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Back where it all started

May 25, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Back in Joburg again, at the same spot where I was exactly one month ago and where it all started. I’ve spent three wonderful days in Botswana, having an exceptional game experience in great numbers. Looking back at all the photos I can hardly believe they’re real.

Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana

I hitched a lift with one of the instructors in Selati for the seven hour drive north towards Botswana and crossing the border ending up in the Mashatu Game Reserve at the border to South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The Reserve is such a difference to Selati with a more open, rugged and varied landscape with new animals around each corner.

A dusty and dry area, but very impressive with mighty sandstone rock formations, creating ridges and canyons with majestic baobab and mashatu (nyala) trees.

The EcoTraining camp in Botswana is fairly new, only opened at the end of 2010, located next to a riverbed that currently was more or less dried out except for a waterhole which attracts its fair share of thirsty visitors throughout the day and night.

Best game drive ever?

During my time there, the visitors included such dignities as leopard, ellies, jackals, hyenas, impalas, steenboks and baboons. We had leopard, hyena and ellies wandering through the camp at night, and last night the leopard was really making its presence known. It’s not a bad way to fall asleep to the sounds of these animals.

We went on a long five hour gamedrive on Tuesday which proved to be one of my most remarkable drives ever.

There’s an abundance of game in this area and as we drove out of camp we could see tracks of elephants, really fresh ones in numbers you wouldn’t believe. I was told that this reserve has the highest density of elephants in the whole of southern Africa and if you’re lucky you can spot up to 600 in one day!

A fresh kill

We came across baboons, impalas, wildebeests, zebras and kudus in numbers with the addition of elands, klipspringers, steenboks, duikers, warthogs and giraffes but that wasn’t all of it.

Towards the end of the drive we suddenly drove upon a fresh kill lying in the grass under the midday sun. A big eland bull had been brought down and it didn’t take long to figure out that the killer must be close.

The killer was resting in the shade under a tree a few meters away, a big worn out lioness, together with three cubs. As if that wasn’t enough, a bit further from them, was the rest of the group, with a big male and two more cubs, totaling seven, with two adults and five young ones.

The lions where so cool with us and allowed us to get quite close to them and got a good look of the site. It was clear that the kill was fresh and probably just about an hour or less old. After the lack of lion sightings in Selati, this was a nice treat to end of with.

Stuck in traffic on elephant highway!

As we left the lions to head back we somehow managed to get stuck right in the middle of an elephant highway and I’ve never seen or come across so many ellies at one and the same time. Just round the corner came 60-70 ellies in all sizes moving in our general direction! All we could do was just to sit back, let them all pass and take in this wonderful sight and experience. There were elephants passing the car as close as an arm length away from me. I could’ve touched them if I wanted to. I could smell them, I could look them right in the eye. Definitely a highlight of the trip!

Two bulls were a bit aggravated with each other right in front of the car and as they walked of, one of the individuals came straight towards the car, lifting its tail, flapping his ears at us, clearly annoyed by having something blocking his way. How’s this going to end I thought…

Anton our driver then started to talk to the bull, making sure he heard him, telling him to walk away… He continued to do so while the big guy came closer and as he was close enough, he took a final flap of the ears sounded at us and then broke off to the right of the car, walking away from us, while giving us the eye. Wow! That got the adrenaline pumping…

Back in a real bed

That was a nice way to finish off a full month in the bush and today, the day after I’ve done the eight hour drive across the border back to Joburg and I’m really looking forward to a proper bed. It’s not that I’ve missed it during my time in the bush, but as the end has come closer, the thought of it has grown.

This is the last post from me and the bush, and I’m now heading for a good night sleep in a comfy bed. Good night!

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This is the End

May 22, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Only one full day left of the month in the bush. It’s amazing how time flies when you’ve got loads to do and lots of fun. I came here a bit worried about the length, thinking that this will be a long time to spend in the bush. But it has just flown by and it’s with a bit of sadness that I’m writing this last post from Selati.

Assessments done and over with

All assessments are now done and over with and there are quite a few newly certified guides that I believe will be a great addition to the industry.

It’s been a rollercoaster ride from day one. We’ve all shared a lot here. Laughter’s, disappointments, achievement’s, happiness, it’s all been shared and close friendship’s has been made. I’m sure we’ll all feel at bit of sorrow tomorrow when it is time to say good bye to each other.

A changed man

The plain thought of the amount of information that has been passed on to us all, and the amount of knowledge that we’ve got is hard to come to terms with. One whole month of continuous new information…It’s been hard to grasp it all, but I’m sure that in due time as things have sunk in a bit, I’ll know I’ve learned a lot here, besides the fact of just being in the bush and reconnecting with Nature.

Question now I guess, is to ask myself if the course and time in the bush has changed me at all and have I been reconnected with Nature as I wanted to?

The saying that you’ll never be the same man as you were before a long journey is fully justified here.

I’ve changed a fair bit in my views and values to the better I believe. Seeing Nature as the complex, magnificent and epical living form it is, you can’t deny the fact that Nature is what control us all and it is what flow through us.

Reconnected with Nature

The feeble attempts from mankind to try to harness and control Nature, only to see it slip through their hands, show us all that we mustn’t try to control it, but to listen to it, to learn from it and to follow the way it shows us. I’m not going philosophical here but it is hard to keep something that grand, simple.

We don’t need to go all Thoreau here or do the full Into the Wild journey to reconnect with Nature. Doing the month in the bush with EcoTraining is something that I believe everyone should try on if time allows. It provides a wealth of knowledge and understandings with the option to do a full certification. Or you could do it for a full two weeks with all the interaction and experience, but without the tests and certifications. A small interest at least in Nature is a plus, but for the average novice “Nature-dweller” it isn’t a need, it’s just a bonus. You’ll learn to love it. I can guarantee it.

This is the first big step on a journey into the wild that will reconnect you to Nature.

Thanks to the gang

I want to take this time to dedicate a few thoughts to new found friends in the group that I might not meet any more after tomorrow.

Ash, the crazy Brit/Swiss/Sefrican cowboy that has given this group the humor, uplift and energy at all times. Without you it would indeed have been a lot harder. Thanks for believing in me and seeing my Petonq qualities, making me raise to World Champ! Hope to share a few beers with you again in the future mate!

Charlie, the Aussie I had to spend my nights with. This young raging bull straight out of the Australian island, that almost trampled me to death at times in our tent. Good times mate, but I’m not going to miss your smelly feet!

Lindsey, the feisty sheila from Down Under with a very strong opinion. The talks in front of the fire, the friendly banters, the effortless tries to teach me trees and the constant reminder of me being old. Will miss it all and best of luck back home in Oz!

Justin, the South African equivalent of Crocodile Dundee, the Brahma bull with his everlasting energy and alpha male bare chest with techno music pounding from the earphones. Good luck with the birds buddy and e

Souqi – The global child that I still haven’t figured out which country she actually belong to. I’ve never seen a human being consume those amounts of coffee on a daily basis.

Nick – the other half of the South African young guns together with Justin. The biggest drink bill in a week in EcoTraining’s history. Respect mate!

Ralph and MJ – The place wasn’t the same after your departure. We’ll be in touch!

My journey continues tomorrow to Botswana for a few days followed by a few more days in Cape Town before going home.

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Fire at will

May 18, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

The end is coming closer by each day going by. The month in the bush is almost over and the overall vibe in camp has definitely changed. The final tests and assessments are upon us and the pressure and uncertainty is clearly present and visible. There seems to have been a turn towards a more individual thinking and a bit less group orientated. Everyone wants to achieve and get the results and certifications.

Final assessments coming up

These final days will be filled with game-drives and walks led by the students, hopefully giving even more opportunities for some nice photos and to just be a real tourist!

Last night gave us the opportunity to blow of some steam as we had a good-bye dinner for Ralph and MJ, the camp-managers since well over a year back. The evening certainly provided good laughs and some weird competitiveness mixed with a few drinks. This group has certainly got its fair share of crazy souls.

Lock and load

This morning wasn’t really overfilled with too much energy. The fact that we had the time off for preparations up until after lunch, was well received and provided an opportunity to recover a bit for the afternoon activity – Rifle practice.

It was time to try on the art of shooting fire-arms with live rounds, which was the first time ever for me. I’ve never been a big fan of guns, but I was really looking forward to trying it. Is it really giving you that rush that you can hear people talking about? Well, I must admit that it did come with a certain rush and it did get my adrenaline pumping. It was a good experience, and that’s also mainly to the way it was all done – with a high professional, ethical and respectful attitude.

Not bad for a novice

We all had a go at the three targets, placed at 5, 10 and 15 meters, in two turns, trying out a caliber .308 and a caliber .375. The kick from the .375 was mighty powerful and certainly provided a few of us with a bruised and sore shoulder. That kicking horse is a beast.

Getting 51 out of 60 is quite good for a complete novice.

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Went for leopard, came close to rhino but had to settle for boomslang

May 15, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

The leopards where really up and about last night, calling from either side of the river and camp. With that evidence in mind of leopards close by, there was a small group of us, setting out this morning to track them and hopefully get a glimpse of them. There were only three of us with two instructors passing the river into the dense bush.

Tracking leopard and rhino

It’s not normally an area we walk in, but this morning it was time, with two rifles in the front. There had been quite a lot of rhino activity as well, so it was indeed heads up, being alert for whatever we might walk into.

We found the tracks of the Leopard quite quickly, a lone female, which we followed for a bit, until the tracks just vanished into thin air. That’s the thing with Leopards, they’re not easy to track down, be it a professional tracker or an amateur.

We lost the track and instead tried our luck to track down a lone male black rhino. Unfortunately we also lost that track in the end, but the excitement of the tracking made it all a great walk. It was a good start of the day for sure.

Boomslang

Upon arrival it became clear to us, that the snake that seem to frequent my side of the tent, by just chilling out in the sun, wasn’t what had been said. The Grass Snake is in fact a venomous Boomslang in disguise…

Stay away from my tent from now on!

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Dreaming under the stars

May 13, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Sitting here in front of the screen again after a few days away from all sorts of communication. Trying to cool down with a Black Label, fresh out of the shower, with the sun setting behind me, trying to see what I’m writing on here.

Two nights camping in the bush

Came back this afternoon, having spent two nights out in the bush – camping, eating, sleeping and all the rest that comes with it under the open African starlit sky.

It’s been a real treat, though I must admit that the basic luxury of a shower and a toilet was quite a comfort to come back to.

Yes, the fact that you don’t “have” to take a shower every single day is not that bad, but after two full nights out in the bush, with walks around 10 km in blistering sun…You really do look forward to that shower!

How to set up camp

The basics and fundamental points of doing camping safaris was where we started before setting out on the walk towards our camping site.

Make sure to have enough water.
How and where do we store the food to keep it fresh?
Where’s the wind?

A failure to any of these areas and the whole situation can turn bad.

Stinking hot walk

We packed the cars that took all the supply to the site and then we set off under the hot midday sun that seem to refuse to allow winter to get a chance here.

It was a stinking hot walk, but a damn good one, with a distance around 10 km. The sweat was really dripping when we arrived to camp about 2,5 hours later. I really wanted an ice-cold beer and a shower just there and then…But it was time to have a late lunch and then set off for an afternoon game drive with dinner to follow which needed to attend to. Biltong potjiekos was on the menu and it was pure bliss.

Living under the stars

Just sitting there under the stars, in front of the camp fire, with a good meal…I’ve experienced much worse!

We took turns during the night to take patrol and make sure that no dangerous visitors came close to camp and the sleeping students. Two people, one girl, one guy, for one hour each, from nine till five in the morning. This was the procedure for the full two nights, filled with activities and adventure.

Hard bed

It takes time to adjust to sleeping on the ground, to handle the endless snoring from people, but it doesn’t take long to drift away into the starlit sky, this endless haven of eternal light and life, with the sounds of the African night in the background.

It really is an amazing experience that I wouldn’t want to be without. Besides perhaps the snoring from fellow campers…

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Can rhinos tap dance?

May 10, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Today was meant to be the postponed day off, but unfortunately the majestic police of South Africa couldn’t come around yesterday to take statements from everyone that had money stolen out of the safe, and therefore today was the day to do it. And as you’ve probably figured out by now…No there was no day off today either!

Rhinos on the agenda

Procedures as normal and a morning game drive was on the agenda which proved to be quite something.

We set out to look for rhinos and that was the aim, which was fulfilled.

As we approached a sodic site about an hour’s drive away we spotted tracks from black rhinos. It was a bit unclear how fresh the tracks were and where the rhinos might be, also, how many they might be. Our guide estimated a crash of four individuals.

Nine rhinos at once!

We got into the car and drove about a minute, taking one turn and just round the corner, there they were…three, four, five…six, seven, eight…and nine!

A crash of nine black rhinos were slowly grazing in a perfect spot and gave us a 30 minute relaxing moment with the huge creatures. Not a bad way to start the day!

The rest of the day was spent at camp giving individual statements to the police to sort out all the technicalities and get the whole thing sorted. We’ll see where it all ends.

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It’s just one of those days

May 9, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Today was meant to be our first day off in two weeks’ time, which meant a full day to do whatever we like. The majority decided to head in to Hoedspruit for a change of scenery, to stock up on things and to just get away for a while. All were ready to go and pack the cars to take off. Unfortunately as we picked up our wallets and cash we realized that there’d been a break in and thousands of rand had been taken out of our wallets.

Stuck with the cops

The money was gone and so was the day off, as we had to wait for the cops to come and do their magic…

Therefore the day turned from a pleasant day off, to an ordeal filled with police investigations while we attuned ourselves into lectures instead of sipping on cold lagers from the tap in a sun-drenched Hoedspruit.

It wasn’t all happy faces in the lecture room, but these things happen and we just got on with the day and normal procedures.

Driving in the bush

A few days ago we started to change the drives a bit, where we the students took place as drivers, to practice handling the big and powerful monsters – the safari jeeps.

It’s quite a difference driving one of them bad boys, compared to a regular car. Comparing the drive here with a Sunday drive through Stockholm? Yeah it is very different!

Don’t drive too fast as you’ll might miss the game. Think about the passengers…Is it the proper speed for them? Make it as smooth as possible – lowest gear going down those bumpy hills. Keep an eye out for animals, birds and trees and once you’ve spotted them, make sure to stop in the right position for the perfect camera shot. And of course safety…What if there’s an elephant lurking about just around the next turn?

A bit different than the Stockholm traffic

It was my turn to take the driver seat, grabbing hold of the heavy steering wheel, and take it for a spin in the bush. With the hot afternoon late summer soon slowly moving closer to the horizon I pulled out of camp to guide the rest towards a good game drive.

It took a while to get used to the car, the gearbox and power, but I’m quite satisfied, spotting a whole herd of impalas that allowed us to enjoy their grazing at close range, four giraffes that also were pretty relaxed about our presence and some kudus.

No major errors to report in terms of the driving and it proved to be a better end of the day than the way it all started as we spotted two well fed female lions resting in the evening breeze by the river.

It cost us a bit but…it was a good day after all!

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Petonq World Champion!

May 8, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

So it turns out, that the Swede was yesterday crowned the Champion of the International Selati Petonq Championship Challenge.

20 beers to the winner

The whole group including instructors and guides participated, with one beer each as a buy in, providing the winner with 20 cold beers. In a thrilling final the Swede (myself) came through in a hard fought game to beat South Africa and Luxembourg.

Feels good to be a winner after not passing the test, but above all, 20 beers feel even better!

Day off tomorrow…Should give the beers a chance I reckon!

For more photos from the EcoTraining at Selati Reserve, see the photo gallery on Flickr.

Nature is quite a complex thing

May 7, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

Coming here, there were a few things that didn’t quite excite me as much as other. Things like rocks, grass and soil. Geology and ecology were two of those topics I must admit. Having now spent a good amount of hours, sitting through lectures, listening hard and taking notes on drives and walks, and of course a few more hours of study and reading books, the perception has altered slightly.

It is all interconnected

Who’d think that by being able to identify the rock and soil in the ground, you’ll be able to answer a lot of questions. By knowing the geology in the area, you can identify the trees. When you know the trees and add the identification of the grass you’ve got the vegetation sorted and can from there identify which animals that frequent the area. Look for tracks on the ground, listen to the birds and you’ll know what’s around you. It all adds up and you realize that Nature is far from simple. It is a very complex living thing that constantly amaze you. There are lots to take in, but there isn’t a day going by here, without new discoveries.

Didn’t quite make it

The past couple of days have more or less been spent for study and preparations for the second test. Ecology, Geology, Fish, Birds, Mammals, Arthropods and animal behavior was covered. I listened, I read, I studied, I wrote and I didn’t quite make the 75% level needed to pass the test. Not the end of the world but the competitive side in me is still cursing a bit. Still…the new knowledge is there and I’ll just build on that foundation.

It’s time for the International Selati Petonq Championship Challenge now, so this will be it for now. Will tell you more about the score in the next post.

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Send lawyers, guns and ammo…

May 5, 2011 By Jeppe Leave a Comment

There were lions in camp during the night, and first thing we did this morning was to go on a walk to track them down and to see if we were to be able to get a glimpse of them. We could clearly hear them roar around four this morning and after following their tracks, it all became clear that they had not moved away from camp, but were and actually still is hanging around camp. No one has seen them so far, nor at drives or walks during the day, so we’ll have to see if or where might they show up.

The pace is picking up

The tempo here is really picking up and yesterday we had the first of seven tests. Though I made a decision before coming here that I’m not doing the course for any certification, I’ll still do my best to pass and so I did on the first one. But it’s hard and we’ll see for how long I can keep up.

Next test coming up is on Sunday with a presentation to perform on Thursday, so there really isn’t any time for rest here.

Lock and load

Today we had our first preparation session in rifles, learning the fundamental basics and safety regulations around it. Putting the rounds in the chamber, securing the rifle and preparing it for use.

I’ve never actually fired a rifle or gun before, but I’m actually looking forward to try it out on the shooting range later on. It all actually felt quite natural. It’s almost scary…We’ll see what the turnout will be, when it’s time for live rounds and target practice. Lock and load! I’m coming out…

The whole meaning of carrying a rifle on the walks and drives has properly been explained to everyone here and the guides are very straightforward with telling us that it is purely for protection purpose and is only to be used as a last resort.

Why guns?

No guide wants to put down an animal in a confrontation, but if you’re unlucky it can become a reality and if that’s the case you need to be able to know your stuff and take action in a split second.

Most of the times however the confrontations can be handled by standing ground or listening to the warnings and should that not be enough, there’s always pepper spray to use.

Me and the boys have started an evening activity with evening bush boule, so it’s time to head over to the court for another chance to win a few Black Labels…

…and avoid the two male lions that are moving around the camp.

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