Week 5:
Upon arriving back at camp for phase two after an incredible break, we were welcomed back by buffalo in the river by our tents along with a chorus of hippos and jackals that night. We met the new group of students from South Africa who are now accompanying us on our journey for their phase one course. Our lectures this week were on ecology, fish, arthropods and amphibians. We continued using this knowledge from our lectures out in the field.
While studying late one night with my headphones in I heard a sound that didn’t belong to the music. After taking my headphones out I noticed I was the last one awake and I could hear lions roaring in the not so far distance. I continued studying since our FGASA (Field Guide Association of South Africa) exam was only a couple weeks away as I listened to the lions getting closer and closer to camp. When I could hear them breathing I decided they were too close for me to be out in the open alone. The only problem was that I had to walk towards them to make it to my tent. I made it there safely only to wake up the next morning to tracks going through camp right past where I was studying. I felt afraid being in such close proximity to animals that could rip me to shreds but remaining calm in those situations I felt pride.
Our first game drive was nothing short of spectacular. We found a small ovular hole belonging to a scorpion that we learned about in class as well as a baboon spider ground nest belonging to the suborder Mygalomorph. Then a lioness walked slowly by our vehicle so close you could touch her. As she walked by, she stared into each one of our eyes before drinking from a puddle, playing with another lioness and rolling around in the grass. It’s not until you feel like you might die that you feel the most alive.
The following day on our game drive, we didn’t see the buffalo right away until he quickly lifted his head up from the grass a few meters away. He stared at us long and hard as we remained still and quiet before he continued eating with the male alongside him. We continued to find tracks from toads to grasshoppers to mammals. That night two sets of eyes watched me as I made my way to my tent. They belonged to two hippos who I would have missed had they not made a disturbance in the water. We continued learning how to navigate and what to do if you get lost including following the sun, stars, direction of termite mounds, which side the lichen is growing on the trees… We learned which plants to eat such as the fruits from the brandy bush and gum from a sweet thorn as well as those you should avoid such as fruits that are tomato or cucumber shaped. We found a devil’s thorn flower and washed our hands with the leaves.
The bush provides everything you need: adventure, beauty and life. This week we lost power and water and had to collect water from the rain and river.
It’s not until you run out of water that you appreciate how fortunate you are to have it. It’s not until you run out of time that you wonder what more you could have done with it. Everything in nature is connected and plays an important role. Without one species we wouldn’t have another. If we don’t protect and conserve our environment now, WE will no longer exist. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift.” What will you do with yours?
Amy’s Journey Across the Globe 