We had a great visit with Tammara's sister Debbie in Brooklyn before we flew out JFK. Nice walk along the waterfront on perhaps one of the last warmish days of autumn.
Went directly to Jo'berg from New York, a 14 hour flight-which was good practice for sitting at this waterhole. We had a short stop and then boarded our flight to Blantyre, Malawi- another two hours. We were met at the airport by a driver from Earth Watch, met up with our fellow volunteers and and drove about two hours to our project site at Majete Wildlife Reserve. After bit of orientation and some dinner, we collapsed early after being up for about 30 hours.
Majete is located in southern Malawi in the lowlands along the Shire River, which flows out of Lake Malawi. During the 80's and 90's, nearly all the wildlife had been poached out. About ten years ago a third party organization took over the management of the reserve. They fenced the entire area and reintroduced the major native wildlife species. It's sad that conservation has come to this, but may be the only hope there is to save some of these species. Our role here is to help out on the field work of Earth Watch scientists studying the population dynamics and ecology of the reserve.
Our first full day here we were given more background information and then a driving tour of the area. It was an exciting drive as we sighted many of the major species present here. We saw most of the antelope species found here, warthogs, hippos, baboons, zebras, buffalo, and to top it off, a couple of elephants up real close. Present here also, but difficult to locate, are rhinos, lion, and leopard.
Our second day was spent doing more orientation and training in the morning, and then checking camera traps in the afternoon . These are motion-sensing digital cameras that are mounted along wildlife trails or at waterholes and record any animals present. By this means we know that the lions and leopards are reproducing- which is very exciting.
And today, here we are at the waterhole, making notes of all the comings and goings through the entire daylight hours. It's a very peaceful way to spend a hot day. Not too exciting yet, mostly warthogs and impala, but also a beautiful group of sable antelope.
Wednesday, Nov. 13
Things perked up yesterday at the waterhole when the elephants finally showed up. First a bull showed up for quick visit to cool down, and then a mixed group of about ten tramped through. What a wonderful sight to see.
Thursday, Nov. 14
Today was walking traverse day. We split into two groups and walked different lines. We were a accompanied by a well armed park scout to walk a 11 kilometer line through the reserve and systematically record all our wildlife sightings. I actually saw very little,although Tammara's group had an up close sighting with a group of elephants- which is a little tense when you are on foot.
We started the day at first light, which comes around 5:00 here, which is good, because it is actually a comfortable temperature for the first hour or two. Did I mention it's really hot here? By mid-afternoon it tops out around 105 degrees or more. In the early morning it drops to the the 80's. So fortunately, we finished the traverse before lunch.
The afternoon was spent entering waterhole data into computer spreadsheets, not too exciting, but at least we were in the shade.
Friday, Nov. 15
Another waterhole monitoring day. We split up into different groups and went to some new locations. Three adult lions and two cubs were sighted the previous night at the waterhole I was sitting at. At present, this is the entire population of lions at the reserve. Two males and one female were re-introduced last year and the two cubs were born this summer. Unfortunately, we did not get to see them, but it's nice to know they are here.
Apparently, a rhino also visited this waterhole about an hour after we left. How disappointing that was to sit there for 12 hours counting warthogs and impalas, and then miss that!
Saturday, Nov. 16
Today was our official off day at the reserve. We chose to spend the early morning on a guided bird walk, mostly along the Shire River. The guide was wonderful and really knew his birds. Most of the birds we saw are fairly common here, but nearly all of them were life birds for us, and our lists are growing steadily. We also had a couple of crocodile sightings, fortunately none were too close.
The rest of the day we actually spent lounging around a pool, drinking beer and gin and tonics. There is small restaurant with a bar and pool located across the road from the reserve. It is owned by a delightful woman from Austria and the setting and grounds were just beautiful, sitting just above the river. Tammara was so happy, she could get almost ten strokes per lap. She swam for nearly an hour.
Sunday, Nov. 17
Another transect day, but this time along the roads by truck. We are finally getting to know all our antelope species: impala, waterbuck, bushbuck, nyala, sable, and kudu.
It is great to hear what you're doing. Impalas were the first animal sighting for us, and we wanted to stay and watch them for as long as they stayed. Our patient guides told us we'd see more impalas, and indeed we saw hundreds if not thousands of them. Here's wishing for personal sightings of more new wildlife and birds! Are there lilac crested rollers where you are? Beth
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear you're both well - love reading about the wildlife and day to day adventures. I bumped into Desiree last night at a bonfire party and was asking about you. Life w/out your greens isn't quite the same, but we're making do ;) Stay healthy and keep sharing! ~Johanna
ReplyDeleteRead your post to Chris. He said "105 degrees on vacation. Forget about it." Glad you had some gin and tonics and a pool. Ahhhh.
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed reading about your adventures! Rodney and Valerie
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