My First Experience in the African Bush

My first real job after University was working for Raleigh International in Zimbabwe. I had been employed as an ecologist, for a minimum of the year, to set up a number of conservation projects in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe was Raleigh International's new destination and I had eight months to set up a number of projects for the first expedition the following year.

I had never been into the African bush before, I was naive about all things Africa. 

So, I drove down to Save Valley Conservancy to stay with a lady called Karen Paolillo - she had single-handedly saved a pod of hippo during the drought which Zimbabwe was in the clutches of at the time. It was June 1992, the early rains for the year had not materialised, people and animals were dying.

Karen and her husband Jean lived in a small caravan in the middle of the bush in Save Valley Conservancy. Jean had been prospecting land for minerals and Karen had come along with him, only to notice the plight of the hippos. Their caravan stood on the edge of the escarpment overlooking the River Turgwe, which should have been a river of glorious water but had been reduced to a couple of small puddles. Karen had become increasingly aware that the hippos no longer had water to drink or to retreat to in the heat of the day and little food to eat. The situation had become serious if these hippos were going to survive.

So Karen has taken it upon herself to feed these hippo, using the little savings that she had. Each day she would go out to find where the hippos were hiding in order to feed them. More often than not they were in dense riverine bush attempting to hide from the powerful rays of the sun. Hippos skin is very sensitive to the sun, which is why they need to submerge themselves in water during the day, otherwise the skin will crack and blister. Cracked skin, and the searing heat, can lead to the death of a hippo from dehydration.

So there I was, naive Jenny, carrying a bag of hay and walking through the bush. Karen was busy looking for a a young hippo and its mother which she had not seen for a while. We were searching a dry riverbed as Karen thought that this was where they would probably be hiding out. I was given strict instructions by Karen to stay in the middle of the dry riverbed whilst she went into the undergrowth to see whether she could locate the two hippos. All of a sudden there was this large crashing sound from the undergrowth, coming in my direction, and I became frozen to the spot. In the back of my mind I was looking for nearby trees to climb but my legs were not going anywhere. I was terrified! A few seconds later Karen emerged from the undergrowth, smiling. She was pretty pleased that I had done what she had asked me to do, which was to wait exactly where I was, but little did she know that my legs could not move anyway. What an adrenaline rush!

That was the first time of many wonderful wildlife experiences, where the heart gets a little bit of the workout. But I will never forget that particular moment, it was the first of many, and it is the one that sticks in my mind.

Coca Cola and Communication

My brother Jason, had never been to Africa before, so the obvious solution was for him to come with me. This was a few years back when I was working for a gap year organisation, setting up conservation and community projects in Swaziland. He came out with me before my recce for the next expedition, and we had a two-week holiday – well a bit of a busman's holiday for me, but certainly a holiday for Jason. We had some memorable experiences; a full day by Mahlindza Dam watching the animals coming into drink, Jason spending a night snuggling up to some animal to keep warm in the night (whatever it was, it was on the other side of the tent and Jason had a good nights sleep) and the mist clearing giving the most spectacular view in Malolotja. But one of the funniest situations we had was a lesson in communication.

We decided to have lunch in Simunye Country Club – there is a swimming pool there which we were taking advantage of as it was extraordinarily hot that day. Before taking a dip, we decided to have a drink and Jason went to the bar to order them. A few minutes later the waiter came out with my Sprite and disappeared back into the bar area. Jason's Coke was not there. I was halfway through my Sprite before Jason queried the fact that his drink was missing. It was a hot day and he was parched.

"Not to worry", I said, and I went over to the bar to find out where his drink was.
"I was just wondering where our Coke was," I said.
"They're just making it now."
"They are just making it?"
"Yes, it will be ready in 20 min."
"A Coke takes 20 min to make?"
"Yes."
"Oh."

It then dawned on me what had happened. Jason had ordered a 'Coke' but the waiter had misheard and thought he had said 'cake'! I felt terrible, the kitchen staff were slaving away over an unwanted cake.

"What type of cake are they making?"
"Plain."
"Please could we have two slices of plain cake and also a Coca-Cola?"

Well, we couldn't really let the cake go to waste could we? And it was worth every minute of the 20 min wait!

How To Create Stunning Photos

Memories of Africa are what we strive for whilst on holiday and the most popular way of remembering this is through photographic evidence.  On returning from holiday, camera memory cards are usually full to the brim of useless photos and those award-winning photos that you thought you had, and which turn out to be uneventful blurs.  I am a self taught photographer, and I am not that fantastic at taking pictures, but I love my end products and it gives me great joy.  So here are some simple techniques that I have learnt to avoid photographic disappointment and to create photographic envy.

1. Always have your camera at the ready as you never know when you will see something of interest.
2. Whilst in a vehicle, hold your camera at the ready or have it on your lap.  When on your lap the camera is cushioned from the vibrations of the vehicle – constant vibrations can jolt the camera mechanisms out of place.
3. Using a small beanbag or a window mounted tripod helps stabilise your camera and keeps pictures pin sharp.
4. If you're taking pictures of wildlife, focus on the animals eyes – if the either out of focus and you will lose 'picture' appeal.
5. And remember not to take too many close-ups of animals, create space in your photo and give the African backdrop a chance to shine, it is a fantastic photo in itself.

They say that patience is a virtue – all good things come to those that wait, and it does most of the time!  And as a final thought, try not to spend all of the time looking through the camera lens, enjoy the surrounding so that you can really truly "sense" Africa.

Translocating Elephants

When I was first in Zimbabwe (and that was many years ago) I was working in Save Valley Conservancy, situated in the south east lowveld.  It was in 1992, the rains had not come, people were starving and animals were dying, it was not the best first impression of Africa.  The earth was sun baked to such extremes that water holes had become dust bowls, river crossings were not longer needed as you could drive anywhere and the nearby swimming pool was bone dry as the local wildlife has drunk it dry with the help of evaporation, it was the time of extremes.

And where I was based was not the worst hit - further south in Gonerezhou National Park, the game there were suffering, horrifically.  Gonerezhou was famous for teeming wildlife, in particular the massive herds of elephants inhabiting the area.  It is a beautiful part of the country and exceptionally wild in some places, truly the essence of Africa.  But in 1992, it was more accurately described as an elephant grave yard.  Gonerezhou was littered with the skulls of elephant, it was a place of death and the stench was indescribable.

So action needed to be taken.  And elephants saved.  So the members of Save Valley Conservancy came up with this plan of translocating some of the elephants out of Gonerezhou and into Save Valley Conservancy.  In Save there were alternative sources of water and the game were being fed to keep them alive, and if some of the elephants could be saved in the same manner, then it was worth a try.

So on an early African morning, there was a group of us waiting in the bush for the arrival of the largest elephant translocated in Zimbabwe.  We had heard that an enormous bull had been captured, put into a crate, loaded onto a truck and was being driven up to Save by road.  An incredible feat as at the time as it was the largest animal ever to be moved in Zimbabwe, and could potentially be the beginning of a mass move of elephants and other game out of drought stricken areas.  So we were rather anxious as to how the elephant would react to its journey and to its new surroundings. 

More often than not it is advisable to put a newly translocated animal into a boma for a while, or a holding pen, to allow it to get used to its new surroundings and become acclimatised to the different sounds and smells.  However, with such a large animal, this was not going to feasible, so the plan was to open up the crate and allow the elephant to walk out into a remoter part of the Conservancy where there were little distractions and where the vegetation was similar to that of its previous home.  So there we all were, waiting for the newest addition to Save. 

He arrived in the mid morning, and the crate was positioned so that the entrance pointed into the bush.  There were a number of trucks and cars parked at a respectable distance away and we all waited with bated breath.  The door was opened..... and nothing happened.  He just stood there, watching, waiting for what I do not know.  He was not coming out, that was one thing for sure.  Half an hour passed and nothing had happened.  A few people had left but I still watched with anticipation to see the first elephant released into Save Valley Conservancy.  Still he did not budge.

And then suddenly, with no warning at all, there was a trumpet and 4 tonnes of elephant charged out of the crate, scattering complacent viewers and leaving a wake of destruction in the form of broken trees and one dented truck.  And then there was silence.  That was it.  One elephant introduced into Save Valley Conservancy. Rather an anti climax really.

But that is the excitement of being in the African bush, the unpredictability of life. In the blink of an eye it had all happened and there was now a bull rampaging around my stomping ground.  I would have to be a bit warier when out in the bush now.  And that made my life a bit more exciting in the following months as we met on a number of occasions!

Walking with Ostriches

Last month I was out tracking rhino on foot.  There were four of us, Africa our guide, Terry, Vicky and myself. I love walking in the bush, you never know what you are going to see and who you are going to be walking with.  So we set off into the unknown making sure that we were quiet and that we knew where the good trees were in case of charging rhino or elephant.   

I was bringing up the rear, making sure that the unexpected was expected and that none of the feisty elephants would sneak up on us.  You may think that this is rather impossible, given their size, but an elephant's step is one of the quietest out there and it is mind boggling how you can loose an elephant in the bush, they blend in so well.  But loose them you do.

So there I was, giving the landscape the old terminator scan, checking for elephant, when suddenly, looming over my right shoulder was the head of an ostrich.  (My terminator scan was temporarily dysfunctional.)  I have no idea where she suddenly came from, but there she was, walking behind me as if she was part of the tracking party.  I have to admit that she did give me a bit of a scare and I did move pretty fast away from her to ensure my body remained in tact.  Ostriches can disembowel a person if they choose to do so.  However, this one was more concerned with being part of the group than removing my innards. 

Terry and Vicky had a good laugh at my sudden erratic movements, until they got the same eyeballing treatment, and this ended up with all of us trying to get away from her.  She was none to pleased with this and 'herded' us together taking over my job of bringing up the rear.  Well I wasn't doing a good job was I?  She stayed with us for 20mins, enjoying our company before moving off to find something more interesting to follow.

Walking with Dinosaurs?  Ostriches can be far more eventful.  And the rhino can wait...