South Africa Reserve Volunteer Journals
As a volunteer, you will be involved in every aspect of managing and maintaining a wildlife sanctuary. Out on the reserve, nothing stands between you and the wildlife. Many species of plains game will gaze quietly as you go about your work. Maintaining a reserve in optimum condition requires constant vigilance. In addition to ensuring a pristine habitat for the wildlife, you will be preserving a type of vegetation that is increasingly threatened by agriculture, forestry and urban development. The wildlife sanctuary is located on a rare veld (bush) type called bankenveld, recognised for its high biodiversity. Less than 1% of bankenveld is conserved under formal government programs, so this private conservation initiative is of critical importance. By joining our programme, you will be helping to preserve species and habitats in one of the most biologically diverse areas of the world.
For more information, please visit the GVN site.
November 22nd, 2009 by Sue Meyers
Hunters are on the game reserve today. There is an over population of male Blesbok (or Blesbuck) and they fight rather than breed. To keep the population under control hunters are allowed two kills per day. This does not involve a large amount of skill since the hunters (mostly visitors from other countries) are driven to where the animals are grazing and they shoot them. All parts of the animal are used and their horns become the hunter’s trophy…
Posted in South Africa Reserve
November 22nd, 2009 by Sue Meyers
The sunshine returned and the weather is supposed to be back to normal this week – high 70s during the day and 50s at night. Today is for basking in the sun and taking it easy. Some SA exspressions: How’s it? – self explanatory and Is it? – can be used as a response for just about anything…
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November 21st, 2009 by Sue Meyers
Today I visited the Nan Hua Buddhist Temple (http://www.nanhua.co.za/) located near Klipkop in Bronkhorstspruit. It’s the largest Buddhist temple and seminary in Africa and the African headquarters of the Fo Guang Shan (Buddha’s Light Mountain) Order, the largest monastery in Taiwan. I enjoyed the meditation with the monks. The weather is supposed to be “sorted” (SA expression) tomorrow and return to sunshine and the high 70s / low 80s – that’s good news!
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November 19th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
Spent the entire day preparing 30 iron bars needed to build a new cattle grid. In South Africa if you have cattle or game that stray onto someone else’s property and remain there for over 24 hours, they belong to the owners of that land. The cattle grids replace fences and prevent game from passing along a road which penetrates the fencing surrounding the enclosed boundaries of a game reserve. They prevent passage to animals but not to wheeled vehicles. We prepare the iron bars by sanding, treating, and then painting them. Tomorrow we fill them with concrete.
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November 17th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
Back at Klipkop this evening and reunited with the other volunteers for more boundary fence maintenance and vegetation control. Tomorrow Tony will teach me how to use the TLB machine (tractor loader backhoe) :( to remove the posts left after we took down almost 1000 meters of wire bonnix fencing to allow the game to move more freely on the reserve.
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November 15th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
Today I toured Johannesburg again. We visited the business & banking district and several neighborhoos including Houghton Estate where Nelson Mandela lives with his third wife Graca Machel. Graca is the widow of the late Mozambican president Samora Machel and the only person in the world to have been married to the presidents of two different nations. She is an international advocate for women’s & children’s rights. There is a cycling competition in Joburg today - the world’s second-biggest timed cycle race with 25,000 cyclists participating.
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November 14th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
Today I drove from Klipkop to Tladi Lodge for a long weekend – Saturday through Tuesday. Tladi Lodge is a secluded thatched roof guest house near Johannesburg surrounded by wonderful lush gardens. It’s very close to Nelson Mandela Square. The birds here are amazing! Of course I got lost several times on the way but finally arrived. Tomorrow I will explore Johannesburg more and take a few tours.
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November 13th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
There is an injured duiker that will hopefully be released on the reserve soon. Duikers are small shy antelope that hide in thickets and bush. We released five bushbucks on the compound this morning. Today was spa day! Klippenbosch Spa (http://www.klippenbosch.co.za/index.htm) is located on the game reserve grounds and run by a woman named Hantie. It was a fabulous day and the rich vegetation and gardens at the spa were absolutely spectacular with many of the treatment rooms set up outside as tents! Good day for my aching body – fence work is physically demanding.
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November 12th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
One of the volunteers has been quite sick for the past few days. We have taken her into the Pretoria hospital several times and found out that she has kindney stones that must be surgically removed. She was relieved to find out what it was because she was beginning to think she might have bilharzia (schistosomiasis) from swimming in Lake Malawi before coming to Klipkop.
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November 11th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
Today we brought back two large turtles, a genet, and some snakes from the bird santuary (they rescue many different animals in addition to birds) and released them on Klipkop. The genet is one of the most beautiful animals I’ve ever seen – cat like in appearance but related to the mongoose family. They have beautiful spotted coats and big ears and eyes. This one was NOT a happy camper until we released it at dusk.
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November 10th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
We heard that the injured Serval did not make it but the vet determined it died of an injury sustained from another animal and not a poacher’s snare. Today they found a young eland caught in a snare on an adjoining property. Snares are often set by locals to help feed their families. Although they are illegal there is no way to monitor them. Tomorrow we will return to the bird sanctuary to do some work on the stork aviary. We will bring back a large turtle and several snakes to let loose on the Klipkop reserve.
Posted in South Africa Reserve
November 7th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
“Full” breakfast SA style includes baked beans, mushrooms, and a grilled slice of tomato! Off to tour the Apartheid Museum and if I don’t get lost Lillesleak Farm – the secret headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC) during the 1960s – and anything else that might come up in between.
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November 7th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
After getting lost several times, finally ended up at a hotel for Saturday night. Since many names were changed when the new government took over it is complicated because not all of the signage has been updated. The GPS led me to one of the most wealthy and incredibly beautiful suburbs of Joburg followed later by Soweto which is difficult to describe. It was intimidating driving through Soweto solo in a Mercedes (older model rented from Klipkop). Driving on the opposite side of the road also took a bit of adjustment after so many years!
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November 5th, 2009 by Sue Meyers
This morning we found an injured serval along the main road slightly outside the Klipkop compound. Servals are medium-sized wild cats (25 – 35 lbs) that share common traits with the cheetah. The serval has the longest legs of all cats – relative to its body size. It achieves a top speed of 50 mph and has large ears with acute hearing. The serval was caught in a trap so the local game warden came along for the rescue and transport to a local veterinanrian.
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November 3rd, 2009 by Sue Meyers
This morning we worked on repairing fences knocked down by a fallen jacaranda tree. We rode to the repair spot in a truck which we loaded with firewood and sent back to the house. It was the first time I have ridden in the back of a truck on the freeway – very bumpy and breezy. The local drivers here are fast and they tailgate. The spring rains are heavy & the smells pungent and exotic. We got caught in a storm waiting for a return ride. Wednesday is shopping day & a new adapter is on my list.
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November 2nd, 2009 by Sue Meyers
Five of us drove to Botshabelo (http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsmpl/botshabelo-mission-station.htm) for a 12KM hike. Botshabelo means the “place of refuge” and was founded in 1858 by two German missionaries, Alexander Merensky & Heinrich Grutzner. It’s about a 1.5 hour drive northwest of Klipkop and contains a historical town with mission buildings, a Ndebele museum, a nature reserve, and hiking trails. We saw zebra, ostrich, springbok, wildebeest, baboon, impala, reedbuck, monkeys, and birds. It’s spring so there are new babies being born every day.
Posted in South Africa Reserve
For more information about volunteering in South Africa, please visit the South Africa volunteer program page on the Global Volunteer Network website.
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