It’s 5:30 in the morning and there’s a
knock on my door. The sun is just starting to warm the Acacia tops here in Zululand.It’s time for another 5km walk and I still
can’t believe that I am six months pregnant and my feet barely fit into my
boots.The motivation of knowing that
I’m almost a FGASA level one qualified ‘Dangerous Game Field’ guide is what
propels me from my bed and into the shower.It’s what I’ve been working towards for almost two years.
When I started the tv show Wild Ltd 1 in
2004, I never knew the profound impact it would have on my life and before long
we were knee deep in production for Bush Radar, our children’s series.The culmination of these two series has meant
that I spend almost two weeks a month in the bush.
Wild Ltd has grown from strength to
strength, with our viewership now sitting at a staggering 1.4 million people
per week.That is more than a million
people each week listening to our conservation message, and this is what
sparked the original idea that I needed to become qualified.As a media figure, I need to speak from a
place of knowledge, ensuring the information I’m presenting is factually
correct.We have a lot of researchers
and journalists watching the show and it would be a tragedy if we were to give
out the incorrect information, facts and figures.
I joined FGASA, as it is the regulating
authority for nature guides in this country and the course makes practical
experience mandatory, which for me was the deciding factor. We started with
Mark Lowes who accompanied us on shoots and sat down for lectures after we had
filmed and did practical walks whenever possible.Unfortunately our shoot schedule was just too
hectic to continue in this manner.
My producer, Nicola, found an advertisement
for Bhejane Nature Training in Zululand.This suited me perfectly as I was pregnant and this is a low malaria area.Riaan, my husband, myself and Nicola took
time off work to complete the course. Dylan Panos is the head ranger and along
with his team went out of their way to ensure my comfort.We would start out with a morning walk with
him and ended up never walking more than 3 km’s, because we were asking so many
questions.After breakfast we would have
lectures and study time and boy – did we study - we were so nervous about the test.Dylan and his wife Christa also had module
specific lecturers join us for certain parts of the course. Herpetologists,
geologists and ornithologists added to our fast growing knowledge of the South
African bush.
Needless to say, the day before and the
morning of the exam were very stressful but we passed it with flying
colours.I’m already seeing the benefits
of the course in our everyday work.We
are now working on the new season of Bush Radar and are already implementing
our new knowledge into the tv series.
It has been paramount for us to not only
learn from the course and the incredible people who have shared their knowledge
and talent with us but through these amazing people who fight the good fight of
conservation, we are now able to send out an even stronger message to tv
audiences.
The 3 year 'Impi' group was given the opportunity to organise and manage a fundraising event. The purpose being, to raise funds for the purchase of equipment for their conservation projects.
The first of three events was a 7's Rugby tournament hosted at the Hluhluwe Rugby Club this weekend.
Due to the adverse weather conditions, fewer than expected teams arrived for the tournament. Ultimately, a total of 6 teams took part in the tournament, with teams coming from as far as Pongola in support of the fundraiser.
The tournament took the format of a 'round robin', with all teams playing each other.
The following teams entered:
Pongola
Hluhluwe Rhinos
Alpha Security (Hluhluwe)
Team Badminton
Bhejane1
Bhejane2
The first game kicked off at 9am as the rain clouds cleared and the sun came out.
The Pongola and Alpha Security teams qualified for the semi- finals and had a nail biting game. Alpha Security played a well structured game and took the win of 3 - 1!
At the end of the round robin, Hluhluwe Rhino's were in the lead, with Pongola and the Badmington Team on equal points. The Badmington Team, chose not to play a Semi-final, offering the final spot to Pongola.
After a 15 minute break the final kicked off as everyone watched with anticipation. The final was a 10 minute a side game where Hluhluwe Rhinos played confidently and finished strongly with a 4 - 0 victory over the Pongola side.
Below is the table of results for the day:
POINTS
ROUND 1
ROUND 2
ROUND 3
ROUND 4
ROUND 5
TOTAL
ALPHA SECURITY
0
3
0
0
3
6
PONGOLA
3
3
0
1
3
10
BHEJANE 1
0
0
3
3
0
6
BHEJANE 2
0
0
0
0
0
0
BADMINGTON
3
3
1
3
10
HL. RHINOS
3
1
3
1
3
11
Raffle tickets were on sale throughout the day, with some great prizes being sponsored.
First prize was sponsored by Ghost Mountain Inn- A one-night stay at
Ghost Mountain Inn, situated in Mkuze, with a Fishing trip on Jozini dam. Other prizes included a Game drive for the team by Protea Hotel; Breakfast from Indigenous Kreationz for the team in third place and many more prizes for the raffle draw. Thank you to all sponsorships for the day! Ghost Mountain Inn; Browns Liquors; Mkuze Country Club; Protea Hotel; Indigenous Kreationz; Hluhluwe Spar; Mrs. Stewart from L'oreal; Bhejane Nature Training and Hluhluwe Rugby Club for the venue.
Well done to Josie Easton, Derek Joost, Zee Lemena, Graeme Stuart, Craig Bateman and Axel Primmer for putting together this very successful and enjoyable day! Most of all thank you to everyone that came out to support the event and all the contributing sponsors
The next event will be a paintball match on the Bhejane property. Keep an eye on our facebook page and blog for more information on this event, or alternatively contact 084 604 3210 for more information or to enter your paintball team into the event!
It was the start of
the third and final trails trip for the year. We knew from the first week on
ZRR we were in for a wet one, but never- the- less a unique experience. We
watched as rains poured, rivers flooded, followed by the sun and some very hot
days as the bush became alive around us. We had excellent sightings during this
trails, logging well over 70 dangerous game encounters and some, now well
embedded, memories and experiences.
On walking one of the properties close by our main camp on
Amazulu, we had some great sightings the one day, to me a day that is the
essence of walking trails and getting the opportunity to become part of the
nature around you. The terrain was not easy and we covered well over 25km of
walking in order to log the, well deserved, 7 sightings for the day. We reached
the lodge after walking most of the morning and had a chance to refill our
water bottles, as temperatures soared well over 35 degrees. We left the lodge
and headed south and after a few kilometers we spotted, far up in the distance,
some white rhino feeding on some burnt patches. After tracking buffalo most of
the morning, up some very steep mountainsides, this sight was well welcomed.
As you’ll see in the video, we were walking up on the road
leading to the area where we spotted the rhino. You could hear the loud thuds
of her feet hitting the ground as she suddenly came into view, running down the
road we were on. We quickly moved off the road, to our right, and stood dead
still. The mother and calf came to a stop about 55m from us. We think the
reason for them running down the road, is that one of the bulls we saw up in
the same area might have disturbed them and she ran down the road. She was
unaware of our presence as the wind was well in our favor. She stopped briefly
and moved around the other side of the road as we watched. After making a small
loop she came back onto the road as the wind started swirling about. She became
aware of a presence and moved in slowly to investigate. She came in to about
25m of us, as we stood motionless. Both her ears pointed at our direction as
she sniffed around in the air. It was a few moments of ‘benoude boude,’ but
amazing to see this beautiful animal up close and on their level. As soon as
she sniffed and became aware of us, you can see how she turns side profile,
shielding her calf from us. With a few snorts and grants, she sped off in the
opposite direction.
We continued up the road when they had cleared the area and moved
up towards where we had spotted the others. We managed to get a nice sighting
of a female and two sub- adults feeding. We viewed them and extracted without
disturbing the animals, which is always a successful sighting. Heading up
further towards the fence line the female and calf from earlier came out the
bush ahead of us. Wind was in our favour and they were unaware of our presence.
We looked on as the calf was in a very playful mood. Running
in circles around the mother while vocalizing squeaky grunts. This was awesome
to see and was animal behavior at its best. The calf made a few turns by the
mother and then started trotting down in our direction. We moved slightly to
our left to stay behind a small barrier between them and us; a barrier that a
rhino of her size, will make light work of! The calf came to about 40m from us
when it suddenly became aware of our presence. You could actually see the shock
on the little ones face as it realized we were there. The mother was there in
no time, super alert and looking around. The calf made such quick dash back to
mom, it tripped slightly over a bush, quickly picked itself up and got behind
her large mother. We stood dead still and observed as the female sniffed the
air to investigate. I think at this time everyone had pretty much decided on his
tree of choice. She looked at us, for what felt like hours, then turned and ran
off, calf close by. They went some distance and stopped, as the mother scanned
the area intently.
There was so much to learn from the behavior we had
witnessed by this female white rhino and her calf on this day. A lot was taken
from it. It has happened often that these calves will run into a trails group
without knowing that they were there, and can obviously turn into something
very serious when the mother feels you threatening her or her calf. Through
just standing our ground and remaining motionless she moved off, not sure what
to make of the situation. We felt privileged to have been allowed to view these
Rhino in their everyday life. It’s just beyond me to think that people will
ruthlessly murder these magnificent animals to satisfy their own greed and in
the light of all the latest rhino poaching, it was a privilege to be able to be
part of their daily, undisturbed, lives for just a few minutes.
Share your comments, feelings and past experiences with us! Email us at hanroe@bhejanenaturetraining.com
Creating Awareness Through Wilderness....
For more information on Bhejane Nature Training or available courses email us on info@bhejanenaturetraining.com!
During our last Wilderness Trails course we had some exceptional sightings and encounters. In the first week on Zululand Rhino Reserve the spring rains came down and we walked in some very wet conditions. This is a sighting we had of an elephant bull at the waterhole while we were up in a tamboti tree. It gave us an opportunity to view him safely and in his natural environment for almost an hour. We had a sighting of the same bull braking a fever tree in the dry river bed the previous day, with his characteristic long tail that almost sweeps the ground as he walks.
We viewed as the ellie went about giving himself a good mud bath as the rains poured down. He then left the water and went to scratch against an Acacia Fever tree, walking right underneath us, into the dense bush to go feed. It was amazing to watch and be part of this beautiful elephants life for just a few minutes and wouldnt have wanted to be anywhere else; rain, mud or tough terrain!
You'll notice in the supplied video how the elephant uses his feet to loosen the mud and then kicks the mud onto himself. This is a way of keeping cool on hot days but also a means to protect the skin from biting insects. This is obviously at a waterhole, but elephants are also know to start new waterholes with this same behaviour. What will start off in one season as a depression in the earth with rain gathered in it, will over the next few seasons become larger and larger as elephants come and dig down and loosen the mud to wallow in. Eventually the wallow will be deep enough for them to lie in and become larger and larger and in doing so, creates new waterholes.
Was a really enjoyable sighting and just loved watching him go about his mud bath! This is what wilderness trails is all about!!!
Got similar videos or stories of experiences out in the wilderness? Email us and we can post it on the blog! hanroe@bhejanenaturetraining.com
Creating awareness through wilderness!
For more information on Bhejane nature training email us on info@bhejanenaturetraining.com today!
