Bush Chopping & Cheetah Tracking

We report for work eager and a little apprehensive about what our first assignment will involve.  We are bush chopping today which involves removing the Sickle Bush and Black Thorn Acacia from a corner of this reserve.  In addition to being aliens, these bushes are obstructing the view of motorist, which could result in nasty collisions with the wildlife in the area.

  We have come dressed appropriately and have safety glasses, hats, boots and clothing that covers as much of our bodies as possible.   These bushes have thorns and we will inevitably be scratched up at the end of this exercise.

Clive instructs us on what we will do.  His African staff have joined us and will operate the heavy machinery.  Our jobs including piling the cut bushes to one location, poisoning the stumps and being the ‘pushers’.  Today, Sarah and I will be ‘pushers’ and work with Peter.   Our job involves assisting Peter with the bush chopping by guiding the bush being chopped with a big stick  ensuring it falls down safely, away from us and any other passer by. 

We start early, so that by noon, our work is done.  The Namibian sun is far too hot to work in the afternoon and it is the custom here for people to take a siesta during the hottest part of the day. 

Our first day at work goes well, although we come back with lots of ‘war wounds’.  The thorns inevitable grab you as you pass by.

Each day we will report back to our common area by 3.30 in the afternoon.  In the arvo, Clive treats us to something special to say thanks for our hard work!  One of these treats is cheetah tracking in   and on our first drive we visit an enclosure that is home to 3 of the older cheetahs; Ringo, Willow and Vincent.

Even though the cheetahs have radio collars, finding them isn’t easy.  We track them for awhile before we come across Ringo.  We can hear the other cats in the bush but they don’t come out of hiding.  Ringo is quite happy for a visit though and we are really excited to be this close to a cheetah.  Clive then steps out of the vehicle and instructs us that we can each approach the cheetah one at a time by walking from the back of the vehicle to where he is standing.  I have never had such an opportunity before and can’t believe that I am standing a few feet away from a cheetah taking his picture with my telephoto lens!

Once we have all had a turn, we get back on the vehicle and watch him for awhile longer.  Eventually, he gets up, stretches and walks away, leaving a truck load of very happy volunteers behind!

On only our second day here, Clive informs us that we will be given the day off to spend it with AJ, one of the staff of AfriCat.  His job is to collect data on the cheetahs that are part of the rehabilitation program.  These cats have been released into the main reserve here but need to be observed and monitored daily, to see if they are adapting to life in the wild and are able to be self sufficient. 

Again, while the cats have radio collars, finding them is not easy.  Tracking is done both by vehicle and by foot.  After lots of driving around, and some tracking on foot, we find 4 of the cheetahs; Spud, Koko, Bones and Hammer.  Spud and Koko are siblings and this entire group of cheetahs will happily go about their normal behaviour, with humans around.  They are moving when we eventually find them.  We are on foot and we follow them for a bit till they come to rest under  a tree. AJ cautions us to approach quietly and lets us know how close we can approach.  After we have taken our photos, we walk back to our vehicle and approach them once more.   Once again, I am rewarded by some great photographic opportunities.

 

Suddenly, the cheetah spring up.   All four of them start walking back the way we followed them.  We sense they are stalking something and AJ says it is time for us to leave them alone and head back.  Wow – what a morning!

We spend the afternoon learning about bush survival.  I have learnt a little about this down under so am aware that if you are lost in the bush, your hardest challenge is to find water.  I also knew that one way to do this is by tying a plastic bag on to a tree and waiting for bag to fill up.   We learn that the trees that bleed white milky latex are always poisonous and how to identify dung and paw prints.  Rhino dung for example is always white due to their diet of bones!

 

We also learn how to identify an aardvark hole from a porcupines.  For example, here the tell tale signs of his tail gives us the first hint this is the home of an aardvark!

We spot many animals on our drive back including lots of giraffe.

The sun is setting and it is time to head home.  It isn’t even mid week yet and it has already been an amazing time at Okinjama!

 There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.  ~Anaïs Nin