Croc Farm, Tsodilo Hills and Other Recent Escapades + Photos

Written: Monday November 9th, 2009 at 10:00pm

I paid a visit to the local crocodile farm the other day which is a few kilometres away from Shakawe and home to 9000 crocodiles including a massive one named Sam. The purpose of the farm is to breed crocodiles and release them into the wild, for tourism purposes and to produce crocodile leather which is then exported. I went there just to check it out but then I went back a second time for a different reason and found out that someone had left the door open to one of the areas where the baby crocs were being kept. 200 baby crocodiles ended up escaping (not from the property though) and collecting them was quite a hilarious scene.
I have also seen a lot of wildlife in the past couple of weeks, including a python, a black mamba, giant beetles and the usual hippos and monkeys. I was fishing in a boat on the river the other day when a particular hippo came out of the water at us because it wasn’t happy that we were there. That was the first time that I had seen more than the head of a hippo. They are massive. It was about 15 meters away from us but they can swim really fast so we got out of there as fast as we could. I also saw a chameleon for the first time. Well, actually I almost missed it because it was camouflaged with the road which it was crossing but when I did see it I moved it off of the road into a tree so that it didn’t get run over. As soon as it was placed in the tree it started turning green and brown which was really cool. I saw it on the way to Tsodilo Hills, which is where 3000 year old rock paintings can be found.
I also had a braii at my house the other day with a few other volunteers that were in Shakawe for the weekend. Having a braii is pretty much like having a BBQ but the meat is cooked on a grill over a fire. We sat in my yard and it was there that I witnessed the lobster-spider. By lobster-spider I mean a giant spider that has pinchers and looks like a lobster. These spiders have a name but I can’t remember what it is. Anyways, I have never seen anything like it. These spiders also have giant fangs and can move really quickly!
Work has also been interesting lately. I have been going to a lot of different villages for various reasons. Often it is to meet with community members to discuss one of TOCaDI’s projects. I have also been going to Shaikarawe a lot, which is the village where the community garden project is being started up again. My supervisor is away right now which means that I am responsible for this project. There is a lot to do and it’s difficult to work alone here. I will also be away from Shakawe next week as I am going to Gaborone for a WUSC HIV/AIDS sector meeting. Then I will be back here for a few more weeks until I go to Swakopmund, Namibia, for Christmas. Swakopmund is on the Namibian coast and there is so much to do there including sandboarding in the dunes! I can’t wait. I will be going there with another student who is in my program at UofT who is in Zambia right now. But until then, life goes on in Shakawe... (and briefly in Gaborone).

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