Namibia- Day Twenty Two

The Last Day

I woke up early and after sitting around for a few hours we left for the lodge. It was so pretty there but not as big as I was expecting and there was wifi.

The buffet was so nice and they had the most amazing apple cake with fudge topping! I wish I could have asked for the recipe. After a few drinks and food we went to the pool and I got to sunbathe even though it wasn't exactly hot.

We got back to N/a'an ku se around 5.30 and I was given Koos. After tea and saying bye to Margaux, Koos and I headed to bed. He seemed to be able to sleep but I didn't unfortunately. He woke in the middle of the night for a bottle and annoyingly his nappy leaked all over my bed. Thank god I didn't have another night in that bed.

Goodbye Namibia

After an eventful nappy change, breakfast was relatively easy. I went round and took pictures of the animals and said goodbye to Samira the Cheetah. We left for the airport at 12.30 and after checking in I bought a few souvenirs. The first flight was on time and over quickly. I then only have a 50 minute wait in Johannesburg before I was on the plane to Zurick.

Home

My flight arrived into Manchester to grey clouded skies and temperatures of 13degrees. A stark contrast to the 20 degrees sunny heat of Namibia that I had only left a day ago. I found Mum around 9 and it was lovely to have a reunion. Although its good to be home, I can hardly say that I would rather be back home than in a beautiful country like Namibia. Until next time.

Namibia - Day Nineteen, Twenty and Twenty One

Camera Traps
The rest of the group went to the sand dunes so we went through 1500 camera trap pictures and then went to check and collect the memory cards from the cameras. They were the same as we had previously done though. We went to the Honey Canyon to see if there was any where suitable to put a man made watering  hole but it was decided that the only way would be to have a long hose from the top to the bottom due to the first part being so steep that it would be to dangerous realistically for people to carry lots of water. We then wandered down a different canyon where there was a Zebra skeleton which still had most of its skin still  on. We then went for a little sun downer as well which was so nice!

My Last Day at Neuras
Instead of doing camera trap work, Kate offered to take us up the Naukluf Mountains! After a late start due to puncture we started the climb. It wasn't like a normal  mountain walk as there were lots of boulders and it was incredibly steep. One bad footing meant your legs and lots of loose rocks fell down which nearly happened. After the huge boulders the climb it became even steeper which felt like a real rock climbing wall just with a slight slant, there were so many loose rocks though that it wasn't easy at all! When we reached the top the views were incredible, you could easily see about 200 km! The way up took 1 hour 10 minutes but the way down was so much harder! We found bones of a kudu that was probably a leopard meal. As we descended very slowly we needed to get out of a dip so as went to climb the boulder that I thought was secure and it rolled down onto my foot. Somehow though there must have been a dent in the boulder which somehow was the bit of the rock that landed on my foot, if it had really hit it definitely would have shattered a few bones. We got down in 1 hour 30 minutes. We then went for a final sun downer. I cant believe how fast my time went at Neuras, it has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. Part of me will always remain in Namibia though, not just on thorn bushes but in spirit too.

Back to N/a'an ku se
The journey back to N/a'an ku se took 4 hours but we did get to stop for food on the way. We played with the monkeys for a bit, they do really stink! After a chill around the camp fire we all headed to bed.

Namibia - Day Sixteen, Seventeen & Eighteen

Day 16
Unfortunately I was ill for a day which can I tell you is not cool in any way shape or form when you are in a foreign country! In the afternoon, we went out with Matt to complete some footprinting tasks which was interesting and saw so many leopard prints!

Solitaire II
This way my second trip to Solitaire so I knew what to expect this time. I had to sit in the back of the truck as there wasnt enough room inside and it was certainly a little chilly even with sleeping bags to keep us warm. Once we arrived we prepped all the meat and went into the enclosure. Laura and Rusty were waiting for us and so they were given the crocodile we had made for enrichment which they destroyed easily. Just as we were feeding them though Teddy and Illa decided to show up which caused a little bit of tension as had to get the meat out really quickly so not to have a bit of a cat war on our hands.
After that we found Sparticus who disappeared as quickly as he came and then it took us AGES to find Pepper. Pepper is really interesting in the fact that she always places her meat on branches of some sort so that the food doesn't get dirty and covered in dust.
After feeding we picked up some old bones in the enclosure and filled up their water.
Once back at the lodge I got to call my Mum which was lovely. We then headed Solitaire where we stocked up on cakes and snack food. On the way back 2 kids hitched a ride with us which was an entertaining experience!
After a shower to remove the layer of dust I had aquired we then all went for a Sundowner and came back for tea. As it was Alice's birthday Moose had made her a huge brownie which we all got to eat some of! Being at Solitaire is such a great experience from the Cheetahs to the pack of dogs that live there its like a family that captures your heart.

Finding Sites
After breakfast we dropped the boys of to start their Eco Challenge. All the girls then went with Matt to help find some new possible camera sites for the second half of his study. We drove to the first site which had a promising area which looked like it had plenty of leopard tracks from the past 2 weeks which was good. The second site we visited sadly wasn't as good due to being very wide and so we walked for an hour to see if there were any other possible places. Sadly we found nothing bar a dead lizard and a dead Kudu which smelt horrific!

Once we got back we had lunch and then went on a game drive which was cold due to it being so windy! We did get to see lots of Zebra though and the herd had 4 babies in which were so cute. Its hard to really capture the beauty of the animals here. All of them have something which makes you in awe. Whether its Kudu horns or Zebras soft faces everything is beautiful.

Namibia - Day Seven, Eight & Nine

Neuras
So we all got on the bus at  7.30, Harriet and Mowenna left to go on Safari. The bus drive to get there was about 4.5 hours with a break on the way.

We finally arrived at about 13.00 and it was so beautiful! The courtyard is pretty with green grass, flower beds and a place where they cook the braai. After lunch we got to relax which felt very surreal as we hadn't ever had free time in the day at N/a'an ku se! At 16.30 we went on a sundown drive where we went to the top of a hill and all sat with a cider in hand watching the sun set. It was really beautful. We then returned to a platter of cheese and biscuits whilst we waited for our Braai to cook. Everyone sat chatting and getting to know each other. At dinner I got to experience different types of of food such as springbok steaks. The food in Africa may be very different but its so tasty that you really cant complain at all. Not having phone signal is also slightly liberating in many ways as you really dont have to think about anything bar the moment you are in.

Neuras - Day Two
After having a full nights sleep without feeling cold or waking up due to the sounds of peacocks i felt amazing. After breakfast we were split into two groups. My group did a trail which meant that we learnt how to work the GPS as well. This walk was about 3km. After that we got shown how to work a camera trap for the first time and then sent out to go and change the memory card in a camera by a watering hole. We biked to the watering hole though which was highly entertaining due to it being so hilly and so my legs were dead by the end of the 6 km ride.
After returning we went through all the pictures that the memory card we had collected had on which was mainly Kudu, springbok and then there were a few Zebra and some baboons.
Once the other group returned we went on a game drive where we saw lots of Ostriches and Kudu, Matt managed to get lost and so the route took another hour. The day was enjoyable to say the least and ending it with a hot shower made it all so much better!

Neuras -Day Three

On the Monday we were with Matt who is completing his masters out in Namibia monitoring the wildlife present in Neuras along with trying to use 2 camera traps positioned opposite each other to be able to photograph both sides of cheetahs, leopards and hyenas as this will enable identification of the animals even if only one side of the animal is photographed again. He had divided the park up into two halves so had 5 sites with 2 cameras at each time and so we were out looking for possible new sites that were in the half where the study had yet to be conducted. We walked about 10km through the canons in search of sites. The first sight we went to was a real possibility but after we reached the second site it was decided that the pathway was to narrow to be able to place two cameras along with the other problem that there was far to much vegetation so that you would never be able to gain a clear image of the animal even if it did walk past one camera clearly and so it was no use. During the walk we learnt how to identify leopard prints and the difference between leopard, hyena and cheetahs due to how big the pad is, the distribution of their toes around the pad and whether they have large/little indents into the pad.

After lunch we went on another game drive, this time we saw 60 springbok, kudu, wandering baboons, zebra and ostriches.
I finally managed to finish my first book of the holiday, in which i  will write a review for another time called 'The Thread' by Victoria Hislop which was very beautifully written.

The monday was a very odd day as although everyone seems to love their jobs I cant help but notice the negativity of all the Zoology researchers I had met since going on the trip as they all seems to say just how hard it really is for anyone that wants to go into animal conservation work.
Its such a sad state of affairs that you now have to pay someone else to give you a job and its so old fashioned. No one should have to pay £3000 just to go and work, there needs to be many more places that have people pay their board by working, to me the system is so floored and means that any one who wants to work with animals will constantly have an uphill battle with getting to do what they want to not even be paid but not have to be paid for. Its such an angry situation to be in to know that you may never be paid to do what you want but in my mind someone is gonna have to try very hard to stop me from getting to do what I want.

Namibia - Day Five & Six

Caracal Walk
After my eventful night with Koos I then had a caracal walk with a caracle called Alex who is tame and ever so beautiful! She has huge pointy ear and eyes. I was amazed at just how friendly she was as well. It was just like a big short haired version of Elmo (my cat).
After muffin break we took the Junior baboons on their walk. They are so much bigger than the babies and toddlers and weigh a fair amount more to when they jump on your shoulders and are a little scarier as you know that if they chose to attack you they could certainly do some damage.

Alex the Claracle

At lunch on the Thursday Nessi and me thought that it would be a great idea to jump into the pool. It was FREEZING, i came up in shock and forgot how to breathe for a moment to but once in the sun it definitely cooled you down.
After lunch we started to did the new trenches for a big baby baboon enclosure as theirs is far to small for them! Who would have guessed just how solid the ground would be though! Throughout the afternoon i gained a lovely temporary tan of dust and dirt as well.
In the evening we were given a really useful talk on photography by Stu. We were told about

• ISO
• Shutter speed
• Aplitude

He also went on to tell us about the 3 line rule, how in landscape you need something in the foreground and how if something is looking in a direction create a space for them to look into, it was really interesting and I was glad I had been to it as I did use it whilst I was away.

Wish Day
Wish day was great as you get to select what you do when its your last day at N/a'am ku se. I chose to do a enclosure patrol, carnivore feed and a game count in the evening which were all really good.

Umbeli the Leopard

Aisha the Cheetah

Kiki the Cheetah

 

Jammu the Cheetah

 The enclosure patrol involves checking the electricity and water levels in all the enclosures along with seeing if any animals had tried to dig out/in of the enclousres. During this time we got to see lots of the cats up close which was amazing these included Umbeli the leopard and Kiki, Aisha and Jammu the     cheetahs. The walk in total was around 6 miles which was quite a long walk to have completed before 10.30 in the morning but definitely worth it to see such beautiful animals up close.

Duma getting angry

Icko the scaredy cat

After muffin break of doughnuts, we went out on a Carnivore feed in which I got to throw large chunks of meet to Duma, Jammu and one of the cubs. You forget just how powerful big cats really are some times but watching them eat you can truely appreciate the size of their teeth and power that they have in their jaws. We also saw Meatball and Gobalina the two lions that if they wanted to they could break through the fence and kill you if they so pleased. This is because if there is a bush fire they want the animals to be able to escape if they had enough will to even though it would hurt being electrocuted it means that they would survive which in theory is a good idea but when faced with a lion who if he is more hungry that his meat slice could break out its a little                                                      daunting.

One of my favourite pictures!

One of the Cubs

Me feeding a cub

After lunch we went out on a game drive on the new property the other side of the road to N/a'an ku se. Game counts involve spotting as many animals classed as game and recording your sitings. At Neuras we did alot more of these (at least 2 a week). On this game drive we saw Springbok, Hartebeast, Ostritches, Warthogs along with some birds such as guinea fowl. The area was really nice with lots of good grassland grazing sights and streams, perfect for African animals.

Liska the wild dog

Meatball catching his meal

one of the cubs 

Meatball shaking his mane & Gobalina