Final Newsletter for 2008
January 17, 2009 by Entabeni
Final news letter for 2008
Well, it’s been another good year, with some of our best adventures yet and our June intake of students has now moved on to their practical placements. Nicolai has a placement with Amakhosi Game Lodge in Northern Zululand. This is a beautiful lodge with all of the big game, where we are sure he will do very well. Tilanie, Anaschka, Tom, Kallie and Nick will be guiding in the Entabeni Safari Conservancy, being based in various camps within the reserve. They are currently busy with an in-house training program, learning the roads and so forth on the reserve. Daniel has taken a position guiding on foot in the Klaserie Game Reserve, with Africa on Foot, which should be quite an exciting time for him to say the least. Jan Martin has decided to continue with his degree in tourism management and Helen and Duncan have decided to head back out to bonny England and continue with their lives after their African learning adventure. Rickus has moved to the Thornybush Game Reserve, and is going to guide for the Waterbuck Game Lodge. Diana and Virgil have taken up positions with Okavango Wilderness Safaris in the Okavango Delta, where they will be based for the foreseeable future. It seems a fun and valuable learning time is in store and they will all be missed. Here are a few highlights of our last month or two.
Capturing a buffalo at the game breeding centre.
There was a sad instance of a breach birth in one of our buffalo cows. Presumably the baby died in the night, but the next morning the students were called to assist the vets in capturing the cow and helping to repair her injuries. The students helped with every aspect, such as cleaning, injecting, cooling and even holding her upright so as to prevent further complications.
We also had to dart one of the young lionesses in the white lion breeding project due to a shoulder injury.
The Advanced Rifle Handling Course
This was a serious part of the training for the guys on the year programme. They were very keen to achieve trails standard riflery and made a great effort. By the end of the course, all but one were at trails standard which is a fantastic achievement all round.
Sleeping out in lion country
Every now and then we go and spend a night sleeping our in the bush, and in the middle of the lions territory is the usual choice. Guard duties are set, and its around the clock watching for big cats. Its always a fun and exciting experience for the gang.
A visit to Mabula Game Reserve
We were fortunate enough to be invited by Lawrie Roux of Mabula to see the reserve and went as a group to visit. We had a fantastic day and saw awesome game such as lion, elephant, white rhino and ostriches, as well as a few new birds for the group.
2008 Halloween party
We had a few fun evenings such as a huge Halloween party organised by Sarah and Alida for the students. The guys dressed up, some men dressed as women (scary), others as vampires, mummies and pirates. Daniel went to the party dressed as Lee, because, he said Lee was the scariest thing he could imagine….
Savannah and Kellen, dressed as a Pumpkin and Spiderman respectively, trick or treated with the students before sun set moving from room to room along the walk ways. They got a few frights along the way when greeted by mummies and ghouls, pirates and transvestites…. a worrying thought I must say. Sarah and Alida did some amazing work on the decorations and food. The pumpkins filled with candles were awesome.
The tables were decorated and black pots churned out smoke, the food was all to the theme with mummy head pizzas, dismembered finger hot dogs, bat shaped cookies and a host of other treats. The students really had a blast, and here are a few more pictures of highlights and costumes they wore.
Awesome edibles, Alida and Sarah stretched their imaginations to the limit to build a spread fit for a skeletal banshee… mummy pizzas and bubbling pots of bubbly stuff.
Some bizarre costumes were chosen, but they guys were definitely in the “spirit” of things.
Euphorbia lectures
We did a little bit of advanced Euphorbia work with Prof Rolf Becker and his partner Alma. They gave us an awesome presentation on Euphorbia’s, and took us for a day in the field GPS ing various species. It was an interesting day enjoyed by all. We hope to see them back soon and that they will join the family here at the school.
Rolf and Alma are busy with an international project on Euphorbia’s, working with American universities to atlas these interesting plants.
Our Kruger Park trip
We decided to spend a week in the Kruger with all the students during November, and had a great time doing safaris with Singita Lebombo, thanks to Game Rangers Stefan Winterboer and Deirdre Opie. This was an amazing privilege to be in their private concession. They took us on a drive and we saw some amazing animals, birds, scenery and plants including the Lebombo Euphorbia.
We were also privileged to stay at the Klaserie at Africa on Foot, private concession. Here we walked under the guidance of Courtney Blunden, and experienced ranger, knowledgeable bush guide and co-owner of the company with his partner Cecelia Oosthuizen. We had a wonderful time with the team at Africa on Foot and highly recommend the experience of getting up close and personal with Africa’s wild life.
We also stayed at Satara for four nights and had some great sightings in the National Park itself.
Scorpions and snakes
Jens, the snake guy and Jonathan the scorpion guy came down to the reserve to join us for a weekend of fun. An outstanding time was had by all, and much was learned. The lads had their cameras out as usual and got some great pics I am sure. Jon and Jens are great supporters of the school and are experts in their fields who gladly share their great knowledge. It is always fun to have them around and we look forward to the next meeting of ways. Scorpions and snakes are both greatly misunderstood groups of creatures and these two dedicated men go a long way towards teaching people how valuable they are in any natural and complete ecosystem.
Jonathan can be contacted at www.scorpions.co.za and Jens at www.ultimatecreatures.com for any information about scorpions or snakes respectively.
The September West Rand Damelin College Group
This was a fun group. These were all young school leavers who are currently studying with Damelin College. They are a dynamic and enthusiastic class of learners, with great and bright futures ahead of them. Damelin West Rand selected us as their preferred provider for training for their first year students and we certainly made sure these young guys and girls had a learning experience of note. The game viewing was excellent, with many lion, cheetah, rhino, elephant, hippo, buffalo and even brown hyaena and marsh mongoose sightings. All of the students in this group successfully achieved their level 1 FGASA qualification.
The October bunch!
Suzanne, Paul, Ian, Caecile, Deborah and Giuseppe. This was the October short course, which was a fun crowd. They did well, and all had a good time. A mixture of German, Italian, Danish, Zambian and South African students made this interesting for us all.
The November crew!
This was our first ever course for Ranger Caddies. These are people selected from our community who speak good English and have an interest in nature. They have attended a programme with us, sponsored by the Legend Golf and Safari Resort and Entabeni Nature Guide Training to qualify as local guides. They are then going to assist as a combined caddy and guide in the golf resort, which is entirely nature friendly, with antelope and giraffes roaming about the greens. They will drive their guests, the golfers in their golf vehicles and be able to provide informed commentary on the trees, birds and mammals they encounter as well as the basic geology and climatology of their areas. These are a small group of exceptional individuals, who are being uplifted from being unemployed to highly trained and fully employed individuals. They have done them selves proud, all passing the local guide assessment with flying colours, and a sense of humour too!
This was definitely a fun series of groups to train. But of course the Wombats of June 2008 1 year course were a fun crowd, with a load of potential, and the right attitude. They did well and are all well on their way to a great career in the nature industries.
Well now we get ready for the next program, say good bye to the 2008 January intake as they depart upon their careers, and monitor all of the June 2008 guys on their practicals. The January intake starts our new program over six months so we all are looking forward to the new course material here on the team. It will be an exciting and fun new year for the team and students and we wish you all the same!!!
Until next time
The ENGTS team