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!

Face licking, crotch sniffing, chicken guts of fun

Once again,  today has just been full if incredible experiences..

Tasks for me today were to shadow a tour,  play with the caracals, refill the foot baths, prepare the chicken,  and clean the meat room! Ok so the first few were fun,  the later, a little more gruesome!

The first tour was a photography tour.  Visitors pay a little more for this but they get extra time with the cats.  There was only one guy on the tour at 8, and he was the father of one of the volunteers so he got even more... They really do like to look after family!

We started on the lion side,  the first cats we see are the servals.  Two of which we cant interact with.  Bennie and Kitana; they are a breeding pair,  bennie is too wild though and doesn't like humans,  kitana only has 3 legs.

The 3 they can see are Allegra,  Angie and Mikey. They all posed well for the camera although Allegra kept wondering off and poking through the grass,  i went to check and found a pike of fly ridden chicken guts leftover from last nights feed.   I didn't have a scoop but we needed to remove it.  Only one thing for it... Hands in and pick it up,  it was gross.  Guts and goo everywhere!

Next we visited the leopards,  wolves and lions,  followed by goat and peanut.  Finally we went in to see the caracals. Jack,  Amy and Max.  Amy has a thing for pouncing on anything dangly so i had to go put her away first.  Max and Jack weren't up for posing,  the heat was really rising and all the cats were becoming very lethargic,  also for the past two night Jack hasn't been eating. We think he's constipated, so we've been trying to get fluid into him.

After that we went through to the cheetahs.  First stop Dew,  Eden and Faith,  all under a year old these three are adorable and love interaction.  Eden purrs so loudly! Sadly Faith isn't too good,  she suffered meningitis when she was a few months old and its left her in a bad way.  Her eyes are crossed,  her tail has curled and she is really unsteady, walking almost crab like ,  but she is the most loving of cats you'll ever meet. Gabriel,  the 4 month cheetah cub was out today and very playful too.

Finally we stopped by the meerkats for a play,  i just love these little creatures,  but by god they smell!

After the tour i got in with my two morning tasks - checking and refilling the foot baths we have to walk through before entering enclosures,  and playing with the caracals,  which involved taking some toys in and getting them running about and jumping.

I was done for the day then so spent more time cuddling zoro, and more time with the wolves,  finally on the 4th visit i was fully accepted,  this is signalled by Shakira licking your face. I as so pleased,  she's such a beautiful animal.

Final task of the day before the feed,  was to prepare the food.  Today was a small feed so only the servals and caracals.  The prep isn't hard,  just messy.  We get a bucket of chickens and we have to slit open the breast and put a spoon of vitamin mixture in,  then separate out ready for feeding,  finished by cleaning the meat room.  I think I have to accept now that i am going to smell of raw chicken for weeks after.

Finally at feeding today we were all relieved as Jack finally ate :-)

We're all exhausted and back at the house now watching The Lion King!

Who's that?

Hey everyone,

Well its been a busy 24 hours since i arrived in Bloemfontein. I was met from the bus by May,  one of the permanent volunteers at  the farm and bought back to the volunteers house.  A beautiful big house with a pool and huge living area and kitchen.   I'm sharing a room with another Chris,  from Australia who was already at the farm.  I dropped my bags and was given a very quick tour of where things were.  Basically the kitchen is fully stocked with stuff for breakfast that we help ourselves to,  lunch is always prepared and cooked for us and for dinner we fend for ourselves,  we have 2 shopping trips a week to get whatever we want.   Food is pretty cheap,  so I'm kind of spoilt for choice!

Next I was taken to the farm and introduced to the other volunteers.   There's 4 of us that all arrived on Monday and 4 or 5 more along with the team of permanent volunteers and staff.  In total it's a team of around 15 and everyone is really friendly and gets on well.  A mixed group from UK, Australia, USA,  Norway and Denmark,  the full time staff are local South Africans, of which Rene is the founder of the farm.  Her enthusiasm and energy is incredible and her love for the animals is so clear.  She started with two cheetahs,  Fiela and Bibi that she hand raised from cubs.  They have full run of her home which is in the middle of the camp.  They can open doors themselves and even share the bed with Rene on occasion.

We then met 'Poofy' (real name claire) and given our induction. Covering the background to the farm,  how it began and what they do here,  explaining the breeding programme and the eventual hope that they can begin controlled reintroduction into protected, but wild environments, on top of that, all the rules of how to (or not)  interact with the animals.  There's so much to learn and remember and on top of that learning the cats names and how to tell them apart,  means my most used phrase so far is 'who's that?'

It was getting late in the day so we had a quick tour around one of the camps,  home to the leopards,  lions,  caracal, serval, goat and wolf! Some of the cats will only accept the volunteers that have been here for months/years so some we cannot interact with,  others we're actively encouraged to spend time with whenever we have a free half hour,  just go into the enclosures,  talk to them,  play with them and stroke them.  So far my favourite has been the caracals and Zoro the leopard.  Such beautifully tame creatures,  although we do have to learn the signs and behaviour and know when we have out stayed our welcome.   The two wolves are stunning however they have been raised by females and are not quite sure about men,  I'm going to persevere and try and be accepted by Shakira,  the alpha.  Once she has accepted me then Nikita will also come to me.

They have 5 male lions (Jubutus and Achilles) , 2 are mistaken for females as they don't have the typical mane, this is due to them being castrated at a young age so never developed,  however they are massive,  certainly don't want to be mixing with them! The other 3 (Acinonyx, Neptune and Napolean) , 2 of which are white,  just have such a presence about them,  you can really see why they are the kings!

Each week, the volunteers get split into two teams,  lion team which looks after everything except the cheetahs and meerkats,  then the cheetah team that do those.  Each volunteer rotates so that you get the chance to try everything.   Each team then has many different daily tasks ,  from simple things such as checking the voltages of the electric fences to the more challenging preparation of chicken for feeding.   Each task is assigned each morning.

We then headed back to the house to relax, a few of us sat up and watched a film but by 9.30 I could barely keep my eyes open so went to bed.  I had a great nights sleep and woke bright and early at 5.45 ready to start the day (7am start every day)

Our first task this morning was to walk the leopards... Only two of them... Zoro and Pardus.  Only the experienced volunteers could take Pardus as she is so strong and unpredictable,  where as zoro is just a big baby, although in another few months time he'll just be too big and strong to walk.   Whilst walking them,  in the distance we spotted giraffe,  zebra and rhino! A game drive is being arranged for sunday so we can go see them!

I was assigned fences and lapa today.  Fences involved walking around checking the voltages,  and then cleaning the lapa -  this is an afrikaans word,  not sure of the direct translation but its kind of like the patio/bar area that visitors hang around in before they go on tours.  Some daily tasks have to be repeated a few times,  like the fences get checked first and last thing.  Some tasks don't need doing until the afternoon like preparing the food.   We are also put onto rotas to babysit the baby kittens or antelopes,  or to shadow the tours. Once your task is done you are free to do what you want... Sit with the animals or help others with their tasks.  I spent time with the caracals and the servals today then went and sat with zoro.  Such a beautiful cat, you can literally do anything to him and he just doesn't care. 

I went into see the wolves again too,  yesterday they weren't interested even though I went in with May who hand reared them... The best way to be accepted is to go in with someone else who has a strong bond.   Today I went back in with Perry and within a few minutes was accepted... OMG I cant explain how stunning these two wolves are.   If you stop stroking them, they lift their paw and tap you for more.  If you give nikita more attention then shakira,  then nikita gets beaten up by shakira as she is the alpha,  so if you go in alone you always have to give more attention to her.

I also went in with the meerkats... They are adorable and just like to climb all over you. Mario seemed obsessed with sniffing my crotch.

The youngest cheetah in camp at the moment is gabriel,  he's only 4 months,  and becoming more and more mischievous by the day.

At the end of the day was big feed.   Not every animal gets fed every day, nor the same amount,  it all depends on a number of factors such as their breed,  their age, whether they are on heat,  to name a few.  Big feed was feeding them all including the lions.   The servals,  caracals and wolves have one chicken each,  the leopards between 2 and 3 each,  and the lions,  4 each.   Firstly,  raw chicken stinks,  secondly the flies are doing my head in,  however,  staring a white lion (neptune) in the face whilst holding 4 chickens and throwing him 1 at a time is one of the most incredible experiences I've had.

I'm sure so much more has happened today but it was all so overwhelming, I cant wait to see what tomorrow brings and to spend more time with the cats.  I'm shadowing a private tour of photographers at 8am!

We're back at the house now and tonight is movie night.  We're not sure what we're going to see but the local cinema has an offer for 50 rand for a burger and a movie (about £3)

Until tomorrow
Meow

Drip drip drip

Hello readers!

After a lengthy uneventful journey, I have finally arrived in South Africa! Hurrah!

I arrived super early so whilst waiting for the i-to-i guy to collect me I managed to get a coffee and a sim card for my phone so I can bombard you all with plenty of posts!

Mike was my contact and I found him along with a few other volunteers. 6 of us in total, all packed into the car and on our way to our first nights stop in Pretoria.

The other volunteers are all going of on a different project but we are all to spend the first night as a group for our orientation and briefing.

A few of us took a walk to the Union Building, at which point I provided the girls with much laughter by not ducking down enough when walking under a sign post.  The crack of my head against metal was pretty loud... Ouch!

The buildings were stunning, in beautiful gardens, and towering above them looking down over Pretoria is a new statue of the late Nelson Mandela.

A quick stop at woolworths for supplies and we headed back to the hostel.  3 more were added to the group, we're now 9 made up of 3 Aussies , 1 Italian and the rest English. We all immediately bonded over several beers. Lots of laughter and stories bring told. 7 of the group are heading to the lion cub project, specifically working just with lions, another is heading to work with the primates, and I'm heading to my project which primarily involves working with cheetah cubs but also leopards and lions.
Dinner was a basic but delicious BBQ chicken and various sides, enough to feed a small village, apparently I won't be going hungry whilst I'm here!

The place we're staying is a Backpackers hostel, basic but clean and very friendly. 5 of us were put into the cottage, the 3 girls sleeping upstairs and myself and Hayden were downstairs.  I'm not sure what happened with check in but the manager at first thought I was travelling with my girlfriend... Then he realised the person he had me listed with was a guy, so then decided he must be my boyfriend. 
Hayden was first introduced to me as "meet Chris,  he's your boyfriend" poor lad looked petrified!

Anyway, after dinner we all retired to the cottage and enjoyed a few more beers before deciding to call it a night.  I had an early start, 6.15 pickup.

I didn't get much sleep due to a very annoying and constant drip drip drip from a random shower head in the kitchen...I know, why would you even have a shower there in the first place! That and the buzz of mosquitos flying at me and other random creaks in the cottage made for a sleepless night.

Now I'm on the coach, a long 6.5 hour journey south west to the city of Bloemfontein where I will be collected and taken to the project, this is where the fun begins...

And now for something a little different...

Hello!

So here we are again, the start of another blog which can only mean one thing...I'm off on my travels once more...(Cue all the comments of "God you're always away" and "Are you ever in the country for more than 5 minutes" etc etc - Believe me I've heard them all)

I think  most of you will already know by now where I'm going and what I'm doing, but for those that don't, here's a quick over view...

Back in 2005 some may recall I spent two weeks in Sri Lanka volunteering my time helping out in the village of Kalutara following the devastating Tsunami.  This whole trip was arranged through a company called i-to-i.  Last year, at work, I was pondering my next trip and whilst looking through some photos was reminded about the Sri Lanka trip and how rewarding it was, and all the awesome new friends I made as a result, so I decided that maybe I should go and work on another of their projects, skip forward several months and here I am ready to embark on another i-to-i project titled "Help raise endangered big cats in South Africa"

Yup - I'm off to play with cats...big ones at that - Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs and more!  The next two weeks will see me based on a reserve in Bloemfontein in South Africa, approx 6-8 hour drive South West of Johannesburg looking after, caring for, playing with both adult and baby cats, and hopefully getting out on a few game drives too!

I won't bore you with all the details of the trip but if you are keen to know more, here is the link to the project: http://www.i-to-i.com/volunteer-projects/help-raise-endangered-big-cats-in-south-africa

I'm pretty certain I will have internet connectivity in the guest house, so I will try and keep you updated as much as I can whilst I am there.  Dilbert is with me too so expect a few candid shots of him - hopefully he won't be eaten by the cubs...come to think of it, I hope I won't be either! A few war wounds would make for good pub conversation though "Hey Chris, why are you missing a finger" "Oh well, it was eaten by a Lion"

Anyway, on that note, I have a few last minute things to pack in my bag and it's off to the airport I go.  I chose a cheaper option to get there and instead of flying direct, I'm flying via Frankfurt, so I have the joy of 16 hours travel ahead of me...wish me luck!!!

Whilst waiting for my next update, enjoy this little appropriately themed musical interlude...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6vLAa-kylM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywjX6AF6oVc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cD9cBEaNBc

Chris