Photo by: Callum Evans
The images in this article were taken pre-COVID-19.
BY: Matthew Nash
Camp manager blogs are written by our students who each get a chance to lead and manage a group (of their fellow students) for a period of one week.
The past week has been a very eventful and interesting one for all the students. Half of us completed our Track and Sign training at Colin Patrick Training, and the other half did their Advanced Rifle Handling (ARH) training at a nearby farm.
Colin Patrick shared his wisdom with us on an awesome adventure of tracking different species throughout the Greater Makalali Game Reserve. We found and learned about many different tracks that most of us had never seen before.
With the seasons changing, summer made its first appearance with a thunderstorm on Saturday. Summer in Limpopo is wet, hot and humid; while winter is dry.
It was beyond awesome and refreshing to have the rain back in full force again. The rain brings a “clean slate” for the camp and our environment changes drastically. Trees start to produce flowers and fruit, which means more birds and insects make their way back to their nests.
Photo by: Callum Evans
And, with more oncoming thunderstorms, our rivers, dams and watering holes will begin to fill and bring a new atmosphere back into the bush. During this time, you’re likely to spot larger gatherings of animals coming to watering holes to drink during the heat of the day.
The calls of the birds create a constant ambience wherever you go, and provide an awesome chance for all of us to learn and expand our passions and knowledge.
Now that we’re nearing the end of our third semester, we’re starting with our 4×4 training, which is exhilarating. We are embarking on journeys to new and exciting places we have not yet seen, which allows us to experience a whole new set of environments and challenges.
The work is not over yet and there are so many more interesting things we are yet to see and learn. I can’t wait for the final stretch of this journey; and then it’s time for us to start our careers!
See how the journey ends for yourself. Join us in the safari.
