Working week in the festive season*

Dear readers.

It's been the first week since I have been back and the course I have been divided into was site guide. We have been doing game drives this whole week so much that it has become our second nature!

The first couple of days were not as busy but then the rain hit and the night drives had to be rescheduled. So last night we had two night drives in one go and with people not pitching for work we were in a bit of a struggle... Luckily we managed but doing a game drive in the rain is no joke! We were all soaking wet and so we decided to stop at one of the entertainment areas in the Makhato region so the guests could hide under the lapa until the rain quiets down. It was actually a lovely experience as we used the opportunity to tell them more about the types of accommodation at Sondela, the students at the Academy and the activities going on at the moment and in future.

We cleaned the seats for the guests with a mop and toilet paper so they would not get as wet but the rain caught us again on our way to reception. Also an interesting thing happened when we rolled down the sails on the sides of the vehicle, we found a baby bat sleeping in the sail. When we stopped at reception it woke up and flew away.

We have a busy weekend waiting and a whole lot op people to welcome today, I am needed in reception again to help out as they are short on staff. Here we go!

Game capturing, harvesting of fauna

Dear readers.

This is a report on the game capturing we did earlier this year on Sondela nature reserve.

Game capturing

Game capturing is also known as harvesting of fauna (animals) and in this case we forced the animals into a small space to catch them in a truck trailer. Firstly you need to check the equipment used for culling and harvesting. Culling is known as lessening the amount of an animal due to over population. The correct equipment must be used for these activities, they must be clean and in working order, these are things like fish nets, cages, fire arms, ropes, boma plastics etc.

When checking the equipment it is important to check for wear and tear and if maintenance is needed it must be implemented as soon as it has been found. Maintenance is carried out to ensure trouble free service when it comes to using the equipment.

Once the equipment is safe and usable the correct harvesting methods must be implemented. The appropriate method must be chosen according to the type of harvest. In our case we harvested zebra, orryx gizelle, blue wilde beast, impala and blesbok. We had set up a boma shaped in a Y form to force the antilope up onto the trailer. All activities must be done according to the legal standards and quality assurance requirements.

All our actions were monitored by the manager of the wildlife centre and he has done this method of harvest a lot of times so he knew what to warn us about, what to do to better his last attempt and what to avoid because it did not work the previous time.

All specimens captured were checked for diseases, injuries and safeguarded the dangerous species so they will not hurt the others. We attached plastic pipe to the blesbok horn so they would not hurt the others when under stress. All the specimens must be kept record of so you know how many are left on the farm for capturing and how many babies you can expect for the next breeding season.

Data such as date captured, weight, size, and gender must be recorded so they are not totally culled, there are a generous amount of them to breed and keep the species intact. Also where they were captured must be recorded so when you need to find them again you can go back to the record of them and follow up.

Lastly a report of the harvest is needed by the person in charge so that they have it in writing for future reference. Things like, what went wrong, what went well, what to change in the next attempt and which requirements need to be upholded. Reference must be made to any bag limits where relevant in terms of the amount landed, weight and numbers.

After the capturing we cleaned up and packed away all the equipment for future use. The antelope were transported to the destination required.

 

The holiday season

Dear readers.

It's almost Christmas and the holiday is in full swing. I have just come back from a 3 week vacation and I loved seeing everyone again!

Upon arriving at the house I realized that us girls have become like a family! But strangely enough as I walked around I have seen so many things change. Our general dealer has become bigger and better, it is still under construction but it is almost done. The kitchen to the restaurant has been rearranged for the better and there is so much order and space for the people to work. The cocktail bar has been re-modified into a pizza den where the guests then place their order and they bake it in front of them. This takes a bit of strain off the kitchen itself. There is also a bakery implemented at the general dealer where the chefs bake fresh bread and rolls everyday for the restaurant and for the general dealer to sell to the guests.

Also for the guests convenience, the activities are not booked in reception anymore but at the entertainment hut. This is very well thought out because reception is always so busy that guests tend to cancel their idea to book due to the queue but now it is easy and efficient. We also have a new game drive vehicle, a Hilux, and it is very convenient in terms of it has a windscreen, wipers, headlights etc. For the kids there is a stand with popcorn and spook asem for them to enjoy and they also have more activities for the guests to take part in. All of these changes need some getting used to but the one most odd thing would be the fact that it is the middle of the week and it is not just elderly on the farm, the farm is very busy!

These are some of the changes that I have seen in a few minutes, there may be more but the fun part is the challenge of getting the hang of things again! Wish me luck!