Is it possible to be more wow'ed on this trip?...yes it is...we spent the morning at the U of Witwatersrand in the hominid vault for a two hour tour of the Origin of Species building. We learned and saw some of the earliest fossils ever discovered from plants to dinosaurs to mammals to humans. From there, we went to the Sterkfontein Caves to see tour the cave where some of these fossils were discovered. Today's piece alone was worth the trip to South Africa...and as our guide Anthony said, today was the best experience of his year...that's saying something from this guy!

Showering up and prepping to head to the airport...

Made it full circle back to the Aero Lodge in Johannesburg. We left the Drakensburg Mountains yesterday after an early morning hill workout, followed by a game of cricket with some local kids at the campground and a stop in the Zulu village outside the park gates. While touring the village, wee were invited to a Zulu ceremony to celebrate the life of a villager's mother passing. At a point, they started performing a Zulu warrior dance and had all of the guys in the group join in. Amazing experience!
Van is packed and we are moments away from going to the hominid vault and fossil caves before our loooooooong trip back. Hoping to sleep better on the return flight.

Greetings from Letaba Camp in Kruger National Park, SA

Greetings from Letaba Camp in the north-eastern corner of South Africa...

 

We have been trying to get your kids to call you at points that work into our schedule (and cell service - not as advanced as in the states - think of cell service back 10-15 years ago). Usually lunchtime works if they can reach home early in the AM...or later in the evening to catch you when they think it is best to contact you.

 

So far we have seen 3/5ths of the Big 5 - Rhinos, Elephants (loads of them!) & Lions -- (Leopards (hardest to find) and Buffalo are the other two.) Named as the Big 5 for their difficulty to take down if hunting these animals as they will fight back if shot at...things like hippos are dangerous, but if shot at, they run away into the water. Giraffe are big, but not aggressive.

 

In our game drive (basically a passenger van driving on the area roads with a trailer bringing our gear), we have also seen giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, monkeys, baboons, crocodile, ostrich, southern hornbill (large turkey-like bird with a red head), hippos, brown snake eagle, white-backed vultures, fruit bat, loads of impala/springbok/kudus (antelope type animals - like our deer/moose, but they don't drop their horns which is what makes them an antelope.)

 

We are on our 2nd day in Kruger National Park - at the Letaba Camp - where the elephant museum is that house the tusks & some skull bones of the "Magnificent Seven" - 7 enormous elephants that lived in Kruger. Elephants live to the age of 40-60 yrs old...they may live longer, but they usually starve to death...the reason being is that they have 6 sets of molars that come out and are replaced by the new ones. The last pair tends to wear down and the elephants can't chew their food right and end up starving to death. The students here are learning these things and many many more!

 

We went on our bush walks this AM where park rangers take us for a walk into the bush to look at tracks, dung, trees and whatever else that we see. We learned what to do if we get close to the wildlife (usually the other way around, as when they hear us/smell us they take off in the opposite direction - just like the wildlife back home.) We had two groups go out to manage the size of the groups in the bush. Our group had the experience of a lifetime as we met a troop of baboons who were talking to each other about us. The ranger mentioned that they won't let us get near to them, but they did let us get near. We found out the reason why when we heard a pride of lions groan out from the other side of the valley and the baboons were trying to figure out which way to run. We saw the lions very well and once they caught our scent took off into the bush. We were not being brash or unsafe, we basically just learned that these animals are more likely to run away once they see us. Kind of reminds me of coming up on a bear in the woods of VT - they can be a problem if you get in the way of their cubs...but most times they want nothing to do with people.

 

Next stop later today is a game drive (drive the roads slowly looking to see what we can see) on the way to Balule where we spend tonight. Two more nights in Kruger (tonight/tomorrow night) before we head south into Swaziland.

 

Everyone is doing well - getting along great, chipping in on dishes/cooking/cleaning/setting up camp at night. We are fitting in runs (& walks for the non-runners) around the campgrounds. Some of these campgrounds are huge - today we were able to run a mile loop on the (brick/paved) roads around the campground. They have high fences around the campsites that is electrified to keep the predators outside the camps. It is amazing how much money they put into the park system here in Kruger - definitely a gem for South Africa.

 

Until we talk again...

Shaffer

 

Hi All from Hazyview...as our guide Anthony said, we have to stand on one leg, stick your tongue out and say a little prayer to get an internet connection...mission accomplished!

Today we drove from the city of Johannesburg out into the low-veld (lower elevation grassland). On the way, we stopped in Dullstroom (town) at the Raptor Rehab Center. During that time, we walked around looking at the owls and raptors that are there for some physical (ex: busted wing) or mental (ex: due to concussion) issue. If they can fly free after some care, they set them free...otherwise they stay there and if they can mate they raise young - they set the young free when they are old enough. Anthony got us a private showing of a barn owl and black eagle by Adian (Dullstroom crew member). Each of us got a chance for the owl to land on our gloved hand and pose for a picture (so light and cute) and pose for a picture next to the eagle (not something to pass around).

We continued on after a lunch of burgers (veggie burgers included) to Hazyview and hit the first rain in Hazyview in 6 months (they are nearing the end of the dry season and about to enter the wet.) On the drive, we saw an eland (large deer/elk-like animal) and a pair of monkeys (vervet monkey - small like a cat and gray) along the road. We are staying in bungalows in Aan de Vliet with a fenced in area that connects to the Sabie River with hippos and crocs in them. We are awaiting the hippos to come up and feed on the grass on the other side of the fence tonight. They came through about 7/7PM last night...and it is almost that time. Zach thought he found one on his thermal camera app, but it turned out to be a bush pig (like a wild boar). Food is on - tonight's menu is a stew with meat and veggies over rice (and a veggie option for those that don't want the meet.)

As Anthony says, we are slowly easing ourselves into this African experience, but tomorrow we "hit it with a big stick" with a trip to see a snake demo (see some mambas, puff-adders, pythons, cobras!) and then to next to Kruger Park where the big game is plentiful.

 

Fascinating day around Johannesburg, SA today with a visit to the Apartheid Museum, Hector Pieterson Museum and the township of Sowerto.
Interesting conversations within our group and our guides about race and rights-esp since there are current issues at home.
Tomorrow (Sunday), we head 300 miles NE out into the bush in Hazyview stopping at the raptor rehabilitation center and then if we make it in time, Ryan's favorite, a snake talk centered around the ones found in South Africa. We sleep in an area with a shrinking waterhole (rainy season starts in another month) drawing in the hippos and crocs...YES!

After a veery long (15 hr) nonstop flight - with only one student getting great sleep (10+hrs!) - the rest of us averaged about 1-2 hrs - we are here in Johannesburg South Africa. We are snaking through the customs line right now with anticipation of what adventures await outside the terminal walls...

Our itinerary for our time in South Africa:

Johannesburg: 24th September Aero Lodge 

25th September Aan de Vliet (Hazyview).

26th September Hoedspruit. 

27th September Satara KNP camping, tents

28th September Letaba KNP camping, tents 

29th September Balule (Olifants) KNP camping, tents 

30th September Satara KNP camping, tents 

01 October Berg en Dal KNP camping, tents 

02 October Camping at Hlane National Park Swaziland.

03 October Camping at Hlane National Park Swaziland.

04 October Camping at Sand Forest Lodge Hluhluwe

05 October Camping at Sand Forest Lodge Hluhluwe.

06 October Camping at Royal Natal National Park, Drakensberg

07 October Camping at Royal Natal National Park Drakensberg

08 October Johannesburg Return to Aero Lodge.

09 October - Visit the Sterkfontein Caves and prepare for the flight home.

Departure Day - we are leaving for CT this afternoon to be ready for our flight out of JFK tomorrow morning. We have our bags packed (or at least I have my bags packed and I hope the students are in the same category.) Said my goodbye this morning and not too many tears showed...

Always weird to think that I won't be back into my own bed for 2.5 weeks and we will miss the peak foliage season in VT this fall. At this point in travel, it seems like so long until that return, but from my experiences the time flies by and seems to go in a blink.

In about 72 hours, we load onto a plane to travel from JFK (NY) to Johannesburg South Africa to start our 16 days abroad. This travel is the highlight of the NCUHS South Africa Field Studies course. This conservation biology course incorporates real-world conservation efforts for the students to experience in the northeastern portion of South Africa and Swaziland. Over the span of two semesters, the students worked to earn a science credit by writing research papers, learned about South African history/art history/languages from art teachers/anthropologists/independently and then traveled to South Africa to experience all of these components first hand.

This program was born from Gerry Hunt and Elaine Lockwood who organized Vermont Students to Africa (http://www.vermontstudentstoafrica.org/).