Dad's Day & Cultural Day

Well I have a lot to write about but I don't want to put it all in one entry because I can't fit all the pics at one time that I want to show you. So I will start with Dad's big day. We had bought some excursions for my Dad's birthday in June that included breakfast by the Falls and a helicopter ride. Now when I say "breakfast by the Falls" I mean it!! We actually took a 5 minute boat ride heading directly at Victoria Falls....one of the 7 wonders of the world. Where were heading towards is a 110m drop over the edge. It seemed a bit risky but felt comfort in that they do this everyday so we should be fine. When we got to the island they brought us on a tour where we literally stood on the edge of the Falls. I would like to add here that there are no barriers between you and let's just say heaven. We actually walked in our bare feet as well because it's too slippery and wet to be in shoes. I have to say that it was one of the most amazing and yet scariest things that I think I have ever done! They gave us some history of the area and and we stood on the edge of 3 different places. After that they washed our feet for us (felt like I walked out of a spa) and then served us a beautiful eggs benedict breakfast.

Next we went for some market shopping where I intervened with my..."No no no...that's too expensive" for the boys and we slipped in a little cocktail before heading off to our helicopter ride. Now Jordan and I have never been on a helicopter so this was very exciting. We took the 30 minute tour which included a ride through the white water rafting gorge....that was simply amazing!! We were only about 10 meters off the ground going through it twisting and turning. That was definitely an adrenaline rush. We also had a beautiful ride over Victoria Falls and the Mosi oa Tunya National park where we say hippos, elephants and giraffes form they sky. We ended the day with one more cocktail by the water before heading home....exhausted from too much fun!!!

On Friday we had our cultural day where we go and spend most of day on one of the farms of a local. We actually go to Fred's house who works for Lion Encounter. We started off where the men and women are separated to do different work. Us women had to go a fetch the water that was needed for the day and the men had to go chop down tome trees to help build a new room on the farm. We actually had to carry the water on our head on the way back which was about a 15 minute walk. Next the women had to start to prepare lunch which consisted of chicken, shima and cabbage. Shima is looks like mashed potatoes but it is a corn based powder that mixed with water becomes and thick, dense mixture. They use this to actually eat with as well instead of a fork or spoon, It's not high in nutritional value but it's definitely filling. While we were cooking the men worked very hard on digging holes so that they could put the logs into the ground to start the foundation of the house.

Once the food was ready it was time to wash the mens hands for them...that's right we had to go around to pour water over their hands to prepare them to eat. Once they were ready I had to serve my Dad first then Jordan....oh yes I didn't mention yet that I need to do this on my knees and then clap at the end to show a sign of respect!! It was o.k. though because they knew I was a one time deal!! After we eat too and then go around again to wash their hands again. We also had the opportunity to taste their local beer that is made from scratch..let just say it's an acquired taste!

Next we went to visit a man a few farms away that is a blacksmith. He makes axes, spears for hunting and many other items out of old metal he finds at the scrapyard. The boys participated a it to stoke the first while he heating the metal. It was a very cool thing to see. To finish of the day we danced!! Jordan and Dad got right into it and kicked up their heels with some of the ladies. It was really cool to hear some of their traditional songs and participate in their dances. This was a very cool day that people would never get to experience when staying a one of the big hotels...awesome experience.

Well enjoy the pics. Next entry will be about the bush fire. I need a whole new page for that one!!

cheers!

Chobe

I have to start off this blog entry by stating that Rwanda, our 2 year old male lion, is roaring in the background. I never grow tired of that sound even if it's 4 a.m.

Well last weekend me and the boys and two other volunteers from Lions headed out to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Everyone had built it up so much that I was afraid that I was expecting too much of it. Well it was all that and a bag of potato chips!! I've never seen so many animals within 2 days in my life.

We started out the day by grabbing a shuttle to the Botswana border and then a safari truck picked us up on the other side to head to our first game viewing. The first game drive was by water. It was so amazing to see elephants crossing the rivers and hippos by the dozen all grouped up together. We saw many crocs and one even had a huge fish in it's mouth that it had just killed. I wouldn't even be able to describe the colours of the birds here, they are just amazing. At one point we even saw a 1 meter snake crossing the river. After about three hours we headed back to shore for lunch and had a little downtime to relax.

Next on the agenda was our first game drive on land. As we enter the park we see some warthogs...always a funny scene. What was the second animal, oh just a leopard. Apparently it's rare to see a leopard since there are so few left in the wild but we managed to see it twice over the weekend. At one point of the drive I swear there must have been about 250 elephants around heading towards the water. At one point on one of the drives an elephant was about 5 feet from Jordan. Then came the moment of the day for me when we turned a corner and there laying in the middle of the road was a male lion about 15 months old. I literally couldn't speak....I just pointed. We were so luckily to also see 5 cubs sitting all together waiting for their mothers to get back from hunting. 200 pictures later and we were on our way. There were so many giraffe, kudu, ginny fowl (very funny birds might I add), warthogs, puke, sable, impala, hippos, and I won't start to try to list the birds although one is called a Bastard!! I didn't giggle at all when they told me that!!

That night we arrived at camp around 6:30 to a nice bonfire to warm us up. Yes we tented it in the wilds of Africa!! They had an amazing supper for us and we struggled to stay up past 7:30. I'm not going to lie...Jordan and I were the first to bed :) We read for a while and then I pitched a fit when I found a spider crawling across my pillow. Poor Jordan had just fallen asleep when I yelled for him to take care of it...apparently I made it a little more dramatic then necessary!!

Then next day we were up at 6:00 and off on another game drive. We were to happy when we saw the leopard again and another family of lions. After a few hours it was back to camp where we had some food, some rest time and then back home. Everyone should do something like this at least once in their life...please add it to your list.

Enjoy the photos...good night. xoxo

The boys are back in town...

Hey everyone,

So the boys have arrived! They have been hear almost a week but things have been so busy that I hadn't had a chance to write anything. There is much to write about now though.

As we were driving back to Lion Encounter we came up on 7 wild elephants just on the side of the road. I'm not sure they realized for the first few seconds that these were indeed wild. So the day they arrived we all went on their first lion walk with the 2 Z's (Zaria & Zamfara). I was so great to see their expressions when they we able to touch a lion for the first time. By the end of their first day they say lions, elephants, giraffe, baboons, vervet monkeys, a croc and some hippos....not bad for a first day.

On their second day that had a the great opportunity to feed some of our big lions up in Dambwa. Jordan had to carry a leg in while my Dad took a head of a donkey to feed. Now that lions clearly are put into a holding area while they put in the meat so when they finally open the holding area door it's something to see adult lions just tearing at the meat until nothing is left but some white bone.

They have also done the tour of town and many other activities so things are going great and they are both loving it. Jordan has gone out with the young ones as well but Mom is here to ensure he stays in-line!!

We went to Chobe National Park this weekend but that will be for the next entry!! so many photos...so little space on these pages.

Take care everyone...

Vick xoxo

The excitement is growing...

Well it's just 6 days before Jordan and my Dad get here so planning has begun. I was able to bid on a trip into the Chobe National Park in Botswana in a silent auction and won the bid so off we are going to Chobe. There will be a birthday for Dad as well but I will keep that quiet to no secrets are revealed!!

On elephant research these days we are seeing two females very pregnant and about to give birth. Now the odds of us seeing the birth is very slim but we are hoping that once she has the babies we will see some very young elephants. She is so big that she is staying around the area so it's a very exciting possibility. You can see her here in the picture. Elephants actually carry their babies for 2 years before giving birth and a baby elephant is about 200-250 kgs at birth....that would make me take birth control!!

As I sit here in the office I recognize some of the differences in my office environment. Right now I am sitting on the edge of the chair because Bug the cat is sitting on it as well and I wouldn't want to disturb him. Also at times we get a knock at the door or should I say a scrape at the door because Simba or Trevor would like to sit in the office with us. It's crazy but I love it!!

I had a crazy moment the other day when me and a velvet monkey started to play a game together. When I came out of the office he (remember how we know it's a male velvet monkey!!) was standing about 10m away from me. We just stood there staring at each other and then I decided to see how he would react to me. So I squatted down and then he followed...then I stood up and he followed. This went on for a few minutes until he changed the game to I going to hide behind this palm and play peek-a-boo with you. It was awesome and now Likando tells me...Vicky there are monkeys outside!!

I stayed over at the general manager's house this week with Cara because they are on vacation. The picture you see is one of my new friends Atlas. He was very curious to see what I was doing on the computer. Also, I ended up helping out on my day off with a puppy that was found outside of someone's house in town. It was shivering, dehydrated and had fleas. The girls managed to kill the fleas with some powder and the rest of us worked on giving it water, food and warm cuddles. The vet came by to attend to it as well and it seems that the puppy is doing very well now.

Well that's all for now folks...stay tuned and I'm happy to hear I have some new followers...Luc!!

Cheers

What a week...

Well there are few stories over the last week. On my day off this week I went out with Cara, Anant & his niece and nephew to the big tree, Zambiezi Sun and the Croc Farm. The big tree is well...a big tree but you can climb up on it and have a great view of the falls and you can see over into Zimbabwe. We sat up there and had a few drinks before moving on to the Zambiezi Sun for lunch. After lunch we were off to the Croc Farm where we saw some massive crocs but the highlight was actually holding one that was 1 1/2 years old. There are still small but can do some damage to fingers!!

Now on Monday we headed out on elephant research which is normally just a beautiful ride around the park where you see a lot of animals and hopefully you find elephants. Well that day was a little different. As we going along a very narrow road deep in the bush we heard some people on the other side of the water banging pots and then we heard a trumpet of an elephant so off we went. Along the way out of the area we were patrolling some people noticed 2 people duck down along the riverbed. Well as you may remember we always have a scout with us from the Zambia Wildlife Authorities so we halted the truck and the chase began. The whole time the rest of us just watched from the truck to what was going on. One of the guys started running so the scout shot in the air which did not stop him but it did stop his friend. He was yelling to stay down and had the riffle cocked. Needless to say at this point the heart was racing. Before I go on here you need to know that illegally fishing is seen as poaching and the punishment is sever here for that. Although we don't usually think of fish in that manner they have to treat it the same as if they were killing a buffalo or an impala illegally. The law is the law here. So back to the story....at this point the guy keeps trying to take off so the scout holds him down and grabs a branch from the tree and starts to whip him on the back. He then let him go and the guy took off in terror. I have to say that I was shocked by this but after thinking about it what the guy was doing was illegal and technically if someone runs after doing something illegal the scouts have a right to shoot so this guy was lucky he got away with only a branch whipping.

So was the day over....no way. We then made it over to the area where the elephants were which was a lodge that consisted of small cabins and tents. We found the elephants and the owner said he was ok with them being there but then the scout convinced him that he should fire off some rounds in the air to scare them away from the area because it was dangerous for the visitors. Well he shot in the air and all the elephants started to run into the tent area and then the scout ran down that way and shot again. The elephants proceeded to just run back to the original area. You can guess what happened next...that's right he ran back and shot again and the elephants went back to the tent area. This went on for a good 20 minutes which just started to get embarrassing. With all of the shooting it also intrigued the guests and they all started to come to the area and some followed the scout while drinking beer. At no point did these people think that these are 12 large wild elephants that can kill them in 2 seconds. Anyhow after 20 minutes the situation was finally under control and we proceeded home. That was definitely the craziest elephant research I have been on.

On a softer side, I had about 15 students and 4 teachers come for a visit this week so I put together a lesson with the help of the lion handlers and guides to talk about the importance of conservation and helping the lion population. It was really cool to see the students go from the typical I'm bored look to fascinated and full of questions by the end. After the quick lesson for about 20 minutes we took them over to see our 2 year old lions and then the cubs. I was able to get them to the fence so some of them could touch a lion and one even let me lift her paw so I could show them how big their claws are. They were so thrilled that one girl even sung a song for me at the end. It was a great day and I'm hoping to work with some more school children this month.

Anyhow that's all for now and sorry no pictures of my eyebrow waxing Amy!!

Cheers.

June News Letter

So I made it into the newsletter this month which you can read by either clicking on the link below or copy and pasting the link in your internet page. This is a great newsletter to subscribe to to see all the action going on with ALERT.

http://www.lionalert.org/documents/newsletters/Newsletter-June-11.pdf

As for me...well I'm the older one of the group except David Youldon and I are only 5 months apart and I think it's starting to hurt!! Keeping up with 20 year old is a tough job but I guess someone has to do it. We went out for cocktails and prawns on Friday night and didn't get home very early!! Up at 6:00 the next day to work though....I still have the work hard...play hard attitude!!

I decided to treat myself to a little spa time at one of the big hotels. I was able to get local pricing seeing that I am working here so 1 hour hot stone massage, 1/2 hour indian head massage and eyebrow plucking was only $80. The problem this morning when I woke up is I realized that the redness that I had around and between my eyes was not temporary....I have lost skin!!! Needless to say I am wearing a hat and glasses today to mask myself but that doesn't stop Cara from asking me to take off the hat to have a good chuckle and tell everyone to come look at it. Live and learn!!!

We also had a BBQ in India on Saturday night. Richard (general manager) actually caught 4 tiger fish right from the dock so that was added to the menu and it was delicious. In the background there were hippos keeping us entertained by making calls and popping out of the water every now and then. One actually tried to come up on shore just a few feet from us which is where we were eating but the dogs managed to scare it back into the water.

Ele research last week proved to show that we have a lot of elephants now migrating back into Zambia for the winter. At one point we nearly became trapped between a heard of 21 elephants which can be very dangerous. Luckily our driver was quick to maneuver us out of the way. One elephant gave us a clear warning to not get any closer or we would have to contend with him (see photo). One bachelor elephant that we saw decided to swim across the river. He was quite hilarious because he kept bobbing up and down and blowing water from his trunk. He seemed to be having a great time on his own.

I had a great lion walk the other day with Dendi and Damara. They are sisters about 8 months old and they are becoming quite adventurous and we are starting to see their hunting skills develop quickly. They were even so bold to stalk a adult giraffe the other day. I think we saw the giraffe laughing but we won't tell the girls. I did however have a great time with Damara because she is very inquisitive and likes to play. Some of the photos are of her by the river, playing in the water and with her sister Dendi. It's actually quite rare to see a lion with their full head in the water so it was fantastic to witness it in person.

Alright I'm off now....take are everyone...miss you all lots.

Vick

This may be offside....

By now you have already looked at the pictures in this post and probably have figured out what I am referring to in my title. I had a dramatic discovery whilst reading my Kindle the other day in the back of my room. There were all kinds of Vervet monkeys around playing and eating in the trees when one when running past me and bent over. I wish I had a camera to see the shock on my face!! Of course I ran to get a camera because I thought "my friends and family need to see this"!! I have finally discovered where the saying "blue balls" comes from....yes this may be a little offside for a topic of conversation but I said I would be honest...ha ha.

Saturday night this week we went out for supper and drinks to benefit a couple that lost their house and all their belongings in a fire. It was sad to hear that they lost everything but as Livingstone is a very tight community, within days one of the restaurants set up an evening and all the benefits went to the family to help them out. It was very touching and at the same time great to see a community come together. I'm not going to lie Karaoke was happening that night and I may have had a few performances....Jordan sorry for the phone call from us...everyone is just excited for you to arrive!!

I thought I would take the chance to introduce you to the two dogs that we live with Trevor and Simba. They are great dogs who live the life of Riley here. They just run around all day and get the affections of about 20 people everyday. Trevor is the orange haired dog and Simba is the white one. Simba's head can fit perfectly in your hands and Trevor tends to nip my bum often to let me know she's there!!(see photos)

Well after two evening out this week yesterday was a relaxing day of resting, watching SATC and a movie down at the landlords house. Where I'm living is rented grounds and the landlords live on the water near us. They are a family of 5 originally from India but have been living in Zambia for a long time. Every place has a name here so when we are at their house we say...'I'm going to India or I'm in India". They have a lovely deck on the river so yesterday we sat and watched 5 hippos come in and out of the water and even fished a little bit.

Thanks everyone for you comments...keep them coming. I get excited when I see that I have comments about the blog and also that you are enjoying the read.

Well I'm off to work again...Happy Father Day to all you dad's out there!!!!

Cheers.

I had a shower with a frog....

Yup yesterday was another new adventure. As I was in the shower which is outdoors and I had a little frog join me. Normally this probably would have sent me in a little bit of tailspin but here you just say hello and go on with your shower. The only thing that worried me was "Will there be a snake right behind him and is this his hiding place??" Luckily he just enjoyed the steam and sat quietly watching me...a bit of a perv I guess!!

Well on to some other stories....I experienced high tea on my day off on Sunday. This is held at one of the local hotels the Royal Livingstone everyday around 4:00. Basically you pay $17 for all you can eat sandwiches, quiche and desserts. And when I say desserts I mean 2 tables loaded with different types. Along with this you can choose any tea you want and sit and look at the Zambiezi river....(see photo). The hotel itself is a step back in time to the colonial era where all of the staff still dress like that. It's very cool. We then went down to the deck for my new favourite cocktail...a passion fruit martini. A few minutes in I thought I was going to need to wrestle a vervet monkey for my drink but she just wanted the fruit so I was safe. I did though at one go...."oh my God...Oh my God" and my friend Cara just laughed at me.

Yesterday we also bumped into a hippo along the riverside road while doing research. It's not common to see them out of the water during the day because of the risk of sunburn. They will usually only come out during the night to eat but we think this one had maybe been in a fight with another hippo and he was just recovering. He did send us some clear signals to get the heck away from him...(see photo).

As you can see from the photos it was also time to do the hair dying. Yes that's right...I have grey hair at such a young age...ha ha!! Maitel & Kelly thank you for the supplies....it went very well except I didn't have Kelly washing my hair afterwards.

I have added a few pics as well just to show you where I am living.

Enjoy...Cheers.

Always an adventure...

Well as per usual I always have something new to tell!! Last Sunday I was invited out to learn how to shoot riffles. Of course I said yes so off we went. We started with a 22 which now I realize is almost like a BB gun compared to some of the others!! Then the second one was a 375...I'm not going to lie that was pretty cool (see photos).

On Elephant research Friday is was a bit of a safari day as we bumped into a mother Rhino and her baby. Now these Rhinos in this park are watched 24 hours a day by armed guards because of illegal poaching. The scout knowing us allowed us to get off of our truck and take some pictures. The baby was so cute and very curious about us being there. It's a very rare thing to be able to see a while Rhino as the numbers are dramatically low.

Unfortunately it's not all beautiful as we also bumped into a young Giraffe that we had seen 2 weeks prior who had been caught in a snare. It had become so infected and because of the way it needed to walk it actually had broken it's foot and was hanging off while it used it's chin to walk on. It's so sad to see but we cannot do anything with the wild animals so we just report it to the wildlife society and nature will take it's course. One positive thing that the group that I work for does every week is snare sweeps in the park to try to find and remove as many as we can. Every snare remove is an animal saved and that's a great feeling.

Of course I cannot forget that every day I have the lions to be with. The young cubs are growing up so quickly and they are slowly becoming hunters and socializers. It's quite remarkable to witness.

I hope you enjoy the pics...see you soon.

Cheers xoxo

Sorry it's been so long....

Sorry everyone, I had problems getting in to edit my blog.

So what's been going on.....well I did hit the greens last Sunday and had a great time. It does get a little hot by lunch time but we were o.k. once we hit the 19th hole. Afterwards we went over to the Zambezi Sun which is a beautiful hotel which if you buy a cocktail you can use their pool...take one guess on what we did!! As we are sitting around the pool wild zebras just walk on buy (see photo). Apparently you can see giraffes, impala and other game as well if you are lucky. Anyhow...very nice hotels here if you can get here.

I have to say it's amazing that all I have to myself here is a little room that's maybe 7 x 9 feet and it doesn't bother me at all. I've been able to see quite a bit of Livingstone now and it still amazes me how friendly everyone is. Everyone and I mean everyone literally waves to each other here...it's just so friendly.

I have managed to make it to Victoria Falls as well yesterday. It was absolutely beautiful. You pretty much walk through the spray of the falls which is like a wicked rain fall. There was a double rainbow too...yes Jordan a double rainbow. I can't wait for you to see it in person!! Afterwards we went over to the Royal Livingston hotel where we had cocktails right on the water.....is anyone seeing a theme here or is it just me??? Next Sunday "high tea" where for 18$ you can eat as much as you want of cakes, tarts, sandwiches and quiche....there goes the weight loss.

Anyhow enjoy some of the pics and hopefully video will be up shortly when I have enough power to load one.

Cheers,
Vick xoxo

p.s. Marco let me know when we can chat :)

Just a little update

Hey everyone...well time is passing and of course there are a few more stories.

First, the dancing...a big group of us went into town the other night for some dinner and authentic Zambian music. This was a place for the locals. It was such an awesome time and some of the locals tried teaching us some of their dances. One thing that I have to say is that the Zambian people are wonderful and very inviting. We danced until about midnight but not before seeing some of their dancers perform some of the traditional dances. I'm not really sure how someone can move like that and at one point one of the dancers was on another girls back dancing. The poor thing looked like her neck could snap at any moment.

Second, the hunt.....we went out on a day encounter last week where we rode in a safari style truck while 4 of the big girls were let out to hunt. We were very lucky to see them take down a wildebeest right in front of us. I had to block my ears for a moment but these were skilled girls so it did not take very long. Leah was the lion who actually caught the wildebeest by the neck and did not let go until it died (see photo of Leah). two of the other girls came in to help and Loma sauntered in when it was all done and sat down for a meal. We then left the 4 girls out in the release site in order to finish off their meal. It was both amazing and hard to watch at certain points but that's nature.

What's plan for this weekend you ask...golfing. That's right I'm hitting the greens while I'm here.

Stay tuned!!

OMG.....

OMG what a day yesterday!! I can officially check off my life list "being charged by an elephant" We were out on ele research driving through the park when we suddenly hear behind us the trumpet horn noise of an elephant. He actually gave himself away because we had passed him and didn't notice him in the bushes. So this is where is starts to get crazy...he comes out on the road and faces us (see photo) and starts to flap his ears and walk directly towards us. David (previous post picture) moves forward a bit which seems to please the ele as he starts to turn into the trees again. In the trees though he still walks towards our direction and decides to charge our of the trees and towards us. Well David seems to have problems getting the truck into first gear so the ele is getting real close. So close that the ZWA scout has to shoot a warning shot in front of the elephant to make him stop. David finally got the car in gear and took off. Let me tell you that if our hearts would have been monitored it would have been through the roof.

Now story #2....I was not involved in this but too good a story not to tell. My friend Marie and Nick were out on one of the walks with the cubs when barreling through the trees comes 2 rhinos. Like elephants these guys can be very close before you actually hear them. As they turned around the 2 Rhinos were coming straight at them and were about 5 meters aways...that is way too close for an animal that size. Within the next few seconds one lion handler was up a tree, 2 others ran another direction, Marie and Nick hid behind a tree that a Rhino could snap with his tail and the scout was able to fire off a shot that made them change direction. Sweet mother....I think Marie nearly needed to check into the hospital with shock.

Even with these two events we laugh at them after it's over once the heart rate goes down.

Last night we all went out to 2 of our manger's house for a BBQ. It was really nice to be able to hang out for a night and laugh.

Cheers.....

Buzzed around town...

Well yesterday was my day off so myself, Nick & Marie (Scottish couple volunteering) went into town for the day to buzz around and get to know the place. There are actually some really nice restaurants here. We actually went out Saturday night as well to a restaurant called Arts Cafe which is owned by a Canadian couple who now live here. So on Sunday we headed to Kilimanjaro's for lunch which was awesome. We decided after this that we would hit one of the local markets to see what it was like. I'm not going to lie...we were a bit hesitant at first because there were people everywhere and it's just on a dirt road with little shacks as stalls for selling. My friend Marie had the daylight scared out of her when a man came out yelling something at her put then just said hi and walked on. In the end he was handicapped and was just excited to say hi which was cute. We buzzed around and everyone was so friendly and not pushy at all to buy. We hit one stall that all swatches of material. It was so beautiful to see all of the colors. My friend ended up buying some to make pillows at home.

We hit the grocery store next to pick up a few snacks and supplies. I needed a themes because sometimes we are gone from 7-12:30 and you need some coffee to get you through.

We then had some coffee at a pub and watched the footy game....yes you have to be into football (soccer) here. It was quite the game and Man United won the big game!! ha ha....no more hockey to discuss so why not. To finish things off we went out to a seafood place that was wonderful...King fish and prawns..yummy.

Today we headed out on Ele research again but unfortunately none today. There were many giraffe and we saw a huge croc which was in the middle of the road until we came right up to it....scary stuff. On our ele research trips we always have to have a ZWA (Zambian Wildlife Association) scout with us. It's quite daunting because they all carry riffles. They have to come on each lion walk as well. They are not too careful on how they hold it or where they point it!! Here is a picture of a scout and David one of our drivers.

That's all for now...Cheers!

My new job....

Well I'm close to being a week in and I can't believe how much I have already seen and done. Yesterday I went out to the Dambwa site which holds the 9 lions that will be released in September to watch their feeding. I was on Vulture duty for research purposes because the numbers for Vultures are also declining so they are trying to understand the number of Vultures in the area and what their habits are. I was able to spot 2 circling above us and correctly identified the species of Vulture and the sex. I felt very proud of that one!! Unfortunately I also had to ride in the back of a truck with a cut up donkey....it's not all pretty :(

Yes my transportation on any given day here is usually sitting in the back of an open cab truck...there apparently a false sense of security here. To up it a notch I also stand in the back of the truck when we are doing elephant research and on the look out for them. I have a picture here of the family of 8 elephants that we tracked today....very cool. We actually had to boot around several different ways to ensure that we could just park the truck and hopefully they would just walk by. They are sneaky though...you would think that you could lose an elephant but they are that good!!

On the way back from the research trip we pulled over on the side of the road to get some pics of the falls in the distance. It's quite spectacular from a distance so I can't wait to see it up close.

On another note we have been striking up a game of Uno (yes Uno) each night and so far I am the champ 3 nights in a row...I think I'm pissing them off.

Well that's it for now. Please keep the comments coming...it helps me feel at home. Jordan thanks for the note...and the sarcasm!! ha ha

Cheers

Lions and Storks and Giraffes...oh my!

Well I'm finally all settled in here. My bag arrived yesterday and I don't think I have ever been so happy to see my luggage in my life. It's been very hot during the day this week and humid at night so 1 pair of jean and pj pants can only go so far :( I literally hugged my bag when I saw it and maybe had a slight tear in the corner of my eye. We had a tour of town yesterday which is cute and has all the things anyone would need. We had a tour of an elementary school as well which was very cute. We then hit a grocery store which I was excited about in order to buy some snacks for the evening.

Today I started off with some free time to unpack. Clean clothes, a shower with soap and brushed my teeth with toothpaste....I felt like 1.5 million $$. I went out on a cub walk this morning as well. They are sooo cute and one of them bonded with me even though she will not tolerate many people. I headed out for elephant research for the afternoon which finally we found elephants and many more animals. We turned a bend in the road and there were 3 male elephants just standing there eating leaves from a tree. We then have to bounce into action and take pictures and start assessing their body conditions. One of the main ways that you can identify and elephant is by their ears. Most have little chips out of their ears which is usually unique. After that we ended up seeing zebras, wilderbeasts, lizards, giraffes, impala, a croc, baboons, monkeys and warthogs....and that was in a span of 2 hours.

Here are some pics for you guys to see a little of my surroundings...Cheers.

I'm here....without luggage

Hi everyone.....well so far so good except for the fact that I only have my carry on baggage still. My big hockey bag didn't seem to make it all the way here yet. Here's hoping it will be here today otherwise my clothes will start walking on their own. I have already been on my first lion walk yesterday which was really nice. I was with a group of people from Malaysia which was cool for the reason of seeing their faces when the lions came out. It was so amazing to be with them again and petting them. After that I came back to my room and settled in. I was having a hard time staying awake but managed to do so and get through supper. As I finished supper it seemed very late so I headed towards bed....oh wait it was only 6:30. Earlier in the day I had a quick tour of the bathroom and shower area and was told to be careful at night for snakes and hippos because they come up to feed sometimes on the grass....well that was comforting!! So when 9:30 came around and I had to hit the loo I tried everything to convince myself that I didn't need to but 6:30 a.m was a little far away. I bit the bullet and did a snake stakeout....I survived!!

Today I started by heading down to one of the future release sites where there are about 12 lions right now. We had to feed one that literally almost died 2 weeks ago because she has stomach issues and had to have a surgery. She looked great this morning though and has made it back to good health. Afterwards I toured around the grounds to get to know the area. There are about 7 elephants that live next door to our program as well which is really cool. I then had a meeting to start to review some of the projects that I will be working on. This afternoon I start on elephant research. Now that we are going into winter and the water is going down in the Zambezi river the wild elephants are coming back. I will also be conducting some lion behaviour research as well for the next few weeks...it's all very exciting.

I haven't started taking pictures yet but that will start today so that I can give you all some understanding as to where and how I am living.

Talk to ya soon.....

2 flights down...1 to go

Hey everyone,

I have made it successfully to Johannesburg. Only one flight left to get to Livingstone. I promise you that I am going to be very honest about how things are going along this journey. So with that....I think it hit me on the plane that this is not a vacation. Of course I had the scheduled crying session yesterday morning as Jordan, Judy and Cindy bid me farewell at the airport. It's a very bizarre feeling knowing that I will not be going home for a long while....I'm nervous. I have feelings of excitement too but right now anxiety is my best friend!! :) So I'm going to board the next plane soon so ta ta for now...

Talk soon

xoxo

Zambia here I come...

Well my new chapter is just around the corner. I have 1 day left of work and 2 weeks before I head out. I have sold my house and moved out at the end of February, had all of my doctors appointments and had a party (are you surprised!!). All of my belongings now reside in a 500 cubic foot box. Now the hard part starts....the good-bye's.....sorry I should say the "see you soon's". I do have some visitors already planning to come which is awesome. My Dad and Jordan will be coming at the end of July, my friend Suzanne will be out in September and maybe my friend Adriana....here's hoping.

I honestly can't believe all the support and kind words everyone has been giving me. It is simply amazing. I don't think I can express how much it means to me. I honestly thought everyone would think I was crazy...maybe you secretly do!!

So save the link because there will be many more posts to come once I arrive and maybe a few before :)

For those of you who are new to my blog you can check out my trip last year which is below.

Cheers!!