Wits Rural Update

The latest from South Africa:

We finished the Oxpecker and camera trapping projects (got some awesome pics of lion cubs!), threw a fabulous bat mitzvah themed birthday party in the middle of the bush at night, pierced my ear with an acacia thorn (thanks, M'du), and played some great games of soccer with the local kids in Skukuza. We've now been at Wits Rural (a little research outpost sort of place for Wits University) for four days. We've had lectures and time to put together presentations for the 10th Biannual OTS Conservation Seminars (very, very formal) which took place today and still some tomorrow. I lectured about alien invasive plant species in South Africa, and I even wore a skirt for the presentation! How civilized of me! If you could only see us wearing four-day-old tshirts and shorts, sweating buckets in the sweltering heat, you'd understand that skirts are pretty fancy. Basically tuxedo status in my book.

Today, I went on an adventure walk with Kelly and Danielle (fellow Dukies) and we followed a sign that pointed to a "Tribal Dance Village," or something like that. We followed a little dirt road to a village where all the houses were made of cinder blocks and there was literally not a soul around. It was super sketchy and felt Twilight Zone-ish. No sooner had we turned around to head back to Wits than a gang of kids started running after us. They were adorable, one was wearing a red winter coat with fur around the collar...it's like 103 degrees outside. Anyway, every time we stopped to say hi they would stop 30 feet  behind us and giggle. By the end of the road, we had become friends and were walking together, trying to pronounce their crazy names that have crazy clicks in them. They didn't speak English so it was very funny trying to communicate. Since we spend most of our time in the bush in the middle of nowhere, we all felt like this was the first time we've actually interacted with the kids or any locals for that matter. I say that now though, I'm sure I'll have plenty of things to talk about after our three-day village homestay next week. What an adventure!

To finish up, just few 1sts over the past few days:
1st time climbing a water tower for a sun-downer
1st time washing my clothes in a basin (the sink doesn't count, this was a legit basin with the ridges)
1st time "aquarunning" in the little pool that giraffes walk right up next to!

Day Off

So we get one day off about every ten days of work and this past Wednesday was our second. After finishing up our KLTRI projects Tuesday morning, we left the Big 'Kuz and drove out to a resort in Blyde River Canyon. It took about six hours to get there; we took the long way through Kruger, and it was totally worth it. Game drive spottings included a group of about 20 elephants drinking at a watering hole, zebra, hippos, ground hornbills, kudus, lions, leopards, and more. An elephant even yelled at us as we drove by.
On Wednesday, we went on a boat ride through the canyon, the 3rd largest in the world. There were waterfalls coming down the sides of the cliffs, very cool stuff. We then walked down a little trail to a waterfall where we could swim. The water was FREEZING, but it was so beautiful. Yesterday, we stopped at Moholoholo animal rehab center and PET CHEETAHS. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. I also got within ten feet of my all time hero animal: the honey badger. His name was Sosha and he was badass. Definitely a trip highlight so far.
Anyway, now we're back in Skukuza starting our first round of FFPs (Faculty Field Projects). We're doing some camera trapping and a project on Oxpeckers. It ought to be fun, and I don't have to wake up at 5am for the next few days which is always a bonus!

 Elephants!

 Blyde river canyon boat ride

 Taking a dip at the waterfall

 Petting a cheetah

 The HONEY BADGER

 Feeding vultures 

Cheetah

White rhino

Hornbill

Elephant jaw

 Philip the Boss Game Guard on top of a termite mound

 Baboon with a baby

 Eleanor birding hard

 Bird song project

 Giant kingfisher

 Hippo

 Fish Eagle

Giraffe

 Slack lining at Pullen

Zebra

 GDVs on the highway

Impala Lily

 Entrance to Kruger

 Impala

 Elephants

 White rhino

Greetings!

So much has happened since my last post from Pullen. Here's a quick rundown:

Running alongside a herd of zebra one morning.

The "Amazing Race"--a race through the bush collecting clues to win the prize (beer and chips, delicious) at the top of a mountain during sunset. So fun but got pretty scratched by the MEGAthorns all over the place. 

Lots and lots of lectures on savannas, environmental ethics, and history and culture of SA. 

Camp fires and s'mores, African style.

Poop spitting. Yes, that's a thing. 

We are now in Skukuza, a camp area in the southern part of Kruger National Park. We started a "Kruger Long Term Initiative" three-day project today. My group's focus is song bird identification and testing out a recording program that OTS hasn't used much before. Basically that means we get up super early in the morning and go out searching for birds! And we've been listening nonstop to bird song recordings for the past 12 hours. It's great. I don't think the ChinSpot Batis has had so many fans in years. 

It was a pretty interesting experience driving in GDVs (game drive vehicles) on the highway on the way to Kruger, but we saw some amazing animals once we got to the park! Pictures to come!