Safe and Sound

Thanda Game Reserve Day 1-Monday (pronounced like Tanda)

Well after a long and tiring 24 hours + of travelling, I arrived safe and sound in Durban late Sunday morning. Unfortunately I didn’t sleep much on the plane so I was pretty darn tired.

I had a wonderful whirl wind tour and time spent in London. It is so full and rich with history. There is so much to learn and see and do there although the loads of people and the busyness is not quite for me. I took lots of photos from the hop-on-hop-off tour bus as I was told some interesting facts. Although I already forget what some of those are. I did hop off the bus to check out Buckingham palace which was great. The queen did not come and waive at me but I didn’t take it personally as I understand she is away for a short while. Some heads up would have been appreciated though.

Me in front of Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

Yesterday was a hot hot day which I was not dressed for so it was a sweaty sweaty day for me. The people from my project all arrived one at a time as we waited at a patio café at the airport in Durban. So we got time to get acquainted as each person came along. There is a wide range of age and experience so it will be interesting getting to know everyone.

It was a 3 hour sweaty drive to the game reserve (which for me, included a lot of head bobbing. I tried to stay awake to take it all in, but my body had other plans from the lack of sleep). The drive was interesting. I saw a lady doing her laundry in a creek alongside the road. I saw a lady carrying something on her head as she walked down the highway. Of course being a farm kid, I had loads of questions about the land, the farming, the cattle breeds, etc.. I am hoping to get some of those questions answered over time.

I had envisioned the game reserve to be in a very remote locations at the end of the pavement, at the end of a gravel road, at the end of a dirt road. However it is only about a 10 minute drive off of the pavement. But the nearest town is 1.5 hours away I believe, so it is isolated enough. It is a lovely little set up here. There is a big common building where the offices, kitchen, eating area and common lounging area are. The main hall is ‘open’ to the outside so there are birds flying around, eating up breakfast crumbs and pooping on the floors. There is a balcony that overlooks the watering hole that I was so excited about. Unfortunately, with the terrible drought, it is simply and dirt whole and not many animals come along. There is also a swimming pool that I was also quite excited about. Unfortunately, with the terrible drought, they used the swimming pool water for showering and have yet to fill the pool back up.

I am rooming with a gal, Robyn form Australia and her accent makes me miss all my Aussie family. So far we are getting along quite well. Out little cabins are nice (not fancy) with our own bathroom, single beds and chairs. Along with our own geckos who poop on everything. So nothing is safe. Even your bedding, pillow, clothes, etc.. Robyn had some poop drop on her as we were first getting acquainted with our room. In some aspects, the accommodations are nice, but there is still an element with roughing it which I believe will be more difficult for some people to be okay with then others.

Our hut

The dark nights and beautiful star filled sky is something most people have never experienced so it is interesting. I was explaining last night that it is common for us to have a fire and to sit out and enjoy the night sky, so I am thankful that I get to enjoy that.

There are a few rules at Thanda:
• Stay on the paths as there are snakes and scorpions that are tough to see in the grass
• Never walk alone at the night, always take a buddy with you
• Always take a flashlight or torch with you while walking at night
• Keep a keen eye for animals in the camp area. Although there is a fence, animals to get in, including impala, warthogs, hyenas, lions, etc..
• If you come across an animal of the scary kind, stand still and make lots of noise so someone can come and find you and help you (hopefully). I doubted impala fit into this category so I wasn’t too worried when I saw some of them on our walk to our cabin last night. However I was reminded to be worried about what eats impalas. That they could be nearby as well.
• Water is in short supply so use it sparingly. The good old saying ‘if it’s yellow, let it mellow - if its brown, flush it down’ applies here. As well as 2 minute showers.
• Electricity is also in short supply and there are times when we might be completely without power. So it is also to be used sparingly.

We are having our first photography session this afternoon followed by our first game drive which I can’t wait for. We saw 3 giraffe’s on our drive in that we had to wait patiently for them to move off the road and they are magnificent!! I can’t wait for more close encounters and from what I’ve been told, there will be plenty. Nothing like getting a look into the eyes of a lion or having an elephant run its trunk through your hair.