2013- A New Year At Kinda Camp!

I need to start with how I’ve just noticed the date and the fact I’ll be 24 in a month. Where are the years going?! I waited so long for 18 and now they are flying by!

Speaking of time flying by, I can’t believe we have almost completed 2 months of 2013 already.

Male puku in the long grass now covering Chinyangali Plain

The New Year started out with another amazing encounter for me. I had spent New Year’s Eve at Wasa and as there wasn’t really anyone around the following morning, I figured I’d just cycle the 7km back to camp by myself. I had a feeling almost as soon as I left that I’d meet the elephants (despite cycling many times with other people and never once seeing them). Sure enough about halfway along, I noticed a juvenile elephant in the middle of Wasa 3 plain with some others further back in the forest. The road passed quite close to them so I had to make a snap decision. I went with the logic that they are highly intelligent creatures and would just know that I wasn’t out to cause trouble. I cycled past with no problem, in fact they didn’t even seem to notice me (although, of course they were aware I was there). Having said that though, I did still make it back to camp in record time!

Camp haircut!

Bye bye little plait

I spent a few days at camp, either having some time off or working on the laptop/in the lab. It’s both strange and lovely to have camp to myself now. I got up one morning and decided that, after joking about doing it for weeks, I was going to cut my hair. Having long hair just isn’t practical in the bush, and from all the layers that had been cut, it had become very thin at the end. So out came the kitchen scissors and I literally cut half my French plait off! And then continued to try to even it up as much as possible. I was shocked to see that even with taking 20cm off it, it was still below my shoulders! I’m slightly ashamed to admit I trimmed my fringe with a pair of nail clippers as it just wasn’t happening with the big scissors!! The things isolation will drive you to do. I think it’s turned out quite even, but I’ll still probably visit a hair dresser when I go home next month!

Waiting for a hitch

It’s a known fact in Zambia that hitching is one of the safest forms of transport. So when I planned a shopping trip to Lusaka in the middle of January, I decided I was going to hitch down rather than get the night bus as I really don’t like it (and it seems everyone was right about the bus being so dangerous with the news that made world headlines about the bus that crashed near Lusaka killing 53 people). I had been teaching the girls the day before (we’ve been doing Excel tutorials recently) so I stayed the night at Mulaushi and then walked the 2km to the gate at 5.45am the following morning and officially started hitching at 6.05am. I was finally collected at 7.45am by a truck driver who was en route to Ndola and could take me as far as Kapiri (about halfway). It took nearly 5 hours to get to Kapiri. Trucks are slow evidently. But I feel much safer in a slow moving truck than in a small speeding vehicle (when Liz and I got a lift from Serenje back to Kasanka with a German guy, he was driving at about 150km per hour, it was ridiculous).

Hitching with locals

I had some food (chicken and chips- heaven after being in the bush!!) at Kapiri and then started hitching again. Unfortunately Kapiri is a million times busier than the Kasanka gate, so I had the usual harassment from Zambian men that us female “muzungus” (white people) receive. They just insist on greeting you and shouting at you all the time, even when they’ve witnessed so many being shot down before them. Many are blind drunk, even in the mornings. It’s fine and mildly amusing the first few times, they are always just being friendly and I truly love Zambian people, but I quickly start to lose my patience with “Yeah mummy, where are you going? Ndola? Lusaka?” every 30 seconds. They also have no problem staring whatsoever; I think I had about 50 people (women and children too, not just men!) all watching me at one point. Anyway, I had about 15 men insisting on helping me to hitch which was equally as frustrating as they stood around me all waving down vehicles too and when one pulled in they’d all run to start bartering for me. I had to shout out “I don’t have ANY money to give ANY of you” a few times, but they still kept trying. Eventually, while they were all distracted with a truck that had pulled over for me, I quickly flagged down another passing truck and jumped in once we agreed on a price to Lusaka. I was joined by a lovely Zambian woman called Diana who had limited English, but we shared a packet of biscuits and laughed at policemen together. She gave me blessings for sharing the biscuits and told me she was my new auntie. I didn’t realise that it was illegal for truck drivers to carry passengers but it soon become evident when they wanted to arrest the driver at a police road block! Luckily between me smiling innocently and Diana’s recently deceased husband apparently being well enough known that the police knew his name and gave her their condolences, we got away with it and they didn’t even make us get out! At three more road blocks they wanted to arrest him, but each time with my smiling and Diana’s name dropping, we got away with it. It was lucky for us on the day, but scary to witness how easily swayed the Zambian police are…

These cuties walked on the road with me one day

After Lusaka- loads of fresh fruit and veg!

I had a lovely two days in Lusaka relaxing, supply shopping and meeting up with friends. As usual, I spent way more than I was meant to, but the lure of almost any food you want is just too much too resist! Meat, cheese and cold juice- I have the same craving each time I go to Lusaka now. I visited the Irish Bar with Erik and Erica, and of course had to have a can of Guinness! Seems like a lovely place and I’m a little disappointed that I won’t be in Zambia for Paddy’s Day now. I ended up returning to Lusaka for a day trip on Valentine’s Day (which I hadn’t clicked at all until I went for breakfast and was asked by the waiter was a waiting for someone, which I found odd, until I noticed all the heart balloons and couples! The baboons are my Valentines this year :D) under the pretence that my work permit “should” be ready. Seeing as I knew two people who had recently received theirs, I figured mine must be ready too. Well I was right, it was ready, but apparently immigration had misplaced it. It has been approved and ready since the start of December. I even have the number of my permit now, just not the booklet. And immigration are out of booklets, can you believe that?! They’ve run out of them and don’t know when they’ll have more...TIA!!!! I have to continue renewing my visa each month now; apparently my work permit number isn’t enough proof. And they refused to renew my visa there and then, so I have to return to Serenje again when it runs out. All very, very frustrating. But I guess at least it wasn’t refused! On a side note, on the night bus down to Lusaka when we stopped at Kapiri for a toilet break at 1am, I ran into Diana in the take away shop!! She nearly crushed me with her hug! It was lovely to see her again, to see a familiar face (even though I’d only met her once before!).

MJ with her kids and Mr Wizard & Dolly behind

Another awesome chameleon

Work-wise things have been going well! Despite the rain and ever-growing grass trying their best to hamper our efforts. In some areas there are already patches of grass taller than me (and I’m 5’9’’, so not exactly short!). It’s so easy to miss the baboons in the grass. Several times we have spotted one and presumed that we have reached the edge of the group, but after a few minutes of standing still we will notice that we have left 10 or 15 behind us and are in fact in the middle of the group! It’s great to see how habituated they are, but at times it would be great if they barked when they saw us, instead of continuing quietly at whatever they are doing, in order to alert us that we have encountered them! I’ve still had no incidents with them. Marley, one of our scouts, asked me the other days “How long have we been working together now?” and I answered I’d been here since October so he worked out almost 4 months. “Why, is it 4 months too long?!” I joked and he replied “No, no, I’m just wondering how long it’s been that the baboons have never tried to attack you”. A funny way to put it, but it made me smile knowing that he has also noticed they are ok around me.

Dolly

Pretty snake

Hippo tracks at camp

Common Duiker

I don’t really expect anyone to fully understand this, and I realise it makes me sound a little crazy…but I had an amazing experience with the baboons a couple of weeks ago. I truly trust and respect these animals and I don’t fear them. I really believe they reciprocate what they sense from you. I know if I do something silly (like spook one of them) that there will be consequences, but I’m confident they don’t want to randomly torment me. I’ve been working on being as close to them as possible since Anna and Liz left and it’s been going well. I’ve had a few great close encounters, but that morning was extra special. They were coming down from their sleeping site (a patch of forest) and were moving into a plain of long grass. I’d already had a close encounter with a juvenile male, Derek, who purposely came over to a tree I was standing under and sat maybe 5m above me watching me. So I decided I’d move across into the plain and stand in it, as such moving directly into the majority of the baboons’ paths as they were coming out of the forest on almost three sides around me. Normally, they would begin to avoid me and all move off to one side further away. But I could feel something was different, perhaps it was because my scout was around the other side of the trees so it was just me by myself. Firstly two females, Yoko and Aretha, moved quite obviously towards me while foraging for grass seeds and then sat maybe 5m away from me. Before long there were about 10 of them all feeding, grooming and playing around me within 10m, and maybe 25 in total on the ground. It was incredible. There I was standing in the middle of the troop. And what did I do? I started crying. From sheer happiness! These undoubtedly wild baboons, which freak out and run away when they see other people or bikes or vehicles, appeared to have completely accepted me (on that morning at least!) and were happily going about their business with me smack bang in the middle sniffling like an idiot! Perhaps it won’t happen like that again for a while, or maybe not at all. But that one experience confirmed for me that I am right where I need to be in life right now. Of course, I’d left my camera in my bag which was about 30m away, but I probably wouldn’t have used it anyway, I was too immersed with the baboons!

Python at camp!

Python 

Mr Vervet stealing form the bin

The Main Road?!

There’s been plenty of elephant action (including one destroying the guys shower at the next camp!) and even rumours of a lion in the park! I’ve added a few more species to my “Kasanka” list, but still have many more I hope to see. I’ve had a hippo turn the path to our hide into a hippo track and I’ve found fresh tracks on 3 different mornings now. I can see that it moves passed my tent within maybe 10m, and yet I’ve never heard it at night?! Incredible. I also almost stepped on a python one night while returning to the dining room n’saka to collect my water. After the initial fright, it was amazing to watch this huge snake (over 3m long!) move through camp on its way to hunt for the night. It’s so easy to forget I’m in an unfenced camp in a National Park…Kinda Camp is my little safe haven and it’s so easy to presume animals will avoid it, but of course they don’t! I’ve seen several jackals recently after not seeing any for ages. We also got to listen to a bush pig give birth for hours one morning (the guys went to check what the noise was). I was convinced it was the “lion” or else a leopard, so I was completely surprised to hear a bush pig could make such noises! I also got to visit the Kasanka river for a “sundowner” (a drink at sunset) and sat about 20m up the river bank from over 20 hippos in the river all watching us. It was amazing as there was a storm on the horizon so there was rain falling and lighting flashing in the distance, along with a beautiful sunset, hippos, crocodiles and antelope and even fireflies once the sun had set. I will never tire of Africa’s beauty. 

I spy with my little eye!

Hippos and sunet- stunning

I was also excited to hear that a new snake species for the Park was found from my photos on Facebook! Bastiaan noticed a photo I had put up and thought he hadn’t seen the snake before (which I had thought was a worm snake). After checking with Frank (the park ecologist) and then Frank checking with an expert, it was confirmed that it was in fact a species of blind snake that’s never been recorded in Kasanka before! Liz also “found” a new species of legless lizard through people noticing it in her photos. So needless to say, I’m constantly on the lookout for reptiles now!

The new species of blind snake at Kinda Camp

I’m on the final countdown for my visit home during my month off already (25 days to go!). I can’t believe it has come around so fast and that it will mark almost 5 months of being here. I imagined the other night that I was going home for good and almost freaked out…definitely haven’t been here long enough yet! What can I say- Africa is in my blood now.

We've started a book club for the girls in the Conservation Club.