20 years in a flash

As 2019 draws to a close, January 2020 marks 20 years since I started working in London.  Here's my little look back over the past 20 years of my career, and a little bit of news for what's next..spoiler alert..Goodbye London...

This is going to be a long blog, so if you don't want to read all the pre-amble and waffle, just jump straight here for more on the big news...

The first (almost) 6 years of my working life (Summer '94 through to end of '99) was for a company called Bytron, based out near Humberside Airport, they specialised in developing software for Air Traffic Control and Flight Data Management systems.  I owe so much of my career to my time at Bytron, I was taken on straight out of college as a trainee programmer.  I learnt so much, both professionally and personally and I have so much to thank the MD at the time, Stephen Bailey, for.  As we approached the turn of the century, I started to feel I had got as far as I could and I needed a change.  Grimsby isn't exactly a tech hub and I knew I needed to move away, but I was torn - I was very much a homeboy and didn't want to leave Grimsby - My home, my family, my partner, Richard.

Imagine my delight when I found what sounded like the perfect job, working for a company called Sphinx CST who had offices based in Matlock, I was employed as a Technical Consultant.  The great part about this job meant I could stay in Grimsby as I would be provided with a car and a laptop and the role consisted of travelling all over the country to our customers, so home was my base.

I started my role on January 3rd, 2000 - The world hadn't imploded from the turn of the Millenium and we were safe and I was venturing on a new challenge.  I spent a week in Matlock before being given my first customer assignment...in London! Most assignments were for 2-3 days, this one however was for 3 months.  So here I was, looking for a job that kept me in Grimsby, but was being sent on a long term placement in London...D'oh!

A week later and there I was - a young, naive 23 yr old taking his first commute across London into the city to Moorgate and a company called SAMS (Strategic Asset Management Solutions).  To say I was petrified was an understatement!  The sights, the sounds, the hustle and bustle and most of all working in the capital, something that to be honest I didn't really want to do.  If someone had said to me on that first day, that this would be the first day of two decades of living and working in London, I would have laughed and brushed it off with a "Not a chance"...How soon things change...

Those 3 months became 6, then 9, then 12.  The assignments at SAMS came to an end.  During those first 3 months my relationship with Richard also came to an end.  Things were beginning to change and I was strapped in and ready for the journey.  I had fallen in love with London and decided I didn't want to leave.  3 months later, March 2001 and I moved into my own place in Greenford and left Sphinx CST and started my first job employed by a London company, a company called MarchFirst.  That was a strange move and one that only lasted around 4 months - a month into the role and it came to light that the company was in trouble and was starting the process of shutting down.  My then boss couldn't have been more apologetic, stating had he known this was on the cards he wouldn't have employed anyone, that said he was very accommodating and gave me lots of support and assistance in finding a new role so I could move on before being made redundant.

August 2001 and I started at Warner Bros.  Such a huge company to work for and having my name on a business card with the famous WB logo was such a proud feeling.  Had I finally made London work for me?  Working at WB taught me a lot, and gave me amazing opportunities to travel to Tokyo and Hong Kong to name a few.  Great friendships were formed, and despite not looking to change jobs, 5 years later I spotted a job opportunity that I just had to apply for...at the BBC!

Nov 2006 and our family was rocked when Dad passed away.  Not the best time to be changing jobs, but it felt like everything was happening for a reason (My career that is!) and so I carried on with the interviews and got the job, so Dec 2006 I started my role working for BBC News and Sport Online, sitting on the 7th floor of Television Centre looking out on the famous building that I had seen all through my childhood on TV, and here I was - working IN IT!

My time at the BBC was the best, I made so many new friends and had some incredible experiences, I progressed in the role and became a Team Leader, I got to be Best Man for my best friend and BBC colleague, Tom, as he married Jo in their home in Australia.  I worked through the night on elections, I saw the rise of the likes of iPlayer and I passed Bruce Forsyth in the corridors of TVC and said "Good Morning" without a second thought.

At the start of 2008 I felt I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to quite randomly sign up to do a Massage Therapy course, and in Sept 2008 I qualified as a Massage Therapist.  A little side job that I thrived in, to the point that I also taught for a while and studied more techniques over in Thailand, where I fell in love with Asia.  All the time, still working at the BBC.  I liked to keep myself busy!

The next big step for me happened in 2010 when I managed to get on the property ladder and finally buy my own place in South Ealing, over in West London.

Things started to change in 2012, the pressures at work handling the Olympics and various management changes started to make it a less than enjoyable role, and I felt it was time again for me to move on, I didn't move far though, just across the road to a company called Net-A-Porter - many will know them as an online luxury fashion store.

This role saw me take a drop in title (No longer a Team Leader) but my salary stayed the same.  An easier life for a little while, giving me more space to carry on with my Massage Therapy outside of work and at weekends.

As part of my role at NAP I needed to find some software to improve some of our databases, and I started working with some software called Tungsten, by a company called Continuent.  This company intrigued me.  The tech guy that assisted me with the deployment worked from home, and all of the team seemed scattered around the world.

I jokingly said to the tech guy "Are you recruiting by any chance?" - The response - "Actually, yes we are". Three Skype interviews later (Whilst I was in South Africa) and a job offer came through to be a Technical Pre Sales Engineer.  The job offer was simply incredible and I could not turn it down - with almost a 40% pay rise and working from home 24/7/365, it almost seemed too good to be true!

So May 2015 I left NAP and started my new role. Continuent at the time were part of VMWare - a massive multi billion dollar US company. This wasn't a relationship that seemed to go well, and in 2016 Continuent and VMWare parted ways. All of the team were given a choice - stay with VMWare and take a new role somewhere within the company or, follow Continuent and be a part of the new company - I was one in a team of what was endearingly named "The Magnificent Seven" that decided to follow our CEO, Eero, and in October 2016 the split was official, my new role was "Director of Professional Services, EMEA & APAC"

Sitting here now writing this, I'm still thinking back to that first commute, 20 years ago, how nervous I was - This young boy from Grimsby, with no University education, thrust into the frenetic fast paced lifestyle of London, if only I knew then what the next 20 years was going to offer...

20 YEARS!!!! WHERE HAS THAT GONE!!?!?!

I'm still in my job at Continuent and have no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.  This job has opened opportunities I never thought possible.  Working from home really changes the way you work - it has to - you have to have routine and discipline - Working from the sofa in your pants whilst watching daytime TV is NOT a look that I can sustain for 5+ years!

I have travelled a lot - twice a year the company all get together for face to face meetings - I think of it as a chance to remind myself what my colleagues look like, and with no offices, we always stay in nice hotels, eat at some amazing restaurants, and we collectively get to choose new destinations each time.  From Boston, Cape Cod, Burlington, Budapest, Madrid, Amsterdam and in March 2020, New Orleans.  I can't complain! The freedom to work where I want is great - as long as I have internet connectivity and can be reached by mobile, I can live/work wherever I want, summer 2018 for example I went on a 4 week road trip driving around Europe, working from the road.  Jan 2019 I spent 4 weeks in South Africa.

So, here we are, if you skipped straight to the end, this is where you rejoin.  20 years on from that first commute to Moorgate and the time has come for a new change, a new challenge, a new adventure.  I'm about to make a giant leap into the somewhat unknown..why you ask? Why not? I respond.

It's very easy in our lives to be consumed by work and the rat race, especially in London.  I love London, such a multi cultural city with SO much to offer, it has given me opportunities that I will be eternally grateful for, and I have made so many friends that I will always remember with great fondness (mostly!).

Love has come and gone, friends have come and gone, jobs have come and gone.  London will always be there - ever louder, ever bigger, ever busier and even more expensive year on year.  A fantastic city. but a city that can also be a very lonely place.  So, it's time for me to bid farewell and leave London, and I want to leave it with memories of the good times and experiences I've had.

For those that followed this blog will know that in 2014 I ventured to South Africa for the first time to volunteer at a place called Cheetah Experience - a place that was to feel like a second home and over the last 6 years I have visited them many times.  If you know me and follow me on Facebook, you will know how much love I have for CE and everyone there - both Human and Feline alike.

During my visit back in January 2019 and again in November 2019, I spent a lot of time talking with Riana, the founder, and whilst my Mum was with me in November we had some serious conversations, and a decision was made that set all of this in motion

Phase 1 of the big change is in progress right now.  Selling my flat...It's been on the market since November, with a little bit of interest but nothing firm yet.  Until the flat is sold life will just carry on as normal.  Where will I go you ask? Well, I'm moving back home to Grimsby. I never thought I'd be saying that if I'm honest, but I need a base for Phase 2.  With property prices in Grimsby being what they are, and with the increase of the value of my place in London, I can buy and own outright in Grimsby.  A home with no mortgage - this is key, and I can only do that in Grimsby.  Plus all my family are there, and lets face it, none of us are getting any younger.

Once settled in Grimsby, Phase 2 can begin.  I will start the process of applying for my Visa for...South Africa.  Yes, I'm going to move to CE.  Visa restrictions mean I can only be there for 3 years - well, technically I could re-apply but 3 years as a starting point is a good marker.  The Visa will allow for multiple entry/exits and I will continue my job with Continuent (Yes, this job is so good, the CEO has given this move his blessing).  So to keep things easy and to take into account the face-to-face meetings I have with work etc, I will be spending 9 months of the year in SA and 3 months of the year in the UK.

I can't wait to be out there with Riana and the team and being a part of an amazing project caring for and raising Cheetahs.  I don't know when Phase 2 will happen - I'd love to be booking my flight and going tomorrow but there's a lot to do and at any stage in the process things can go wrong.  In my mind, I would like to be out there by the summer, but lets see what happens!

I could be making a huge mistake, it could end in disaster, my job could go sideways (hence being mortgage free is one safeguard I need) but I have to try.  I don't want to be sat here in 5, 10 or even 20 years time and not be able to write a blog filled with equally amazing achievements as those I have been incredibly lucky to have had over the past 20.

I wasn't going to make this public until my home had sold, but I thought sod it, 20 years is a big milestone and in some way putting this down on print makes it feel more real!

So, here we go...Wish me luck!

Watch this space (or Facebook) for updates and more importantly for details of my leaving party in London!

Chris

Wait...what..it's been 6 years?

OK so where have the last 6 years gone?

Back home in Grimsby for Christmas and whilst feasting on far too much food and drink I got thinking about my travels, and it dawned on me that I had this blog.  Now I think it's fair to say I have travelled a bit in the last 6 years and I'm a little frustrated with myself for not keeping this blog updated.

Oh well, 2020 is just around the corner so lets see if I can keep this going a little more from now on!

The final purr

Apologies for the silence over the last few days,  as we settled into our chores and daily routines there wasn't a lot of new stuff to tell you so I held back for fear of boring you all.

So the last update from me was last Tuesday,  almost a week ago and i cant actually believe how quick the time has gone since then! Each day on the farm has generally consisted of the same daily chores from feeding and cleaning,  to playing and walking the cats.  Its been a lot of fun with lots of laughter,  also incredibly hot and humid during the day.

You may recall that in my last blog i spoke about sleeping out under the stars that night with Faith and Eden.  Of all the things i experienced over the past two weeks,  that has to have been the most special moment ever.   I arrived at the camp and greeted by Rene who lives in the house on the farm.  I didn't have a torch so she kindly walked me to the enclosure however the moon was so bright and the sky so clear we didn't need a torch.   I got out the bedding they leave you and picked my spot on the ground,  Eleanor also kindly leant me her sleeping bag as the last few nights have been really cold. Covered in bug spray,  i found the girls and gave them a little hug and sat with them a bit and then went and got into my 'bed'.   Eden instantly came over and snuggled down by my side purring lime  traction engine.   Faith then wobbled over and collapsed across my legs.   I laid there for a while with my arm around Eden just staring up at the sky,  it was beautiful. I drifted off without any problem but did wake a few times, normally as Eden or faith moved.   Faith eventually went to the far side of the enclosure but Eden never left my side all night.  As the sun started rising around 4.30, the lions started roaring and the birds started singing, and eden started licking my face and head... What a way to wake up,  Faith then stumbled over and laid by me again.   I stayed there for Bout another half hour with Eden nuzzling my neck and purring,  she looked quite put out when i got up and left to go back to the house to shower and have breakfast! There are no words or pictures that could ever explain how amazing it felt to spend the night with two cheetahs.

What began as an incredible morning turned to sadness as i received a message from Mum that Nana had sadly passed away that morning.  I mentioned in my last post that she had been very ill,  in a way it was a blessing as she is no longer in pain,  it was hard though being away from the family as i know Mum was deeply upset.  I had arranged to have the day off anyway on Wednesday but still went to the camp and just kept myself occupied and spent some more time lying in the enclosures with Eden.   After lunch i took myself over to the Emoya estate and visited the spa for a massage.   It really helped me to relax and was a nice welcome break.

That evening i built a fire in the braai (bbq)  and got some marshmallows and bread dough, we all sat outside toasting them over the fire and having some beers,  a really relaxed evening and an early night.

Thursday was a quiet day in that we had very few visitors which meant everyone got the chores done really quick,  we then had a fair amount of free time to relax,  a good thing too as in the afternoon,  unexpectedly, a coach load of 42 Libyans arrived for a tour.   Normally large groups prebook so that we can prepare but this took us by surprise.   We split the group up and ran 3 tours at once,  but what a nightmare.   They were so rude and arrogant and didn't listen to any of our instructions,  kept wandering off and kept wanting to stroke the lions,  wish they had and they might have learnt their lesson after loosing a few fingers.  Needless to say we were all pretty relieved once they left.   On the flip side though,  it was a much needed financial boost for the project! Friday and

Saturday were also relatively quiet so i managed to spend a lot of time sorting out the computers on the farm,  it was good to put my IT skills to use but was quite warm work sitting inside on what were the hottest days!

Friday saw Aussie Chris (my roommate)  and I take our first tour on our own.   We only had two older ladies with us which was nice,  they were also really funny and kept hitting on Chris which provided much amusement.   We took them cheetah side and as the group was only two we were able to leave Faith,  Eden and Dew also out in the yard (they can sometimes be a bit put out with large groups)   I took them over and we spoke about them, also Fiela and Bibi were nearby,  chris went off to find Gabriel.  At which point Dew decided to get up and walk towards us.   I told the ladies not to make sudden movements and just let her pass,  which she did,  but then in a sudden movement did a U turn,  raised up and pretty much gave the shorter of the two ladies a hug.  It looked sweet but was far from it,  her claws were out and she was wanting to play.  I quickly got her down but was really worried she had hurt her, thankfully the lady in question loved it and despite admitting she did dig her claws in thought it was a great experience and one she couldn't wait to tell everyone...however,  Dew now gets put into her enclosure in the future!

On Saturday afternoon we received notification of another big coach load coming through,  this time we were prepared... Or so we though.  About 5 minutes before we expected them two guys came down and said they were with the big group but just wanted to check parking as they were coming with 6 vehicles... Of police escorts... The group where VIPs...

Sure enough all these police appeared and a coach load of people.   We still don't know exactly who they were but they were something to do with the African Nations football tournament currently on over here.   They weren't players but we assumed they were various officials and volunteers. It turned out to be a group of 60 in the end but were an absolute joy in comparison to the Libyans!

Saturday's social saw all the volunteers head over to the shabeen... A bar over on the Emoya estate.   We had a great night of pool and darts and laughter along with very cheap beer.   We took two trucks over to get us all there and because the farm is on the same land we drove across the game reserve... Was a lot of fun although i did learn one thing on the way back.... If you cant see whats in front... Duck... I didn't and got slapped across the face by a tree... Great! I was actually really lucky,  if id had my eye open or if the branch was bigger i would be in a mess,  as it stands I've got a little black eye and a few scratches... I joked i would tell everyone i had a fight with one of the cats,  its mad to think that two weeks of playing with big dangerous cats and the worst injuries I've sustained have been scratches from trees and fences!

So my two weeks have come to and end and this morning was the last time for me to say goodbye to the cats and other volunteers.  Aussie Chris and Eleanor were on the same flight as me back to Johannesburg which was nice.   We went round to see all the cats one last time and gave them all hugs and kisses before our official goodbye from the farm.   We were all presented with a certificate and a little speech from the founder, Riana.

It really has been an incredible two weeks with so many once in a lifetime opportunities that i never in a million years would have dreamt of.   I've met some great people and had lots of laughs.  Asked who was my favourite cat,  i just cant decide,  i loved them all,  but i think Eden stole my heart when i woke with her nuzzling my neck and grooming me, that's just something i will never forget.  Would i do it again? Absolutely should you do it? Absolutely

Although i booked through i-to-i, in hindsight i wish i hadn't ,  that was the only major negative to the trip, i wont go into the reasons here but feel free to ask me directly if you want to know.   So if anyone is thinking of going,  book it direct with the project and you'll save yourself a fortune www.cheetahexperience.com

I posted so many pictures on Facebook from my mobile,  but i also took almost 1000 on my camera,  i cant wait to get home and sort through them and pick out the best, so keep and eye out for when i post the link!

Where next i bear you asking... I'm not sure yet,  first i have two new feline friends coming to live with me,  sadly not of the Caracal,  Serval,  Leopard or Cheetah variety though! I guess watch this space!

Until then,  stay happy
Chris x

More walkies!

Well today was another day of fun and time with the cats!

Today we had to just feed the 3 younger cats in the main camp,  dew,  eden and faith.  They didn't seem that keen on eating this morning so anything they leave they finish off in the evening.  We then took them for a walk.  My first time walking the cheetahs and boy what a laugh.  I opted to walk faith. She wasn't that interested in going anywhere until we got her out the camp but then you couldn't stop her.   Bearing in mind the speed these cats,  fully grown,  can run and the acceleration equivalent to a Lamborghini,  you can visualise that it was more the cats taking us for a walk.  Faith is so funny when she runs,  but she actually runs better than she walks,  she just goes from a to b via c,  d and e and then can stop so just collapses on the flor,  all the while purring!

Last week everyone was paired up and given an animal to research enrichment ideas for.   Today was the turn of the other Chris and Keal  to enrich the leopards.   A very simple idea of cardboard boxes with leaves and twigs.   We put them in their enclosure and release them.  They went crazy! Just like a house cat,  leopards love boxes! They were ripped to shreds in seconds! Tomorrow i will hopefully get the chance to put my enrichment plans for the servals and caracals in place... More about then when it happens.

We had 4 new arrivals today too so we did the introductions and they were placed in their teams.

This afternoon i moved from cats to computers and gave Rene a hand sorting out a laptop and her phone,  this may be a few days work and some of the volunteers joked that you should never let on any skill you have... All in jest of course but i don't mind! I'm also putting together a programme to help them store, and generate reports from,  the data collected during the hourly observations.

We had another fun trip to the supermarket today to stock up on beer and snacks! It seems we're all going crazy for chocolate at the moment!

You may recall the other night i slept with gabriel,  tonight it gets even more exciting.  Armed with a pillow,  sleeping bag and warm clothes,  tonight I'm sleeping out under stars with eden and faith.   Apparently  eden likes to steal the pillow and faith has a tendency to fall on you and then fall a sleep.  I'm very excited.  These girls are almost a year old so much bigger than gabriel but nowhere near as mischievous.   Eden however is the loudest purrer (is that even a word?)  check tomorrow for the update.

I'll leave you now as its time to eat.  I hope everyone is well, I also just want to send out my love to the family tonight as i had an update from Mum earlier that my nana is really ill... She's been suffering for a long time now with bad chest infections,  urine infections and on top of that,  92 years old and suffering dimentia.

Good night everyone
Chris x

Who needs water anyway...

Hey everyone,

Well it's been a busy day today and yet another scorcher under the South African sun!

As you know from last nights blog,  i spent the night with Gabriel,  the 4 month old cheetah cub.  What an experience! He's such an adorable little guy,  albeit very mischievous... I wasn't sure whether I'd get much sleep but surprisingly i did! It took me a while to coax him in,  but as soon as he came in he collapsed on my covers with a look that said 'can we play?' we did for a bit and then he laid down alongside my makeshift bed,  i laid down with him and we both fell asleep.. Him staring at me until he couldn't keep his eyes open.   I woke a few times in the night and he'd rolled around a bit but all night he was by my side and slept solidly from 9pm to 5am.  When my alarm went i woke up and he was lying there looking at me,  made a little whimper as i ruffled him and then followed me out.  So sweet,  and such a privilege.

As today is a new week,  we've now moved teams and were now on the cheetah side.  My first task was observations which basically involved walking around every enclosure and checking on where the cats are and what they're doing.  We do this every hour at 8, 9 and 10 and then again at 3, 4 and 5. Just after finishing,  we got a call from a dairy farm saying they had a dead cow and did we want it.

I went with keal to collect it... The dairy farm was about 30km out of town,  it was nice to go on a little outing.   We arrived and sure enough,  there was this massive dead cow, the workers lifted it up with a digger and just dropped it in the back of our truck... It must have weighed around 800kg, it was insane.  We drove it back and the workers at the farm took it away to chop up! Its now in the freezer waiting for big feed!

Once again,  Gabriel decided to climb a tree! Such a scamp! I helped get him down and in return i now have my first cheetah scratch!

Just after lunch today,  the water stopped... The typical response being welcome to South Africa! Apparently last time this happened it was of for 4 days so we started making plans on what to do.  Fortunately we have our own borehole on the farm so we knew we'd have water for the animals,  but we have a house of 13 so it  could be a problem.   We decided to get lots of water bottles and filled from the bore,  so we have plenty to boil for drinks,  food and basic washing. As soon as we got home though we all just jumped into the swimming pool.  It was so refreshing! Just as I've been writing this though the water has just come back... Phew!

The feed for the cheetahs is a little more involved.  They still get chicken but whereas leopards etc just get 1 or 2, for the cheetahs it all needs to be weighed to specific amounts for each cheetah.   Some of the cats aren't tame so we have to take care,  they hiss a lot but we still managed to get the food to them.   These are the ones that form the main breeding programme on the farm.   The tame cheetahs,  dew,  Eden,  faith and gabriel are much easier.   I chose to feed faith,  bless her she's so funny.   I cant remember if i posted this but she had meningitis when she was 1 month old that has left her a little wobbly on her legs,  with crossed eyes,  and a tail like a pretzel.   It's unsure if she has brain damage but she is the happiest of cats and so loving.   She takes ages to eat though and each time she took a bit of chicken,  she moved away with it to eat but then sat there looking at me and I'd have to take another bit to her.  45 minutes later we managed to get through  it all!

All in all an entertaining but very tiring day,  tomorrow is shopping day again which always gets everyone excited!

Good night world!

DRIVE! The Rhino's charging...

Hello!

Sorry for not blogging yesterday, it was a relatively quiet day so i thought i would wait and give you two days in one...

Yesterday was a stinking hot day,  the temperature is rising day by day and you can really see the effect it is having on the cats,  they hide and sleep a lot of the day,  fortunately yesterday was also a quiet day for tours!

We got through our usual morning chores of poop scooping and cleaning fairly quick,  but due to the red meat feed the night before there were a lot more bones to pick up,  amazing to see how the cats had got every last morsel of meat off them!

Just after lunch (thankfully) the weekly chicken delivery arrived. We get bags and bags of chickens donated every week from a local battery farm.   They're all ones that died naturally (if naturally is appropriate for a battery farm) we had to empty every bag and sort them all,  we only kept the large meaty ones,  our cats are fussy and wont eat the small birds! Also,  a few of them were 'ugly'  which translates to rotten and/or maggot infested, they stank... I've never smelt anything quite like it in my life.

We were also lucky enough to see the new arrivals at camp.. Albeit via cctv... The whole aim of the farm is to breed the cheetahs and hopefully be able to release them into a controlled park and to try and save them from extinction.   Despite being very fast powerful runners they're actually quite low down the chain in surviving! Anyway,  Jesse successfully mated with a cheetah called Ashika, and produced two lovely little babies... Hope and Horizon.  They were born 3 weeks ago and are doing really well.   No one can go in with them but we can see them via the cameras,  even that was pretty cool.

The evening was spent relaxing and laughing,  some of the volunteers that have been here for a while went out to meet and old friend,  the few left behind just sat chatting and drinking and trying to play a game called Innuendo which we failed at miserably due to laughing so much it hurt.

Today turned out to be an even hotter day,  hitting 34c. Again,  morning tasks complete and then most of us just hid in the shade at any opportunity,  i went round with my camera to get a few shots but the cats where hiding.  I went to visit buttercup, the pygmy goat,  she is so adorable and funny.   I lied down and she instantly climbed on me but kept falling off,  you could see she was getting really frustrated,  she gave up and then just kept headbutting my shoes.

Every day at lunch we come back to the house where Cecillia, who does all our cooking and laundry,  makes a massive feast.  Sunday is her day off so we stayed at the farm and one of the guys,  Keal,  made Potjie (pronounced pikey)  which is basically a South African pasta bake made with heaps of biltong... It was amazing!

At 4, we were all treated to a game drive! The farm we're on is part of the Emoya estate,  we rent the land from them,  in turn any of their guests get free entry to the farm,  and volunteers on the farm can go on a game drive. It was incredible,  seeing all manner of Antelope and springboks, ostrich, warthog, wildebeest, zebra,  giraffe and 2 huge rhinos! These beasts where massive,  weighing a scary 2 ton each and able to run 40km/h! We got within about 7 or 8 metres and then one of them charged,  the vehicle we were in would only just be able to out run them,  luckily the rhino gave up pretty quick!

We're back at the house now chilling for a few hours but tonight,  I'm so excited,  I'm heading back to the farm and I'm sleeping in the baby room with Gabriel! Yes,  tonight I'm sharing a bed with a 4 month old VERY playful cheetah cub... I'm not sure I can quite top being able to say I did that! I'll update you all in the morning... Although I might be sleepy... Every night a volunteer can sleep with him,  also you can sleep out under the stars with Eden and Faith (who are about 14months old)  or we can sleep in the lion house... A wooden shed in the goat enclosure which looks out over the lions so we can get to experience the sounds of the lions roaring and the wolves howling at sunrise! I'm doing that next week at full moon!

So,  time to go see Gabriel! Night night!

There's a cheetah in the tree...

Well,  another incredible day is at an end.

A lot of our daily tasks are repeating for me now so I'm not going to continually bore you with all that but instead just give you some highlights!

Waking up today and looking out the window to a cloudless blue skies,  i knew we were in for a scorcher,  annoyingly I've burnt my scalp and neck :( but being outside from 7am to 5.30pm, its inevitable.  The cap was back on!

Our group event today had to be the worst... Weeding! In the field we use to walk the cats,  there are two big mounds that they love to run up,  but they're covered in weeds that have lots of nasty thorns on them.   An hour later and you wouldn't believe a group of 12 that constantly pick up cats that could kill and eat us, could swear so much and get pricked and scratched so much from weeds! We've not enjoyed cold drinks and ice cream as much as we did today!

Today was shopping day! So at lunch we all went to the supermarket to stock up on treats and food for dinners to last until the next trip on Tuesday.  It was like Christmas all over again! I volunteered to cook dinner tonight for everyone too,  Thai chicken curry (me predictable?) everyone seemed super excited,  I was just bricking it... Cooking for one or two is fine but for 16 ravenous youngsters...?

Anyway,  shopping done and back to the farm,  the heat really was starting to get to everyone today,  even the animals were lethargic. You'd look around and see cats just hiding in the shade, and in some enclosures you'd see some of the group napping beside the cats.  I still cant quite get my head around how tame the cats are and no matter how I try, I struggle to put it into words.

I went cheetah side where there are 3 cats roaming freely around,  Fiela, Bibi and the cub,  Gabriel.  I could see Chris (my roommate )  and Eleanor stood looking up into a tree,  as I approached i realised what was happening.. Gabriel had climbed high into the tree and got stuck. We tried to coax him down with his toys,  but he was really stuck and you could see he was starting to get stressed.   We called some of the permanent volunteer over,  being the tallest i managed to lift his main handler on my shoulders and up into the tree,  eventually he came to her but he was crying and shaking and struggling so much,  I then managed to reach up and we got him down... He was looking very sorry for himself,  he's turning into a real mischievous young boy.   Earlier i was playing with him and he was chasing me around and pouncing on his toys which he then proceeded to hump.  I couldn't believe what i was seeing so asked the lise-marie if it was normal,  she laughed and said "for Gabriel yes,  for a cheetah of 4 months,  no"

As the day cooled and closed in, it was feeding time.  Today was big feed which also meant food for the lions and leopards! One of the big feeds each week involves red meat to the cats.  What that is varies as all the meat is donated from farmers.  We go over to get the meat and all i can hear is buzzing... May-Louise removed the tarpaulin to reveal massive great but if cow... Legs and all, absolutely swarming with flies.  It was gross! We had to load the meat into the truck... Only way was by hand,  handling it wasn't so bad but the flies... Oh man the flies ... And the smell...

We take the big legs to the lions and get them into their feeding area,  one of the tasks during this feed is that whilst the lions are busy eating,  we can go into the main enclosure to poop scoop.  Not the most glamorous of jobs but not something I imagined ever having to do... Oh and lion poo stinks too... And its white..

We then handed massive cuts of meat to the leopard and wolves,  just watching the power in the jaws of these animals was a thing of beauty,  once again, no words can describe how it felt just to be there feeding and watching these beautiful animals.  How anyone could hunt and put these cats in danger of extinction is beyond me.

The day was complete, all that was left was for me to cook... What a success! It was perfect and everyone loved it,  it was a lovely cool evening too so we all sat out around the pool chatting and laughing.  Alarm is set for 5.45 for another magical day with the cats,  i just can't wait to get back on the farm!