My First Week In AFRICA

I'm finally here!

After such a long time planning this trip and then 15 hours in airports and in the sky it really did feel like I was never going to land, especially when Frankfurt had an amazing lightning storm which prevented my first plane from landing but thankfully delayed my second plane too.

I spent my first night at Shoestrings Lodge. It's located only 10 minutes from the airport and the owner, Rob, picked me up from the airport for free and dropped me of at the station the following day so that I was able to catch my bus in time. The place was fairly basic, with communal bathrooms and a kitchen if you wished to cook, I paid a little extra for my own room and I'm glad I did as I ended up with a king size bed, exactly what was needed after a long sleepless flight. If you are wanting a stopover place with friendly people that is lots cheaper than a hotel and offers you lots of advice then I would definitely recommend a stay, some people have stayed here for a few weeks as they can get to everywhere they want, it really is super convenient, plus the pizza that you can order in is pretty tasty as well!

My room at the Lodge

On Monday morning I left the lodge by 6.30 in the morning to catch the train to Park Station. The train was like the over ground in London, but, amazingly has better disabled access to get on all the trains as the platform to train is completely flat with small gaps. Once I had arrived at Park Station I then collected my bus ticket and by 8am I had begun my 6 and a half hour journey from Johannasburg to Louis Trichardt. The bus felt like it lasted forever but thankfully I did manage to get some sleep. When I finally arrived I met one of the project leaders, Sam, and then went to get my week's worth of food. Thankfully they had a large supermarket to get everything I could ever need!! After that we headed up to my new home, Lajuma, which took a good hour due to the huge mountain climb on very bumpy roads that the car had to undertake. I was then shown my little cabin and left to unpack along with cook food. I met the 3 other girls on the project as well, Hannah, Oonika and Phil before heading to bed.

My room at Lajuma

My pretty picture chain

Tuesday I got a lucky lie in until 8am and then given 2 talks, one on the project, and one on health and safety. After that I was  given a tour of the housing etc before heading into the field to conduct vegetation plots where a 5x5 metre grid is taken at random coordinates and a small survey of the area is then taken out. To get to these points meant really wandering into the forest and so therefore being scratched and scraped by many varieties of thorn bushes and many other plants. We did get to enjoy lunch sat on a rock by a waterfall though which was lovely. After 7 hours out completing these plots in dense vegetation we finally made it back to the camp where I got to enjoy a hot shower (thank you sun and solar) along with a big bowl of pasta before heading to bed at the exotic time of 9pm!

On Wednesday morning I got given my real primate talk by Caroline, who is in charge of all the primate projects at Lajuma. I was then taken around and shown  the 24 tree species that I am required to learn along with the short codes used out here for next Friday which is a little tough! This is needed as when you are in the field making observations of the Samango monkeys you are required to note down what food they are eating, which is most commonly one of the 24 species and so knowing this from memory allows observations to be easier. After this I then read all about the projects I will be helping with before heading out in the afternoon to find the monkeys ready for following on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The pretty waterfall

Thursday morning arrived and I had to be up at 5am to be with the troop before sunrise which is around 6am. We start monitoring them at 6am. We follow them all day (till 6pm) and make observations on the troop every 20 minutes. After a 12 hour wander through the forest we left them at 6pm at a new sleeping sight where we would find them again at sunrise on Friday.

A monkey feeding

As the troop were slightly further away we were awake even earlier but we thankfully found the troop and followed them to a beautiful waterfall area and spent most of the day lazying around in the shade which was lovely. On the way back to their sleeping site another male attempted to take over the troop and we got to witness the attempted takeover which not many people get to see. The fight was vicious with both monkeys making so much noise and they were both crashing through the trees. Once they seperated we were able to see that the male trying to take over the troop had gained a really bad head injury that was bleeding alot! He kept lying down as if trying to get the blood off, but it was thought he may have a concussion along with a pretty bad limp! Scar, the troop leader had won the fight but had gained a really nasty gash to his neck and a very deep bite mark on his arm. Not long after that we left the troop and hoped that Scar was ok.

Scar feeling sorry for himself!

On Saturday we yet again started early but the monkeys were nowhere to be found at the sleeping site, after 2 hours of trying to find them we came back and then went in search of the Vervet Monkeys by scanning for the collared individual, Violet. We never managed to find them though as they were moving pretty quickly away from the camp site. As there sleeping sites have been disrupted quite a lot recently due to the Durham University field course, they may have been moving away to get some quiet but we won't know this until we find them again next week. On the way back after our unsuccessful trip, we came across the Samango Monkeys which we had been unable to find that morning. We then spent the rest of the day following them. Thankfully Scar seemed fine and healing well. When 6 o'clock came we said goodbye to the monkeys for a few days before heading up to the Bri with the Durham Students for a meal which was really tasty.

Sunday was finally a day of rest! I still woke up early, my body now thinks 5.30 is an acceptable time to get up but it was nice to not have to walk and follow. Typically, both the Samango and Vervet monkeys were right outside my room the days when I am not trying to find them!

Today I went to town and was able to upload this post, internet at the camp is limited and so uploading documents is slow going.

I shall update you all on my travels in a few weeks as there is lots of exciting things coming up!

My Next Exciting Chapter

I will be where the red dot is, Lajuma Research Centre, South Africa!

So today I leave the comfort of my home in Cheshire to start a new 3 month adventure in South Africa. After successfully gaining my placement back in April to work as a research assistant conducting Primate Predator research I am finally all packed and ready to go.

It feels like it has taken forever to come around and now that I am leaving this afternoon I'm in a panic as to whether or not I am ready at all!

I still find it impossible to put 3 months on a scale, this summer feels like it has been going on forever and it has only been 3 and a half months since I finished my final exam for second year. All I know is that I am so excited to get to see a part of the world that not many will, as I am so far away from the nearest town or village. I can truly say I will be living with nature at its finest which is incredible!

I will continue blogging during my year in industry when I have the time or find something that I think you will all find slightly interesting, so my next post will be from the other side of world.

I hope the rest of you all have an amazing year whether you are at University or, like me, exploring.

Love

Interview with Dr. Julian Bayliss

So, over the summer I have had the lucky opportunity to interview Dr. Julian Bayliss, who has done a whole host of exciting jobs in many areas of conservation along with discovering multiple new species.
To read my interview with him for conservation careers, and to have a look at his cool Google advert just follow the link below.

http://www.conservation-careers.com/dr-julian-bayliss-real-life-explorer/

My thanks to Julian for sparing some time in his busy schedule

Freshers Guide to University

Heading to University has to be one of the most daunting experiences I have ever had to do. Saying goodbye to all my life long friends and heading to a city where I had only visited a handful of times, live with people I didn't know and study a course which I hoped would allow me to work towards the career that I want was a scary prospect and so this year, before I start another new adventure I thought I would give you all my top tips for starting University.

Walking into a flat that you have to call home for the next year and meeting a bunch of complete strangers is never going to be an easy thing but after a week or two you soon adjust to living away from home and start to enjoy all your new found freedom. When I first arrived at halls I remember the huge amount of people carrying box upon box to their new small rooms. After unloading the car and a nearly tearful goodbye to my mum I entered the kitchen where I met 6 of my new housemates. After our first night out the rest was history and I proceeded to live with 5 of them again this year.

Everyone is in the same position- Everyone has just arrived and everyone is desperate to make friends and get to know people so if you're worried about making friends then don't. Just remember that you are meeting people with the exact same worries that you have and so you all have something in common!

You won't remain friends with everyone and that's OK- After my first night out at Uni I was convinced that I had found the people I would be friends with for the rest of my time at university, but just because you get along with people doesn't mean you have to be best friends. I still see and talk to the girls I met that week but since freshers week I have met so many more people that I get along with just as well, if not better, and so its important to remember that you make friends throughout your time at university and not just at the beginning.

Take advantage of Freshers Fairs- Freshers Fairs are a great way to see what opportunities and societies there are available at your new University. You can speak to the members of the societies and see if it's something you would be interested in trying. At Leeds university they have Give it a Go sessions so that you can try out the society to see if you enjoy it before having to fully commit!

Join a Society- Following on from above, I've met some of my best friends through societies! The people you meet clearly have common interests and so getting involved is a great way to meet more people. Leeds have over 300 societies and so there really is something for everyone whether that's your course society, like ZooSoc or GeogSoc to Snowriders, Cheerleading or Quiddich you will most likely find something you're interested in so why not get involved!

Stay Organised- Staying on top of reading, essay writing, attending lectures, going out for most of the night 3/4 times a week, along with taking part in a society, especially if that's a sports team with training, is hard going. My advice is to plan out what you have each week on the Sunday night before the chaos starts, that way you know what is coming and can see when you have to do. Having a good diary/ organiser is crucial, I use WH Smiths planners with a page a day as they are the perfect size to fit in my bag along with enough space to write down what I need, a large planner for your wall is also brill to help you see when your deadlines are.

Notes, Notes and more Notes- When in lectures, taking notes on a laptop or paper is really useful, everyone is different as I personally write mine out after going through the lecture in my own time with a recording of the lecturer speaking what's being discussed on the slides. Keeping lecture recordings is often useful for revision if you don't understand a part of a slide so you are able to listen again at a later date.

It DOES matter- Ignore the people who say just get the 40% to pass, if you are thinking of doing a year in industry/abroad at any university then you need a 2:1 minimum, these marks are also used, especially for year studying abroad to decide which university you may be placed at. Those with the highest first year marks will be given the best university places.
In Biology/Zoology, additional field courses often go to those with the highest marks in first year as well, so although the grades themselves don't count towards your degree, they may greatly effect the opportunities you have during your time at University.

80 is the new 100%- When I was only getting 65/70% in my first term at Uni I was devastated, I couldn't understand why I couldn't get higher, but at uni getting anything above an 80% is very rare. At school you are told that you need over 90% to get an A but at Uni that is just not true. 60-70% is a 2:1 and ask any second or third year and they will tell you that they would be very happy with a mark in that bracket!

Stay fit- Lots of Universities give out free gym memberships to first years, use it! You hear loads of people talk about putting on weight at uni which is mainly down to the huge amounts of calories consumed during nights out and hardly any burnt sat in a lecture theatre, so either hit the gym or join a sport society allowing you to exercise, socialise and party.

Water is your new BFF- Water, have it ready by the bed when you get in and make sure you drink at least two glasses before you fall to sleep after a night out. Have a bottle in your bag for when your dehydrated or falling asleep in lectures and try and have some in the morning too. Water really will help with hangovers, boredom and keep you awake,
TOP TIP, also have an apple in the morning, its scientifically proven to be as effective as caffeine first thing (well, apparently). 

Money, No Worries- Starting uni can often be the first time you have a large quantity of money readily available to you. Make a list of what you know to be coming in and out such as rent and student finance and then see how much you will have each week. Another piece of advice is to not get a overdraft and if you do only make it small! This will prevent you from spending money which isn't yours

Enjoy yourself- first year is for settling into your new life and getting to know new people, so don't panic if you aren't on top of everything immediately, it takes time to get everything under control.

Good luck to all those starting uni this year!

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