February 10th 2009 – lazy days

There are some days when a sense of lethargy just creeps in, not only to you but also everyone you are with. Well today was just such a day. May be it is the heat or may be the fact the guys all got paid yesterday (albeit late, remember this is Africa) and have all just relaxed a little, but for whatever reason it was going to be a slow day.

My agenda for the day did not make pretty reading, lion walk, trap clearance and another lion walk, totalling some 6 hours out in the bush. The first lion walk was fine and because it is so early the temperature is still comfortable which means the lions are more playful than later in the day. We took out the 2 L's which is always a good combination as they play together so much and just spend most of the walk stalking and ambushing each other which is just great fun to watch. For those that know him just think Pete Young.

The mid morning session had a sizeable group activity of clearing traps. Essentially everybody just walks in a line up and down selected parts of the reserve checking for traps left by poachers. As we headed into the bush it became apparent that this activity is not treated as seriously as I first thought, partly because no traps have been found here and secondly as we walk these areas at least 2/3 times a day any traps put here would be spotted and dealt with. Therefore it came as no surprise that during the course of this activity we all had a rest by one the established stopping points and as often happens when a group of guys get together toilet humour and much laughter is had. I have to say that my fellow volunteer Hayden, normally a quite fellow, had us all is stitches as he sang songs intermittently disturbed by imitation fart noises. Childish I know but very very funny.

For the afternoon walk I was to take out the 2R's but as the scouts had spotted more buffalo on our planned route we switched to the 2T's (the little cubs Timmi and Tswana) and took them on a short walk to the nearby game lodge. This was great fun, especially now I have a lot more confidence with the lions, and we just did all the silly things you do when walking with young cubs, such as running around, playing catch with toys made from the branches and letting them climb on your legs etc. However It is not all fun and you have to remain alert, as situated close by is the Zambezi river and a pond area where there are crocodiles and one of the cubs would make a lovely dinner given half an opportunity.

The other aspect of these walks is that you get time to have good chats with the other members of the group and today I managed to have a long conversation with Derrek. He is 41 and from Zimbabwe and his life story is very tragic and typical of the plight of many of his country folk. He has no family left, no possessions of any note and all his savings have evaporated under the hyper inflation of the zim dollar. He is also one of life's eternal optimists and strives the whole time to for better things ahead, whilst at the same time always willing to help and chat with you and you can see that he retains a sense of humour and determination that really is very humbling for us and puts some of our own worries into true perspective. I have enjoyed his company immensely.

February 9th 2009 – back to the bush

There are so many characters here it is impossible to go into too much detail of them all, but one of the more flamboyant characters is Laken who continually tells jokes, constantly laughs and does handshakes with all and sundry. He tells everyone how life should be lived and what makes the world tick, so when the days schedule was announced and I saw Laken was doing the client presentation I immediately changed the roster so I could be join him . This would give me the perfect opportunity to rib him on his intro and safety speech to the clients, on this occasion 2 girls one from the US and one from Aus who meet up every 2 years for a month's travel. What a cool idea.

Anyway to continue, his normal exuberant demeanour is always muted during these presentations and after we returned to camp we sat down as a group and discussed his performance. To cut a long story short I presented to the group on how I thought it should be done adding various dramatic pauses and exaggerating the dangers of lion walking and this was copied by Laken using his broken English this had all the group in fits of laughter which was just wonderful.

We also discovered another interesting fact as a result of there being no ear pieces for the radios, which meant I had to lend them mine, and as Laken tried to fit them to his ears it became apparent that they were (his ears that is) the size of a 5 year olds and again great hilarity broke out amongst the crew, including Laken himself. There are thousands of such situations that happen every day here and it is really great to be able to enjoys the simple pleasures of life.

The afternoon though soon brought us back down to earth as the next job for the day for me was the dreaded meat prep and feeding. This is without doubt the worst part of the job here as we have to cut up stored meat, today this was donkey, and feed it to the lions. It is just revolting having to handle this thawed meat, including the lion's favourite of donkey head. If I am lucky I won't have to do this again.

The afternoon just involved another walk but with the heat we are having at the moment it affects both the walkers and lions with the lions especially becoming very lethargic, although without fail there is always one or two pieces of magic that the lions entertain you with. I know when I leave here I will miss these moments a lot.

Finally, I again went to the internet cafe and couldn't believe it as I had success on the Skype front and managed to talk, albeit walking with the computer in hand around the car park of the internet cafe to keep the signal going, to Sally and the girls and have a brief chat. That was really great.

February 8th 2009 – one of the 7 wonders

You may have noticed that on the whole, my life travelling here has been pretty basic so today I treated myself to a visit to the falls and a decent lunch on Livingston Island which is situated on the top of the falls. It was probably the best call I have made since my arrival here in Livingston or indeed since I arrived here in Africa.

The day started with a walk around the falls on the Zambian side and seeing this awesome natural wonder. It took about 2 hours as I went to various viewing posts including a walk on what is known as the little bridge. Words cannot describe the forces at work here or the sheer beauty of the place. As you wonder around the spray from the falls rises hundreds of feet into the air and as a consequence you get absolutely soaked. However this is a small price to pay to experience this natural wonder.

I then proceeded to the Royal Livingston hotel for coffee and chance to gaze upon the Zambezi and the falls in the distance. The hotel is up there with the best I have ever seen and it was fantastic to have a little luxury and service. It seems to have been a long time since I have been in this type of surroundings and I enjoyed every second of it.

This is also the launch site for the boat trip to the Island and my planned destination for lunch. It involved taking a canoe launch along and across the river which meandered through the currents to an island that sits at the edge of the falls. What happened next literally blew my mind. I was taken from the launch and across the small island where you are treated like royalty. Your first stop is the loo with a view and it must be the best loo view in the world as you sit on the throne and gaze out across the top of the falls. Recent guests of note here include the head of the Muslim Faith and film stars such as Arnold Swzarzenegger and Nicolas Cage. Many heads of States have also experienced this amazing place.

I was then taken to the tented dining area and offered a chance to take a trip to the edge of the falls. So raincoat, camera and guide we set off about 10 meters to the edge of the falls and I could not believe what I was seeing. I was taken to the very edge of the falls over 100m up from the base and able to peer not only across but also down where you could see water cascading down the rock face and crashing into the valley below. It was truly awe-inspiring. I really understand now why this place is regarded as one of the 7 wonders of the world. It would not be out of place to say that this spot was almost spiritual and I was told that it is not uncommon for people to cry at the sheer, grace, beauty and power of the place. For the record I did not cry. I did though have to walk back through the Zambezi river in waist deep water (my choice) and back to the restaurant area.

As it transpired I was the only one at the Island (cook and waiters excluded) and was given the royal treatment although some other guests did arrive slightly later. I started lunch with a Pimms (apparently all English people do this) with gespachio soup to commence the meal followed by filet of beef and followed by sorbet and coffee. You really could not have asked for more. When the other guests arrived it transpired that I was with the owners and couple of very successful tourist operators of similar age to myself. We ended up having a 3 hour lunch which was fantastically entertaining and just what I needed after having lived at the House for the last week.

Eventually I had to leave and was taken back to the launch point and then back to reality.

It really was a special and magical day and although the previous days rafting had the excitement and thrills that this area is renowned for this is the memory I will most cherish.

February 7th 2009 – splash and crash

It's the weekend and a lie in would be in order if we hadn't booked for the white water rafting and a 7.30 meet up at the post office.

Everybody I have spoken to have all said the same thing, that this is an awesome activity and one definitely not to be missed although it is exhausting, involves an treacherous walk and you will get wet. Well they weren't kidding. The journey to the launch site took about ½ an hour and before you can commence your journey you have a safety talk and then start your descent down the gorge. It has to be said that this was one of the most difficult descent I have ever taken, where a series of sticks have been laid out to help you down, although I found this to be more of hindrance. By about half way down I was knackered and my legs felt that were going to give way and I was lucky not to have fallen on several occasions. It must be my age.

We had 6 in our boat, 4 women me and the captain and apart from the captain very little experience. As we set off for the first rapid, me and a French girl (who spoke very little English which would be OK normally but no in the heat of battle with the rapids) both situated at the front came straight off and bounced around in the water, which was surprisingly warm and good fun but also a warning of what was to come. After I was collected we resumed our journey and were able to enjoy some of the most breath taking views I have ever had the pleasure to witness. For those of you that have seen Jurassic Park you will get the picture, and for those of you that haven't just ask someone who has. It was at this point that I was shouted at by one of my team mates for admiring the scenery and not rowing, which made everybody laugh.

The next 2 and 1/2 hours proved to be exhausting, thrilling and amazing fun as we hurtled from rapid to rapid with various members of the boat being thrown out at regular intervals. The captain would give us a commentary on the up and coming rapids and it was Terminator 2 that did it for us, where an 8 feet wall of water just flipped over the entire raft and caused mayhem in the ranks with bodies floating all over the river and being bashed about by the rapids. Great fun but also very scary. I do believe we were had the most fall-ins of the day which I am sure had something to do with the competence of our crew.

There was also the obligatory rock jump and as most of crew wanted to join in the peer pressure from the girls was awful, especially as most chose to jump from the high rock. So after the normal palpations (Sally think of the Pyrenees before we set off for the canyoning) I leapt from a good height. It was also in fact good fun.

On a latter part of the river we were allowed to swim/float down which was great fun and very relaxing until 2 of the crew drifted to the side and our boat went to collect them and I was left floating off towards the next rapids. I was quite relaxed until I saw all the other swimmers being collected by their various boats and the skipper of one of these waving frantically at a support canoe to collect me. By the time he reached me I was already in the next set of rapids and being bashed about and with him shouting at me to hold on to the front of his canoe, which is bloody hard to do when you are being buffeted about by the waves and stopping your face from hitting the front of the canoe, managed to get through these rapids before the calm waters returned.

2 and ½ half hours later we finished. The crew were exhausted and those that have only been here for a week got very sunburnt, but with so any nurses out here doing VO work there would be plenty of ointments to soothe burnt limbs and strained muscles. I myself was exhausted and felt muscle strains in almost all of my body but especially my legs.

I can only say that this is definitely an excursion for the more adventurous, who would love it, and you could only get away with this level of intensity and thrill seeking on this activity over here. As I have said many times IT'S AFRICA.

February 6th 2009 – another good day in the bush

It's Friday and the team at the lion's training lodge are excited for 2 reasons. Firstly it is a town visit after the early morning walk and secondly a couple of the guys have 5 days off after a 30 day stint. It seems that this is a little bit like the trips to the oil rigs albeit in the bush where home leave is really cherished especially for some of the guys who live in the lodge and the evenings are very quite or to put it another way very boring, night after night, with little company apart from a couple of guys who you work with and the animal noises from the bush.

For me though, today was also a slight throw back as the other volunteers were not here as they are taking a weekend trip to Chobe a game reserve in Botswana. In some ways it is quite nice as the numbers are lower and therefore my level of responsibility increases which is great especially on the lion walks where I have the responsibility of leading the group for the lions to follow. Whatever happened to not being on your own??

The early morning walk was as expected less eventful that yesterday but never the less was great fun as the temperature was cooler, which suits the lions better, and hence they are more lively and playful. As soon as the walk ended we were off to town to do some shopping. As everyone knows not my favourite past time but at least a chance to see what Livingston is all about. The town is pretty basic, but a huge step up from Zanzibar, so the shopping is really limited but there were a few cafes for ice cream and coke to while away the morning. You do get hassled a lot here as Zimbabwe is only 10km away and there is a stream of refugees milling around trying to buy provisions to take back across the border while others sell various curios and Zimbabwe currency to make ends meet. The highest denomination I have come across is the 10,000,000,000 zim $. Probably worth less than the paper it is printed on. Before we boarded the bus back to the lodge I noticed that one of the crew from Zimbabwe had bought a child's watch that didn't fit his wrist which was really sad and in a moment of weakness took him back to the market and upgraded this to proper watch. The problem with this though is that there really is so much poverty and hardship for these people that it is too much to take on and if the others find out I am sure it will open the floodgates. At least Derrick though will not cut off his blood supply to his hand but I have asked him to keep this matter private which he has agreed to do.

The afternoon involved another walk with feeding time straight after, this time donkey, which I had to get from the store and take to the cages. This really is a horrible job but again essential, so after we cut up the meat it had to be carried over to the enclosures and then fed to the lions from inside the cages. I can only say is not a job for the squeamish or the faint hearted, but the lions seem to really like it even if I want to be sick.

I also saw the injured cub briefly before we finished for the day and was amazed to see that the wound had almost completely healed up and all due to organic unpasteurised honey and a lot of tlc. This is supposed to work on humans too but I think I will keep to prescribed ointments for the time being.

Tomorrow I am off and have booked to do some white water rafting on the Zambezi with a couple of other volunteers, which should be fun and a bit more challenging than the trip I took with Sally, Amy and Ellie in the Pyrenees.

February 5th 2009 – what an amazing day

I have been really excited by what I have been doing here, not only the fact that I am getting to work with lions but am part of a project that if successful will help to create an on-going supply of lions ready for release into the wild. The dedication and commitment of the team is quite something to behold, but you have to remember that as this is a self funded project which means that the client walks are integral to the long term success and even survival of the project. So when required client walks it is.

Today started with feeding the cubs, who are growing at a phenomenal rate and do not seem to be the babies that I first met. The wound in one of the cubs is still there but does seem to be getting better albeit slowly. I really enjoy being with these little ones as I am able to be part of their first human contact and am therefore not behind all the other team in gaining their trust.

After breakfast I had to leave the reserve for town and the nearest pharmacy and sort out my mosquito bites. After acquiring half the shops supply of insect repellent and anti itching cream I felt that I had achieved a good job ad could look forward to the rest of the day without worrying about the itching. May be it is age but I have no embarrassment in walking around with ankles covered in cream or maybe it is just needs must.

When I got back to camp it was time for the afternoon walk, and I was assigned to the client walk with some Aussie doctors. As we arrived for the intros the radios went into melt down as messages of panic from various team members went round about a buffalo getting close to the lion cage just as the lions had been let out. It was strange being on the inside and having to pretend that all was ok with the clients when we were not even sure if the walk would go ahead at all. With Richard, the project co-ordinator, restoring order and shots from the ranger sounding in the distance we proceeded as if all was normal. Thankfully the buffalo had been moved and lions arrived as if nothing at all had happened. What happened next amazed me. The lions were amazing and performed as if to order, whether this just playing with each other, climbing trees or posing for photos it was just fantastic to watch. The highlight though was the chase as a herd of Impala ran around us and the clients all went into hunting mode and headed for the herd at great pace. A truly wonderful sight.

This afternoon has had to be the highlight for me so far and I am realistic to know that it won't be like this tomorrow.

The evening though proved to be most frustrating as the Internet cafe for once had a good signal but as sods law would have it Sally and the girls were not home. I just hope the signal holds and I get another chance to Skype later.

Finally, the mosquito cream also seems to be working which is just fantastic and has given me as much pleasure as the afternoon with the lions.

February 4th 2009 – those damn mosquitoes

OK another early start but this time I had a new problem, I have been bitten by what seems like an army of mosquitoes and my ankles are just so damn itchy. I am hoping that they will have some decent anti bite cream at the game reserve as it is driving me mad.

Our group was joined this morning by 2 other volunteers who were both as excited and apprehensive as I was on my first day, but like me they will have to watch in the morning and then be introduced to Rundi and Rusha and have their induction of how to behave and handle the lions. These 2 seem quite small after walking with the bigger lions but you still really need to know how to behave as they have very sharp claws and can give a good bite.

We also had a walk without clients (who like active property professional seem to be hard to come by at the moment) and it meant that we could focus on getting the lions to become more adventurous in the surroundings of the bush. We must though keep away from the river as the crocs and Hippo's have set up camp where we walk and they would be lethal for the younger ones.

I also had to feed the young cubs and get involved with treating the wound one of the cubs has. This entailed holding Tswana down whilst organic honey is placed in the hole under her front leg, which all sounds very simple but in reality is hard to do as they fight like mad and lash out with their claws. I can't say it was enjoyable but very necessary and part of the job here. Hopefully it will heal soon and we won't have to do too much of this. The new volunteers have also settled in well and one of them is really loving this work and has decided that he is not going back to do the work he originally came out to do. I understand his position very well.

The afternoon involved clearing a 5 meter path of long grass etc around a new enclosure which will be constructed later in the week/early next week. The clearing is in case elephants come across the cage and if there is enough clearing they will avoid the cages and just walk around. It has been made very clear to all of us the importance of this as without the clearing an elephant is more than likely to go straight through the enclosure and then we would have to replace the fencing, if it is repairable which is unlikely, and the lions would get out unaccompanied into the bush. It was very hard work and I can only report that the rangers were far better and fitter than I am at this task.

When we had finished the work I became aware that my ankles were worse than ever but I was strongly advised not to scratch the bites as if I break the skin it will just make the whole situation much worse. Unfortunately they do not have any decent bite cream so I will have to try and get some from the town, which is really hard considering apart from the supermarket all the shops are shut when we finish our working day. I will have to work something out as I can't stand it for much longer.

One of my favourite parts of the day is the journey home when we all get to ride in the back of the pick-up, something we cannot do at home and there is a lot of banter and good humour. It is just another one of those experiences that will live with you a long time after you have gone.

The evening was as frustrating as ever with no internet availability and therefore I no Skype with home. I really want to talk to Sally and girls but it is just so difficult here. I have also given up on trying to sort out other accommodation as I just do not get the time or have the energy.