cheetah interaction sessions!!

Frikkie has left harnas for the time being as he was really sick but we hope he will return to visit in a couple of weeks. Herman has taken over running the volunteer programme. He is awesome, very funny and knowledgable.

I have just finished my induction and am in the Houndogs Group (originally Group 2)! We look after Goeters, Baby baboons, Mongoose, Ostritches, Squirrels, Puppies (so cute!) Tortoises and the very exciting Rabbits! haha. There are no cubs on the immediate farm any more which is good and bad! Although we have had a very very exciting arrival 1 week ago but will reveal more in week or so. Its all a bit hush hush at the moment as usual!

We currently have a game of silent murder going on which is hilarious, you never quite know when you might be killed! We also have movie night tonight and we had a Braai last night with the standard stick bread!

Not much more news at the moment, Jo and Schalk have been away in Windhoek but get back next week so I will probably start working in the office then but for now i am really enjoying spending time with the animals and being a "normal" volunteer!

hope all is well with you guys

x