A Quick Trip to Brussels

Just before New Year I planned a surprise trip for my boyfriend and I to Brussels. I had never considered how easy it really is to just hop on the Eurostar and within 3 hours be in a completely different country.

Kruger, Mountains and So Much More

The past 2 weeks really have flown by! 

The Vervet monkey females had babies which are all adorable and I got to see them throughout the week. 

A baby Vervet monkey

My mum also arrived for a visit which was definitely just as exciting. She came up to Lajuma, where I got to show her around and we saw all 3 types of monkeys. We also climbed Mount Lajuma before we headed back down the mountain and traveled to Kruger Park.

Samango monkey feeding

Me at the top of Mount Lajuma

On the way to Kruger we stopped at the Vervet Monkey Rehabilitation Centre which was really interesteing. We got to hear all about the monkeys and some of their stories and the problems facing them. We even got to see 2 blind monkeys that had lost their sight when shot by farmers which was so sad.

After we left the centre we reached our hotel, the Sabie River Bush Lodge. The lodge was beautiful, our room overlooked the garden and had a huge high thatched roof which was just stunning. The main deck area looked out over the river and Kruger Park and one night we were lucky enough to see elephants by the water.

The first evening at the lodge we went on a sunset drive where we got to see Elephants, Rhinos, Lions and Giraffes and Impala which was amazing.

Wednesday morning Mum and I headed in to the park early and drove around all day.  At lunch I had a baboon steal my blueberry muffin which was a little unexpected!

We were so lucky to have a female lion walk out right out in front of our car and got to see the back end of a leopard as well!

On Thursday we went on a morning game drive and managed to see all of the big 5 before midday which was incredible. We then headed back to the lodge and spent a relaxing afternoon by the pool.

Friday seemed to have arrived far too quickly and we went to Maholoholo Rehab Centre where we had a very informative talk about the poaching issue, not just for the Asian market but also for traditional African healers who pay people to illegally hunt the animals because they don't have easy access to their native species.  We were also told about how the trophy hunting trade funds a great deal of consevation efforts as well as provides meat for rehab centres like Moholoholo.

 I also got to get close to see wild dog, a leopard and some cool birds.

We then drove back through the park and saw hyenas and lions on the way before reaching the hotel and having our last dinner in Kruger overlooking the river.

We left Sabie River Bush Lodge on Saturday morning and headed up into the mountains. The cloud was still low first thing so instead we headed to Pilgrams Rest, a small town that used to mine gold. From there we drove back up to the mountains calling at the view points of the Panorama Route before reaching Graskop and our hotel.

On Sunday we headed back down to Hazyview and did a 1.2km zipwire ride from near the top of the mountain down to the bottom which was so much fun! We got to see some great views as well. We then headed to the airport and mum got on her flight home and I headed back to Lajuma.

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