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Sabbatical Meike

September - December 2023
Seit Jahren habe ich davon geträumt, endlich ist es soweit Read more
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  • TravelerSabbatical Meike
    Day 41

    Lioness + cubs

    November 1, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Today it is Marit's birthday, she turned 20 and we surprised her with a Brownie-Cake and candles before starting on todays duties at 6:30.
    This time Jaco really wanted to find the lioness with the cubs, me still not being very happy about it.
    After cruising almost two hours through the bush and thickets we finally found them: the lioness with her three cubs, lounging in the shade of a tree - and it was absolutely worth it. And almost made me forget my 'lion-trauma' 😉.
    After that we were able to also locate the two lions by triangulation, meaning using the antenna to find their collar frequences (in theory, but mostly a lot of luck also). They are brothers and usually found together, mostly resting or sleeping, they're mainly awake and hunting at night. So here they are again, very relaxed.
    The afternoon was spend at the soup kitchen, this time us giving a lesson to the kids about 'the circle of life', this is always a challenge but also a lot of fun.
    All in all a successfull day for all of us.    Read more

  • TravelerSabbatical Meike
    3
    Day 44

    Spring at Kariega

    November 4, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Finally the weather has picked up and the Reserve starts blooming, the birds are nesting and days are getting longer.
    We are still waiting for the Zebra and Impala babies though.
    The last couple of days have passed in a meanwhile well known routine: going out in the morning looking for the lions or rhinos, being distracted by elephants and giraffes, going to the workshop to get the car being looked at, clipping trees and bushes alongside the roads etc...
    Last weekend was perfect, on saturday we went hiking along the Assegaai Hiking Trail and only got lost once 😀. Sunday was spent at our secret bay at the beach, enjoying a relaxed day.
    For me its only the rest of this week and next week left, then my time as volunteer at the Reserve will come to an end.    Read more

  • TravelerSabbatical Meike
    1
    Day 55

    Last week of volunteering

    November 15, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    This is my last week as volunteer at Kariega. It is quite an experience and completely different from my daily job. Even though we also have our routines here: on the car by 8:30, doing some manual labor by cutting trees, bushes etc, doing some elephant, rhino, lion research, sometimes going swimming at lunch and having the weekend off for our own activities.
    Our house is located directly on the Reserve, fenced off against the animals (or against us?) and is called Ocean View - because you can see the sea at Kenton, even though we are 20 km away.
    There is a communal kitchen where teams cook for all, and a lounge where we prepare lessons, discuss various topics, make weekend plans etc. The rooms are double rooms and at the moment I share mine with Mary from California.
    The ones leaving can make a wish of what they would like to see or do, I opted for the elephants 😉. So hopefully we'll see the new babies in the next days.    Read more

  • TravelerSabbatical Meike
    11
    Day 57

    Wishlist

    November 17, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Since I will be leaving the volunteers on monday I was allowed some wishes for my last day: I wanted to go see a sunrise and the new elephant baby - both wishes were granted 😊. So we set out yesterday morning at 4, all bundled up, with some coffee and tea to see the sunrise at 5. After that we started looking for the herd with the new baby and once we found them they just walked by - the new baby has only been born last week, is still a bit wobbly on its feet and is well protected by its babysitters - such a moving moment! It was so special being there with them.
    We also worked on the dam at Ocean View, getting clay and lying the new bottom of the dam with it - officially allowed to play in the dirt and look like it :-).
    And when we started the braai last night we also noticed one of the elephant bulls right outside our gate, enjoying the fresh green of the fig tree, he still was here this morning - his way of saying goodbye.    Read more

  • TravelerSabbatical Meike
    1
    1
    Day 58

    Good bye Kariega

    November 18, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    My volunteering times are over. When originally reading about the program I thought we would be working and helping with the animals, doing manual labor by digging and cutting alien plants etc. But it was much more than that. When going out onto the Reserve it was like going into freedom, seeing all the wild animals so close when they were moving by the vehicle, learning about their backgrounds, threats, the ecosystem etc. And thanks to Jaco it was always an adventure being out, he is enthusiastic about everything, may it be mushrooms, beetles, butterflies - for him everything has its place and its purpose. It gave me a whole new perspective on nature.
    Living with a 'family' for 8 weeks was great, even though sometimes quite challenging, so was cooking for 10 people, even during loadshedding. There were volunteers from Europe, Australia, Canada, the US - all with different values and beliefs which in the end had to work together as a team. It was a wonderful experience and I'm really sad its over now.
    Nevertheless I will enjoy another 3 weeks of vacation in Cape St. Francis, before going back.
    Thanks for all your comments and likes, I hope I was able to share a bit of this amazing and special time.    Read more

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