17 September - Around Cape Town

My plans in the last 48 hours have changed a couple of times. Initially today I had planned to go on a cage dive to see Great White Sharks off the coast but as this would necessitate a 5am start and two hours or more of travelling - and not having booked it - I decided during the confines of the two day drive here I would rather just relax a little. I had then intended to drop my bags here last night in Strand and then continue to Cape Town with the others for dinner and a few beers before finding somewhere to stay in the city for the night. However, everyone's tiredness and our late arrival meant it made more sense to spend the night in Strand and catch a train to Cape Town in the morning.

Strand station was a five minute walk around the corner and there was a 7.30am train that would get me to Cape Town just before 9am; clearly a slow one as it is only 20 miles or so. I bought my ticket - under three pounds for a first class return - and waited. And continued to wait. It was thirty minutes before the train arrived and another two and a half hours before I arrived at Cape Town, over an hour and a half later than the scheduled time.

My plans continued to be disrupted. I had intended to meet Luke for breakfast but my late arrival, and his need to return east, meant that didn’t happen. I had then intended to go to Robbin Island with the girls but on meeting me at the station they informed me that there was no availability until Thursday. So, this being their first time in Cape Town, I suggested we walk to the more upmarket harbour area where we could get some lunch after exploring.

The girls went exploring while I settled down in the sunshine on the terrace of a restaurant overlooking part of the dock area, wine in hand. I do like this part of town. Looking across the narrow strip of this section of water I could see along one palm fringed edge of the waterside converted dock buildings, now exclusive looking apartments, no doubt expensive and no doubt the preserve of the rich. Yet, just a couple of hundred yards further round was the weathered bulk of an ocean going vessel and clear across the water the metal-on-metal clashing as workers repaired and maintained her. And behind all this, in the distance, the giant square massif of Table Mountain stood out against the blue of the sky filling the view, while nearer and just beyond the confines of the docks, man's contribution of square glass towers - banks and business - reflecting the blue sky but speaking more of avarice than nature. The contrasts of the view struck me as I enjoyed my wine and a salad.

The girls joined me and we shared lunch together. We then explored the streets, coming across the colourful Muslim quarter, houses in a variety of pastel colours along a few narrow streets. From here we headed to a rooftop cocktail bar that my brother had recommended, where we sat surrounded by old fashioned, highly polished American caravans. It was then time for one last drink in a bar before I headed back to Strand – this time by taxi – to prepare for tomorrow’s return trip to the UK.

16 September - To Strand

I rose at 5.30am and quietly headed outside from the dormitory as the day was waking. Sitting at the benches outside the main reception area I was able to hook into the WiFi and catch up with the world while enjoying the peace and coolness of the morning and the attention of one of the lodges three cats.

We had intended to have an early breakfast here before setting off but the staff failed to arrive in time so we headed out with a view to eating at our first port of call some twenty minutes down the road: an ostrich farm. However, their staff too had yet to turn up so we aimed for breakfast after having done the tour.

This part of South America is ostrich central. There are loads of farms and thousands of ostriches which are raised for their feathers and meat and skin (which makes a high quality leather). We learned a little about the farming, we stood on ostrich eggs (they are immensely strong) and I stood with my back to a bunch of ostriches while they manically reached around banging my neck to feed from the bowl I was holding in front of me; an ostrich neck massage according to the guide but more an ostrich version of Friday night to me! Overall it was an informative visit, rounded off with breakfast (at last!) and a look in the ostrich themed gift shop.

Our next stop was Cango Caves a little further along the road towards Cape Town. The 10am tour was fully booked though so we bought tickets for the next one and headed off to what we thought was a crocodile sanctuary further along. It turned out to be more like a zoo, albeit with high standards, but having spent a month experiencing the pleasure and thrill of finding and watching animals in their natural environment, seeing them presented here and confined in their pens was something I did not feel comfortable with, even though there were many I had not seen at Shawari. Luke had not visited before and I think he too had not expected this: I do not think he will be going back. Fortunately we had only a little time before we needed to head back to the Caves for our underground tour.

Cango Caves are natural limestone caves with some amazing stalactite and stalagmite structures. The main cave is a massive cavern but our trip was the 'adventure' tour and we went further into what was a surprisingly warm and humid environment. There were four areas that required us to squeeze our bodies through tight gaps of some feet distance, of these one was vertical, another required us to shuffle horizontally along a gap no higher than 18 inches and a third that required climbing up in a very confined space. The limestone rock was beautifully smooth which in some ways made squeezing through easier but it also meant that there was no purchase or decent handholds to allow for easy progress. Now I am not fat but I found it a tight squeeze in some places and the guide told us a story of a large American woman who, despite being told to wait, had tried to squeeze through the first gap after her group had gone through and got stuck. It had been eleven hours before a team managed to free her, eleven hours during which her group were trapped on the other side unable to get out.

I have always said I would avoid caving in confined spaces: the thought of being underground in long and tiny claustrophobic gaps with tons of rock above me has never filled me with enthusiasm. This experience was fine though and I enjoyed it, but I think it is as far as I am likely to go as far as caving is concerned.

Back out in the daylight and open air, we headed back to the vehicle and continued west. We had a fair distance to cover so only stopped to refuel and to grab a snack for lunch. South Africa continued to drift past and the landscape slowly changed as we got over the mountains and onto the plains and valleys towards Cape Town: the communities were still small and isolated but the hills and bush was interspersed with more cultivated areas the further west we headed. The day started drawing to a close and the night began to draw in; we would not make Cape Town until quite late. Fortunately I was being dropped off in Strand which was 25 miles this side of Cape Town but it was still gone 8pm when I stepped out in the dark outside Berlize's house. I was to stay here two days - alone as Berlize was on holiday in Europe - before heading home. It didn’t take long for me to unpack the little I needed in order to be ready for bed and I headed there as soon as I could to sleep away the weariness of the last two days.

15 September - Towards Cape Town

I woke early and headed to the common room for one last period of peace and quiet before my 7am departure. There were one or two repeat farewells as some passed through heading off on early day trips and then it was time to go.

There were three of us in the vehicle as we headed south from Shamwari: Luke, a colleague of his in the travel industry and me. We first headed to a sanctuary near Port Elizabeth where Ella and Michelle had been working for a week. A short stop to collect them and then the five of us headed off. Over the next hour my previous month slipped passed the window: we passed Port Elizabeth where I had first landed four weeks ago; then Jeffrey’s Bay where I had been surfing; and then we drove over the bungee bridge and passed the turning for the monkey and bird sanctuary that I had visited on my first weekend. It was then onward towards Cape Town and new ground for me.

We had stopped briefly for a coffee after which we had wandered through some forest to see the 'big tree'. It was nice walking along the wooden walkway through the shaded woodland, cool and protected from the sun, but the tree was really nothing more than billed: a big tree, protected by a simple wooden fence. Just along the path another tree stood protected by a similar fence, the 'not quite so big tree' I guess.

We passed through Knysna on the coast where we enjoyed dramatic views high above the sea of the coastline and the lagoon around which this town is built. And we enjoyed a civilised lunch in a waterside restaurant in the town before continuing our westbound journey. Hills and mountains slipped by and I enjoyed the views between typing a statement for the Shamwari management about Friday night for them to take to the local police. Today was largely about making progress rather than stopping too often, and with the exception of the occasional few minutes at viewpoints we mostly saw South Africa slip by the van windows.

By the evening we had made it to Oudtshoorn, a quiet town at the moment but normally a busy backpacker destination with a few nearby points of interest. We stayed in a simple but character laden backpacking lodge - the only people staying here that night - and enjoyed a couple of beers and some pool before heading out into the deserted streets to find some dinner. Our first choice restaurant turned out to be closed that evening so we ended up in a more upmarket place near our lodge but still with - at least to me - reasonable prices. With squid and wine inside me, and then a final beer and game of pool on my return to the accommodation, it was then time to retire in readiness for a long day tomorrow.

14 September - Last Day

I awoke late with a sore head (my fault) and a sore jaw from the fracas at the bar last night (not really my fault...). It was set to be a quiet and slow day of recovering - and my last day as tomorrow I leave for Cape Town on a two day road trip. It’s a shame I will miss out on the camaraderie of the usual Monday farewell but I was offered to share a trip with two people who left Shamwari last week and it struck me that I would get to see a little more of the country so I leave on Sunday now, rather than Monday.

I passed the day quietly, updating staff on the incident last night, doing the unavoidable questionnaire about my time at Shamwari and catching up with one or two people still here at the weekend but who had left before last night's brawl and who of course wanted to hear all about it. The day passed in a haze as the hangover slowly wore off to be replaced by the soreness of last night's scuffle. By the evening I was ready to face a beer and a final game of Uno amidst farewells to those who were still around for the weekend. It was then time to finish my packing and settle in for my last night here at Shamwari.

13 September - Community Support

My proper last day. We started at 9am in the small classroom where first I gave my presentation (it seemed to go down well) and then Jo, an Australian, gave one on the pangolin (the scales of which are more trafficked than rhinoceros horn). Finally the staff gave one on animal capture, a practice required when animals need to be moved or medicated. After this we headed off to Alicedale for our weekly afternoon helping in the community. Today we returned to the crèche where I had worked in my first week in order to finish building the slide we had started then. An afternoon of sawing and nailing, concreting and varnishing and the job was done. We threw in a bit of playing with the children too for good measure before departing amid waves from the youngsters.

The rest of the afternoon was spent back at the lodge before it was time to head off for my last night in town. I had sorted a couple of taxi runs to the usual pub and everybody was going. By 8pm we were all there drinking and dancing and enjoying a fun time, almost the only people there for most of the evening. It all turned slightly sour towards the end when some late arriving Afrikaans hunters decided to take exception to two of the young guys in the group and then me when I stepped in to calm things but none of that took the gloss from a great night.

12 September - Road Maintenance (and Animals)

I awoke early and relaxed in peaceful solitude with a coffee in the comfortable communal room until others started drifting in for breakfast. This was to be my last day on the reserve as tomorrow is the day we work in the community. Today the plan was to head off to the Born Free Foundation for a look round before undertaking a bit of road maintenance and then heading back to the lodge for a couple of lectures, including mine. There are two Born Free sites here, one on the north and the other in the south and today a vehicle was going to each. Last time I made the visit it was to the north and fortunately today I ended up in the vehicle heading south so it was going to be at least a little new to me. We headed out with Jamie who was in a rush to try and meet the tight timescale for the day. She should be in a rush more often.

The first thing that fate threw at her as we headed on the track heading over the hill just outside the reserve was a pair of lions lazing a few yards off the route. A 'five-star' vehicle was already there so we should not really have stayed anyway but normally we can get away with a few moments. Jamie was torn between our appointment and the lions and our appointment won out so it was a few hurried photos as we headed past. But the fates had more in store and not long after, as we sped along the dirt track heading south, we came upon three male lions, strolling along without a care in the world. Five lions within twenty minutes and on the day we had a tight deadline. In this instance we could only slow down to a crawl and follow from behind as they ambled down the road; there was no alternative route at this stage and the ethos here is not to interact with the animals so keeping a distance was our only choice.

After ten minutes of following, the lions decided to break away and head into the bush so we rushed on to Born Free and made it just in time for our 9am visit. It was clear to me on arriving that, of the two sites, this is the one for visitors: while the north is functional with the compounds all lined up next to each other, this site had a neat car park, tidy thatched roof buildings and compounds that you get to by walking along tracks through high shrub. The reception video and information area are exactly the same but the environment is clearly more visitor focused.

We saw the lion graveyard where lions that had been rescued to see out their days in their own 'little piece of Africa' had ultimately done just that, little stone mounds individually named and overlooking the plain outside the foundation site. We saw two compounds with lions and heard from the enthusiastic woman guiding us the stories behind their arrival and of those that had been in the compounds before (most seem to come from Eastern Europe and, strangely, France). And we saw a leopard. This was the only big cat I had yet to see here. Large, powerful and graceful, there was something about this animal that seemed to have a sense of purpose and presence that even the lions lacked and it was a shame that I had to see one from a viewing platform overlooking a compound and not out in the reserve.

The visit over, we headed out under a darkening sky and the first drops of rain. Originally we were going to join the other group in the north who were now trying to finish the repairs on the road we had started two weeks ago but as the few drops turned into a fine drizzle it was decided we would join them and then all head back to the lodge for lunch followed by lectures. But by the time we caught up with them, parked up at a high point overlooking the valley below, the sun was out again so we enjoyed our lunch in the field instead and revived the plan to try and complete the road work.

By the time we got to the work site the sun was out and we spent a hot and sweaty couple of hours working on the track we had started some days back, filling the rut with more stones and more mud dug from the sides. It was then time to head quickly back for presentations and, with Jamie rushing to try to maintain the day's schedule, this is when the fates jumped in for the third time. On the main track heading back towards the lodge we encountered a herd of elephants wandering towards us and stopping to feed occasionally on the shrubs and trees along the roadside. This was a family group of mothers and youngsters, about twelve in all, and we were going nowhere.

We pulled off the road as best we could and sat and watched, engine off. There is something special about sitting watching animals with only the sounds of their breathing and eating for accompaniment; it seems so much more close and personal. For some time we sat there as they moved slowly towards us and then in single file, slowly passed the vehicle. A few sniffs from trunks, elephants throwing dust and dirt over their backs and the matriarch turning and peering at us through the open back of the vehicle, her face and eyes filling the gap between the seats and the roof, made the whole experience so much more intense and all only a few feet from us as we sat in silence and awe.

The family group safely behind us we headed off again, but not for long. We soon came upon a lone male who was clearly following the herd we had previously encountered and so once again had to stop until he had passed. By this time it was going to be too late to do the presentations as we got back to the lodge not long before dinner so they were postponed until tomorrow. That evening however we did all sit in the communal room, lounging on sofas and bean bags to watch a documentary on rhinoceros poaching that the rangers had on their itinerary for us; they even got the kitchen staff to provide popcorn. For me it was a one hour film crammed into two hours and reflected much of what I already now knew but it helped pass the evening before one last giant game of Uno and bed. Overall it wasn’t a bad last day on the reserve....

11 September - Night Drive

As usual I awoke early and headed to the common room for some solitude, tidied the glasses and bottles that the younger set had left after their late night (10pm!) and settled to write my diary in quiet peace and tidiness with only the noise of the birds outside to distract me.

Today we are going out on the fortnightly night drive to try and spot nocturnal animals so the day is disrupted somewhat. We are not heading out until 11am but I am up because I need to do more work on my presentation for tomorrow. I have chosen my subject because remember learning a little about medicinal plants on a jungle survival course while in Belize and I was fascinated at just how much use could made of what you could find.

Three hours later, and my presentation almost ready, we set off for the reserve. I sat in the front with Jamie the ranger so I could pick her brains a little and maybe also pick a few exhibits for my talk. We travelled slowly south in the reserve and had a good morning: we saw a lioness laying in the shade of the brush but at just the wrong angle for us to recognise her; we spotted two rhinoceros without horns that had been transported to Shamwari as the last two survivors from a high risk poaching area; and we saw an elephant watering himself down in a muddy water hole. We also spotted the usual zebra and antelope and quite a few leopard tortoises. It was then time for lunch which we again enjoyed at a high spot overlooking the hilly landscape before heading off on a slow drive to a nice seating area by a river where the pre night-drive barbecue takes place. We came across a group of five white rhinoceros and sat for several minutes watching and identifying them as they grazed, moving slowly

towards us and then right past our vehicle. Not long after we were parked watching a herd of impala and a lone baboon keeping lookout for the rest of his troop, which we could not see but were somewhere out there feeding in the shrub. Suddenly they all took off for no reason that we could discern. Looking down the hillside away from the direction of flight we caught glimpses of a lioness moving through the acacia bushes a hundred yards away. We headed down and followed her as she strolled purposefully out of the shrub and along the dirt road that parallels the river. Jamie reported the sighting and we continued to follow to keep an eye on her until the five-star vehicles could arrive for a viewing and we could continue to our barbecue. We tried to identify her but couldn’t. In the absence of obvious scarring or other marks, lions are identified by their whisker patterns; the top row pattern of whiskers for any lion is very distinctive. It’s harder than rhinoceros notches but far easier than tears in elephant ears and it does require a good view and ideally a photograph from the right angle - which is definitely not from behind.

We followed the lioness for about five minutes before she headed into the bush up a game track where we could not follow. Not long after another vehicle arrived and we headed off for our barbecue supper in readiness for the night drive.

At supper we were joined by five members of the Shamwari anti-poaching unit who patrol the reserve with the aim of protecting the rhinos. There is still a thriving trade in rhinoceros horn and earlier this year Shamwari lost a rhinoceros to poachers. They gave us a talk on their role and demonstration of their dog's ability to bring down intruders before it was time for us to head out to see what was out there in the darkness. It was an overcast evening and as a result so much warmer than last time I did this. We shone torches into the darkness from both sides of the vehicles, swinging them from side to side, but it was to be a disappointing evening. We saw a few hares, the occasional jackal, some antelope and giraffes but very little else and none of the bigger beasts we would like to have seen. I guess that’s just part of the game when looking for wild animals in one hundred square miles of bush and grass plain.

We returned to the lodge to find the other vehicle had not returned. An hour late they arrived with such a different story to tell: a sighting of an elusive black rhinoceros, elephants and giraffes and the two lionesses and their eight cubs - that I had seen in my first week but not since - playing together. One of the lionesses was also seen stalking a baby rhinoceros although the outcome of that was not known. What a contrast. But for me, so much better to see hardly anything in the wild than to see everything in a zoo...

10 September - Tree Clearing (and Animals)

Tuesday's routine is that the newcomers go for their arrival brief while the rest of us wash and tidy the vehicles. We did our best with the lack of water but we did give them a good brush inside; they get very dusty and muddy with our continual in and out with our work boots.

Brief over, we all headed off for - once again - pine clearing, this time on some slopes not too far from the lodge. We set about the copse, cutting down the larger ones with saws and chopping the smaller one with loppers and made some pretty good progress for a couple of hours. At this point we were asked to get back up the slope quickly and onto the vehicles. I thought that again a lion had been seen in the area but this time it was something different; some waterbuck, a large antelope, were being moved into the area and we were being taken to see their release. We climbed aboard the vehicles and were taken a kilometre to where a large enclosed truck was parked where we watched and waited. In reality watching four large antelope leap from the back of a truck and run off into the bush isn’t as exciting as watching them behaving naturally in the wild but it was interesting to see another aspect of the operation of the reserve, the relocating of animals where this is necessary.

After the waterbucks it was back to the slopes for a bit more tree felling before heading for lunch at one of the dams where the hippopotamuses were hanging out. We moved on though as another ranger who had joined us for the day advised that the male had been getting aggressive of late; he believed the female might be pregnant. We had lunch at the next dam along, still a nice setting but no hippos, and then it was off for animal monitoring, with another quick stop at the workshop again en route. Today we were looking for elephants and we soon found a small group with some youngsters in an open area, but as we parked to try and identify them they seemed to get spooked and headed into the bush. It was too hard to try and follow so we set off again. This time we came across a group of white rhinoceros lazing around a water hole in the heat. After quite a while, watching and waiting for them to turn or flick their ears in a good direction for us to view, we managed to identify all but two of them.

We headed off again during which time we saw a few more rhinos and elephants but never close enough to identify and Anele never tried to get near them; he seemed to have another purpose in mind. It turned out that he had heard reports of a lion kill over the radio and had determined he would take us back via the site which turned out to be on an isolated and narrow track through the bush. He explained his 'dilema' over the radio to the vehicle carrying the five-star guests - that we were on our way back to the lodge via that route and could they pull off the track to let us through - and after having to wait a while some way off we were eventually told we could proceed. Five minutes later we were on the track and peering into the shaded undergrowth alongside the track where I caught glimpses of a carcass and two or three lions; it was hard to tell because of my position on the vehicle and the shade. We drove very slowly past, unable to stop as the paying guests were still there and more were on their way, and then continued to on to the lodge. Thanks Anele!

We got back just in time for dinner and then I slid away. I needed to do some preparation for a presentation I have been asked to give on Thursday. I’m not quite sure why I have been asked (last week an Israeli girl presented on snakes but it was the subject of her Masters Thesis) but I have said I will do something on the medicinal use of plants to be found here at Shamwari.

9 September - Fence Checking (and Animals)

It is Monday again. My last week. And the last day for some of the others, the first day here for newcomers.

We followed the usual Monday routine and those departing said farewell as we climbed Into the vehicles and 'high fived' us as we drove out onto the reserve. This morning we headed south and to the workshops there, Jamie had to pick up her usual vehicle that had been in for repairs and Anele had tyres that needed punctures repairing. Unfortunately there was still a lot of hanging around, not not least because things were not ready and then, once Jamie had her vehicle, it had trouble starting and then needed a new battery. I busied myself finding some grease and using it on a few parts of the vehicles that I thought needed it and 'borrowing' a rubber retaining strap from one of the pristine vehicles used for those in the luxury lodges and replacing it onto Jamie's vehicle; I had noticed it missing since I have been here. Mostly however, we sought shade from the hot sun while the workshop got on with their work.

It was not until late morning that we were sorted and headed off to the reserve for lunch on a shaded picnic platform that I had never seen before. On the drive there we found a caracol, a lynx type cat and rare to see. We didn’t realise this at first but from Jamie’s excitement and enthusiasm when we first sighted it we guessed it was something special. Our road maintenance task for today had now been postponed, it was getting too hot to fit it in after lunch, so we headed to the perimeter for something new: fence checking. The whole perimeter of the reserve is understandably fenced and as part of that structure four strands of electrified wire at varying heights are attached to the fence. Our job was to test them with a simple checker and record the results. With my engineering head on, and from chatting with Jamie, I get the impression that this is something that helps keep us occupied although it does provide a little information to the maintenance team that does this task more thoroughly. I think they will be visiting that section soon; I was recording the data and the voltage drop on one wire suggested to me a problem somewhere in the system.

Voltage checking completed we went off in search of animals although in this hot weather most were hiding in the shade of bush. We found a rhinoceros but could only see one ear so were unable to identify him. However, after driving around and finding a few giraffe and the usual selection of zebra and antelope we passed him on the way back and he had obligingly turned around. Rhinoceros W561 born in 2006 was identified and details noted in the log we carry in the vehicle.

We returned back to our lodge, the sun dropping and seeing precious little on the hour long trip. It was time to meet the new arrivals and find out who our new roommates are. We have a couple of Germans, a Mexican and a couple more British guys and most are young. However, with Juan gone I find I have a room to myself as there are fewer arrivers than departers. I’m not complaining.

After dinner, where we had the chance to meet the newcomers, I spent the evening catching up with admin before chatting a little more with my colleagues old and new and once again ending up around the fire pit under the stars.

8 September - Community Support

It’s Sunday. Normally this would be day off but today we headed off at 6am to provide support to a charity trail run organised by the same group who run the recycling swap shop we helped at last week.

It was a quiet drive to the start point for the run, just like any local event there was a marquee, a few stalls and plenty of people wandering around. I decided with a couple of others to help at the first water point so was taken early on to set up and get away from the mele. It was nice being on a track in the middle of nowhere and I enjoyed the peace. Once we were sorted I went down the track a little. It was hot and sunny and I stood relaxed in the sunshine and watched for runners heading up the slope, providing encouragement as they headed up towards me.

After just over two hours the last runner was through and we packed up, loaded the station wagon and headed back to the start/finish point. Here the rest of our colleagues were helping provide entertainment to the children of runners: a bit of face painting, football, competitions and drawing kept them occupied while their parents were running. It was a casual but fun affair and we were able to relax for the large part.

By lunch time it was all over and we headed back to Modolo's Lodge. Our work for the day was done so once again we had an afternoon of relaxation prior to tomorrow and back to our usual routine.

7 September - Surf's Up!

It’s the weekend again, although I guess for us it started yesterday. Today a group of us are off to Jeffrey’s Bay, a surfing beach some two and a half hours from here, for some surfing lessons. Apparently it is one of the top four surf locations in the world. When I mentioned it earlier in the week to a small group after dinner half of us spontaneously started singing the 'Hawaii 5O' theme tune while the others looked at us bemused. That’s the age divide for you...

My first task was to collect a hire car. Taxis here are charged per person (at least to us) so, although individually cheap to get into town, the overall cost is quite high and I’m pretty sure the fact we are a captive market miles from anywhere doesn’t help. When you are going 200 miles rather than ten then the overall cost can be quite ridiculous. Instead of five of us paying £65 each, I arranged a car for £45 total cost and we bit the bullet on the high cost of a taxi to go and collect it from Grahamstown 20 miles away.

Adam the Australian and I set off in the taxi, collected the car and headed back to collect the other three. Now Modolo lodge is 15 miles down a dusty, unsurfaced road that links to a main north-south road so getting back was simply a case of heading back along this route and taking the road signposted to Alicedale, the town a few miles past our lodge. Now you would think that a town in the middle of nowhere would be well signposted thereby allowing us to get on the road to our lodge which is in the middle of the middle of nowhere but despite checking each junction we failed to see anything for Alicedale. We had clearly gone too far and Google Maps wasn’t helping, we either had no coverage or when we did the roads were not always marked. It took an hour longer than planned before we got to the lodge to collect the others and set off on our two hour trip south.

We eventually arrived at Jeffrey’s Bay and although I have never been surfing before this place was everything I expected a surfing town to be: a chilled vibe and a fabulous beach. We kitted up in the surf shop and headed down across the sand to the blue rolling sea where for two hours we were shown how to get on, kneel and eventually stand on the board. It was a slow and tiring process as we faced the force of the surf and the undertow as well as a side current all of which would sweep you off your feet. But it was great fun.

After two hours we headed back in, grabbed a quick snack and then headed out for the long trip back. It was tiring driving on dark and unlit roads but four hours after setting off to Madolo’s, and then onwards to Grahamstown, I was dropped off by a taxi at the lodge and headed in to join the others I’d dropped off earlier for a beer. It had been a long but good day. So I guess you are wondering how I did...well I did manage to stand for a few moments on a few occasions and on one I actually surfed all the way to the beach. I may have wobbled a bit but I was pleased...

6 September - Relaxation

Today has been a continuation of yesterday afternoon's quiet time and relaxation: because yesterday, after the film, everyone visited the animal rehabilitation centre which I have already seen, I remained in the lodge. Today we have had a day off as our community support this week will take place on Sunday. I have spent the day sorting out tomorrow’s trip to the coast to get some surfing lessons, my trip back to Cape Town for when I leave here and (hopefully) a cage dive to see great white sharks in the sea before I head home. Add in a bit of guitar playing and reading in the sun and you have the sum of my day. It’s nice to relax.

5 September - 'I Love Animals, That's Why I Hunt'

This sentence was spoken by a hunter in a film we saw this morning about the lion industry in South Africa. I feel it captures the cynicism of the industry perfectly, and make no mistake it is an industry and one that I was woefully ignorant of before I arrived. I have been lucky enough to see these animals in the wild; born there, raised there and left without human intervention. But there is a massive industry in breeding lions in this country under the banner of conservation. You can even pay to have a conservation holiday helping raise the young cubs. Does this help conservation of this wonderful animal in any way? The answer is a resounding no. Born in captivity and raised there by eager volunteers and not their mothers (once her cubs are removed she will go into oestrus and be able to produce more cubs instead of spending two years raising those she has just given birth to), these young cubs can never be introduced into the wild.

So what is their destiny? Firstly they will raised in 'education centres' where people like you and me can pet and cuddle them to satisfy our own needs for contact with cute 'wild' animals. After this, once they are more fully grown, they continue to be used in the tourist industry providing the opportunity to do a 'lion walk' which is exactly what it sounds like, walking with grown lions in the bush with plenty of opportunity for those great instagram and Facebook photographs. The final stage is the worst. As fully grown animals, unscarred by the fighting that they would have experienced in the wild, they make great trophies and end up as somebody's sport in 'canned hunting'. This phrase describes a practice here where an animal is set up to be killed, it can hardly be called a hunt: it takes place in a small area with no escape opportunity for the animal; the animals can be drugged to pacify them; and they are often lured to a specific site rather than tracked. The organisers guarantee you a 'kill' and you even choose the lion you wish to hunt from a selection before heading out so the necessary arrangements can be made. The hunting community see the breeding of lions as helping increase their numbers but the bred animals would never survive if released into the wild (which is not going to happen) and the breeding stock has so diluted its own gene pool that they would add no value to the wild anyway. They are bred to be killed. Of course not every conservation organisation is part of this machine and some allow their lions to see out their days in captivity if release into the wild is not realistic. But any organisation that allows breeding in captivity has serious questions to answer and next year it is estimated that the machine that churns them out will produce 20,000 lions for hunting.

There are some areas for debate I am sure but for me the facts do not add up. It has been a sobering and enlightening morning.

4 September - Road Maintenance (and Animals)

It is 3 am and I am laying in bed listening to rain that is dripping from the gutters outside while my body gently aches from the work done repairing roads yesterday morning. We had returned to the heavily rutted track from last week, scoured the edges of the scrubland for large stones along the track and used these to fill the some of the remaining ruts before digging out mud as before to fill the gaps. Enele, a regular guide here but newly returned from leave, occasionally threw a stone into the scrub to help keep black rhinoceros away; the first time caused me quite a stir as I was a few yards into the scrub, pulling out a particularly good selection of stones, when I heard noise in the undergrowth before realising what it was.

That afternoon the rain I am now hearing set in as we drove around. We were spending the time trying to track a cheetah with the radio detection equipment but had no luck whatsoever. We did see a couple of black-back jackal, foxlike and trotting across the grassland, an old rhinoceros, giraffe and some elephants plus, of course, a variety of antelopes. We tried to identify the elephants we came across but the tears and nicks in their ears that we use are generally so indefinite and open to interpretation that we rarely have a consensus of opinion.

                    

The drive back was long and quiet as we did our best to shield ourselves from the cold and the developing drizzle. Open sided vehicles are great for spotting animals but they do have their disadvantages. We can not complain though as the rain is desperately needed. The drizzle continued into the evening as we passed the time after dinner playing pool and chatting before it was once again time to get my head down.

The Tale of the Tail of the White Tailed Gnu

The white tailed gnu created from those left over animal parts and one of the 'ugly five' according to Anele the ranger (he failed to tell us the other four..) has a prominent white tail that looks like that of a horse. It is very obvious against the dark of the rest of the body, a problem you might think when being pursued by a hungry predator as it makes such an obvious target. But what actually happens is that, when being pursued, the gnu will dart quickly in one direction while flicking its large and obvious tail in the opposite direction thereby distracting the pursuer and making them turn the wrong way.

Often when we see a herd of these animals they are all male, a 'boys club' according to Anele. In the wild a dominant male will gather around him a bunch of females and mate with them while he maintains his dominant position with that herd. Any male offspring he has will be pushed out of the herd by that male once they reach sexual maturity so as not to be a threat to his authority and his mating rights. These younger males then gather together in herds of their own for protection until the time when any of them feels ready to challenge the head of a herd and hopefully establish their own mating rights. The same behaviour can be seen in some antelopes and lions.

3 September - Tree Clearing (and Animals)

I am normally up by 6am and sit in the common room sharing a quiet coffee with Adam, an Australian guy here, while we await the 7am breakfast rush. However in the last two days I have been waking later when the sun is a little higher and this morning I stepped out under blue sky and the promise of a warm day. I joined the gathering crowd for breakfast and learned from Adam that I had missed seeing a lion heading up the hill behind the lodge just after he had got up; there is a route around our perimeter fence that is used as a thoroughfare by a range of big animals although we rarely see them.

Today our first task was to wash the vehicles while the newcomers had their arrival brief. This was not the easiest of tasks as we are trying hard to conserve water here and we were using the limited water gathered in buckets from showering. Last week we were told that the local town is having its water turned off for all but four hours each day owing to extremely low reservoir levels. Although we use the same supply there are large storage tanks here so I guess it helps give us a little flexibility and it hasn’t impacted personally on us yet (neither has the knowledge impacted on the showering behaviour of some of the people here sadly).

We headed off into the reserve, leaving the newcomers still in their brief, to the copse of Black Wattle we had started last week. Today the aim was to finish felling this particular patch. There were few left and those that were were mainly quite large. We set about tree barking them with machetes (removing a thick strip all around the tree so that it dies) or hacking with saw. I ended up in a particularly large tree and played tree monkey for two hours while I slowly climbed around it removing the limbs and poisoning the exposed stumps.

By lunch the task was done and we walked to a vantage point just behind the copse to enjoy the views while we ate. The afternoon was the usual drive around the reserve. We saw a few more animals than in previous days - various antelope, zebras, a glimpse of a hippopotamus, baboons - and identified those that we could of the rhinoceros and elephants that we came across before returning back to our lodge for dinner.

I had arranged a taxi into town so that some of us (although mainly the newcomers) could go and get some beer from the local store. However, as our five o’clock dinner came and went and the five thirty arrival time for the taxi approached there was still no sign of their vehicle. It arrived just as the taxi pulled up, the newcomers sharing stories of how their vehicle's front wheel had collapsed out on the reserve (hence the delay) and of close encounters with a cheetah; they had had an eventful day.

The day ended with a couple of glasses of (newly purchased) wine, a couple of games of pool and then some fireside chatting before I eventually slipped off to bed.

Zebras and their Stripes

I had always understood as a kid that a zebra's stripes helped them 'blend in' to the background yet here it makes them one of the easier animals to spot so I have been a little confused. It seems that the reality of how they work is slightly different. When a herd of zebra is threatened by a predator the animals come together as a group before running off as one. Their stripes make it difficult for the predator to distinguish any particular animal from the group as a whole - made even more difficult as the big cats do not distinguish colour well and see the world in shades of grey - and in doing so increases the chances of escape. Another thing, if you ever see a group of zebras early in the morning the chances are they will all be facing the same direction; they place their sides to the rising sun and the black strips absorb heat to help warm the animals' bodies.

2 September - Tree Clearing (and few animals)

It was a cool morning when I awoke and there was a mist on the opposite side of the valley as I stepped outside from my room; the start of the day can be cold here at times. Today’s plan was for more tree clearing a mile or two from the lodge. We arrived at the area of mixed scrub and small pine, dismounted and unloaded the tools. I was just putting on my work gloves and looking for a decent saw when one of the rangers asked us in a voice of controlled urgency to get back on the vehicles; he had just seen a pair of lions about 30 feet from where we were to work. They had headed off on seeing him, apparently a young male and female and slightly under-confident about humans, but clearly this area would have to wait for another day. So it was off to an alternative site for more of the same. There are no great wooded areas here on the reserve but there are copses of trees spread throughout, the remnants of the days when this whole area comprised farms. The non-indigenous trees that the farmers introduced may have served a useful purpose then, but they outcompete and take more water than the indigenous trees so for the purposes of Shamwari they are not helpful.

We spent the morning clearing young trees across quite a wide area before heading for lunch and the usual afternoon of looking for animals. We found one of the buffalo herds, counted and accounted for them all and saw a few giraffes. After that we saw little. Today we had two guides with us. One was a tracker and spent time looking on the dusty trail for interesting prints to show us. The other was a botany specialist and told us interesting facts about the plant life we came across. Between them they proved there was so much more to see when you know what you are looking for and that the terrain has a rich story to tell you if you only know the language.

We returned to Madolo's reserve for dinner where we met the new arrivals. We have eight new people: a selection of British, Argentinian, French, Australian and German. Most of them slid away early after dinner, weary from their travels, and I sat with a glass of wine chatting with a few of my more seasoned colleagues before heading off to bed.

1 September - More Kayaking

I awoke early as the sun was lighting the sky and crept from my sleeping bag and down to the fire pit where we had been yesterday evening. I had not felt cold last night and had slept well but I got a fire going from the embers to keep away the morning chill. An hour later people started drifting down and breakfast was prepared. Our aim was to leave at 8.30 to paddle back to Port Alfred, again on the favourable tide. We left a little late but we headed off with plenty of time to spare and today we had more sun and little wind so the journey back was more pleasurable, although still wet. Less than an hour and a half later we were at the sandy beach from where we had set off yesterday and loading the vehicle for our return to our lodge.

Most people dozed on the drive back to Madolo's lodge and then relaxed for the rest of the day before dinner. For me a few games of pool and a game or two of an Israeli card game helped pass the evening before I felt my bed beckoning and headed off, and it was still not even 8pm...

31 August - Kayaking

It is the weekend again. This time I planned a kayak trip up the Kowie river from Port Alfred, on the coast some sixty miles from here, to an overnight stop in a national park before heading back on Sunday morning. Luke, our part time ranger come tour guide, has made the arrangements and there are eleven of us going.

We had a casual start to the day and headed off mid morning, the aim being to catch the incoming tide to help carry us up the river. After a brief lunch stop in the town, we were in our kayaks and heading up the Kowie. The sky was blue, the sun was out and the tide was in our favour. But the wind had determined to make life interesting. As we paddled our way around the long sweeping curves of the river we would find first the wind behind us, pushing us through smooth waters, and then in our faces whipping up the water into small breaking waves that soaked us and made progress slow. Even the steep sided river valley, tree covered and Amazon like, afforded little protection from the strong wind.

We journeyed up river for some five miles, feeling like we were in the middle of nowhere, until we reached the local nature reserve. It’s a simple and rustic place with fire pits near the river and bunk bed accommodation on covered platforms on the hillside. Their open fronts offer great views back along the river although they hold promise of a cold night's sleep to come. There is no electricity and some may prefer the word 'basic' to 'rustic' but dinner cooked on an open fire under starlight holds a special charm that more than compensates for a lack of luxuries. We ate poike, a one pot South African stew, and drank beer while we warmed ourselves around the fire, mostly lost in thought and just staring into the flames.

We did have two visitors during the evening. Our first was a female ostrich, strutting inquisitively and determined to try and taste anything we took our eye off while the poike was being prepared. Our second, later in the evening was the resident ranger, a hard accented Afrikaans. He had come round earlier to sort some administration and we had all thought him high owing to his strange manner. He then turned up later with some drinks and regaled us with unusual requests and comments, none of which did anything to disabuse us of his strangeness or the feeling that we were in one of those horror movies where American students camping in remote locations all get slaughtered by a resident maniac. It wasn’t until he told us of being head butted by a giraffe (this is how male giraffes assert their dominance) and the subsequent hospitalisation that the possible reality dawned upon us.

The night wore on and our ranger departed. We chatted, we watched the stars, we watched the flames and we eventually drifted off up the hill to our platform and to our beds.