Blogs from Amakhala Game Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa, Africa

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Amakhala Game Reserve July 20th 2013

Day 25- After a long last week, we decided to go to Kenton for the day. They have a beach with a few shops and a pub on the seafront which did amazing pizza! None of us could manage eating it all. We took some drinks out on to the beach and sat and drank for a while in the dark. Nick bravely went for a swim despite there being sharks!! We watched and laughed. We took our pizza boxes and made our way to the car park where the taxi was picking us up, singing all the way at the tops of our voices "Waka waka, hey hey, this is Africa". It was so nice to have the beach to ourselves, no one listening just being young and free! ... read more

Preparation for Nelson Mandela day.

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Amakhala Game Reserve July 16th 2013

megangrandi

Day 21: Today we attacked the prickly pears again, but with poison this time! It wasn't as bad as before. This afternoon we spent at Isipho kids centre watching them prepare for Nelson Mandela day tomorrow. They were practicing songs and dances and everyone was so happy! All of the children kept coming up for hugs and it could honestly be one of the best days of my life! It made me so happy seeing all of the kids create such happiness from nothing- just using their voices and clapping and the girls and boys did their own dances separately and all different age groups. The kids here, they have nothing, some do not even have shoes on their feet. But to them it doesn't matter. Everyone comes together to make Nelson Mandela day really special. ... read more

Lost in the wilderness

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Amakhala Game Reserve July 12th 2013

megangrandi

Day 17: Today we couldn't get a visual on the lions, but seeing as we were so lucky the last couple of days it didn't seem so disappointing! After that Kat joined us on a fence line walk, checking for any holes and filling then with rocks and branches. Also we collecting so much wire near the fence that had been dumped there. One of the Blesbok has got some wrapped around his horn! It's really hard to understand how people can just dump stuff without a second thought. Well Managed to get myself lost in the bush! Typical of me. I thought I'd just walk towards the fence line and follow it along, I seemed to be walking for ages until I found a zebra staring straight at me! Definitely lost! Panic set in and ... read more

Rainy and Cold

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Amakhala Game Reserve July 4th 2013

megangrandi

Day nine: Yesterday was a pretty unsuccessful day all round.. Firstly it was bitterly cold! And me and em had to share a blanket between us on the truck. We had no luck with the lions, we tracked them to be somewhere in the long reeds but got no visual. We spent the rest of the day on the main reserve. (where the lions will eventually be moved to) We couldn't find the elephants or rhinos, it's amazing how an animal as big as an elephant can't be seen! Today it's raining! We are clearing the boma area again. (Simon has kindly changed the plan so we don't have to clear the prickly pears-yay!!)We have nearly cleared all of the inside of the boma now. Luckily it stopped raining by the time we were out on ... read more

Blisters and Hoes

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Amakhala Game Reserve July 2nd 2013

megangrandi

Day seven: Today we set off to find the lions using the telemetry. No luck meant we went into the boma again to cut down the plants in between the two electric fences. (When too many plants touch the electric fence it can short circuit it). We used hoes to dig up the grass and plant roots and cleared it all out of the area. It's hard work and iv got a huge blister! When we were done, Simon gave us a leaf to wash our hands with. We crushed it in our hands and it was like soap! It's better than aloe vera as it's also used an antiseptic. We then went to track the lions again before lunch and after another long hunt for them we found them laid down in the thickets and ... read more

Growing trees

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Amakhala Game Reserve July 1st 2013

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megangrandi

Day six: We had a lovely weekend in Port Elizabeth having a look around and we spent the most part drinking wine! Sunday was a chilled out day on the sofa, eating all our food which meant we had omelettes for dinner. This morning we started in the plant nursery, filling up soil bags and planting tree trimmings in them. These will be cultivated here at the house and after a year or so, they will be planted either out in the reserve or in the nearby town to make it look nicer- at the moment it's a bit bare! Tin houses and sheds with nothing in-between. We took lunch out with us and tracked the lions, we located them but didn't see them today. They were laid somewhere in the thickets keeping warm. Another volunteer ... read more

First sight of the lions!

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Amakhala Game Reserve June 27th 2013

megangrandi

Managed to wake up early enough for breakfast this morning. We took lots of tools and set out on the reserve to rehabilitate to boma area (a fenced off area where the lions are kept after being darted). We basically had to cut down grass and plants, pretty dull but the area looked better after. We tracked the lions to be around the boma so we had the gate firmly shut!! As we were working, Simon called us over. The lioness had walked past and growled at him- just a warning. A few minutes later we spotted them on the top of the hill, the lion and lioness together. We dropped our tools and drove out to find them. Amazingly, the lioness was laid on the side of the track as we were driving up. She ... read more

Prickly pears

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Amakhala Game Reserve June 26th 2013

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megangrandi

Day two started with a difficult 7:30am wake up. We managed to drag ourselves out of bed at 7:55 ready for the 8:00 start so no time for breakfast. We went to collect the other girls from their night at the 5* lodge and were passed by 3 amazingly graceful giraffes. They seemed to gallop in front of us in slow motion! We then started our weekly task of alien plant control, chopping down and clearing areas of cactus/prickly pear plants. Despite being given gloves the spikes still came through! and worst yet the small hair-like spikes are really hard to see and get out! Iv got quite a few still stuck in my thumb which is fab. After lunch we went out to the AIDS orphanage/youth centre and made get well soon cards for Nelson ... read more

Day one at Amakhala.

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Amakhala Game Reserve June 25th 2013

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megangrandi

After our long and tiring journey and our rather cold kip in Johannesburg airport, we finally arrived in port Elizabeth at our lodge. Its a converted railway station so it has huge ceilings and windows and everything is pretty basic.Two girls are already here and it's been good to ask them all about what they have been doing to give us an idea of what to expect! We set off out in the jeep to track down the lions using the telemetry, after an hour and no luck, Simon our mentor decided to call the ecologist to compare her telemetry to ours as he thought it was faulty. Either that or the lions collar is faulty. Yvonne's telemetry was not picking up and strong signal either, so we will try once more tomorrow and go from ... read more

Brief history of South Africa

After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjug...more history

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