And So, My Final Location

I ended up in Umhlanga, KwaZulu - Natal on the Indian Ocean (pronounced Umshlanga)).  I had every intention of going on day tours, or even checking out at some point and going someplace different after a few days.   What I realized is that I was perfectly happy where I was.  I sat on the beach, looking at the waves.  I sat on my balcony, looking at the waves.  I sat in the restaurants, looking at the waves.  No crazy animals, no bugs, no early wake ups, no bouncing around in a vehicle, it was a beautiful way to spend my last week.  

Sunrise on the Indian Ocean

And just like that, I was gone......

I'm still not sure why but I woke up last Monday unable to stay any longer doing the volunteer work. I literally woke up and decided it was time to go. So, after much hemming and hawing, finagling and researching, I am now sitting on the Indian Ocean enjoying all that a beach resort has to offer. 

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of guilt and disappointment in myself for leaving. I just couldn't stay. I had a week left and decided to enjoy.

Trixie: The Story of a Sad, Lonely Dog....

There have been many experiences on this trip that it is hard to process them all, but this one I just can't shake.

This is Trixie.  See how she runs?  Trixie is always running.  

This is the Mkhuze dog pack

Trixie came from another game reserve after she broke away from her pack.  Trixie traveled a couple of hundred kilometers and ended up here at Mkhuze trying to find a new home.  The monitors were hoping the pack would accept her but alas, they have not.  They were also hoping that perhaps one of the younger males in the pack would break away, join Trixie and they would start a new pack.  This hasn't happened either, at least not  yet.   Due to the recent arrival of the puppies in the pack, it's been all hands on deck to raise them.

Here's the sad part.  Trixie runs all day looking for them.  She keeps trying to find them and join the pack, even though they keep rejecting her.   At least 3 times we would be in the truck trying to monitor some animal and Trixie would come running up the road, searching, searching, almost frantically.  She is all alone which is obviously not ideal for a wild dog.  Not only are they pack animals, but she is in danger from other animals as well as poachers.

Run, Run, Run, that's all she does.  One evening we were out looking for, what I don't remember, and up comes Trixie running along the road in her anxious,  frantic way.  She was being followed by several tourist vehicles who probably thought this was much fun!  "A wild dog running in the road!  Quick honey, take a picture!" My heart just broke for her.  It was after sunset and it was getting dark, she should have been finding a place to rest for the night.  Instead she was being stalked by paparrazzi! Every now and then she would stop, out of breath, look at the cars following her and continue running. Trot,Trot,Trot, Trot.  We turned around and followed the line of cars  until she finally just sat down in a puddle for a second or two at an intersection of the main  road and a dirt road.  That is when I think people finally got the hint.  Trixie took off up the dirt road, but the cars didn't follow her.  We trailed her for a bit but we stayed back far enough not to bother her.  We even shut off the engine to give her a break.  

That was when I heard it.  Trixie calling to them, the pack.  Trying to find them.  It wasn't a howl or a bark but almost like a hoot and a moan combined.  It was possibly the saddest sound I ever heard.  Over and over as she ran up the road, in the dark  you could hear that sound, looking, searching, almost begging.  

My heart fell to pieces.

Babies, Babies, Everywhere Babies!

The difference between the safari and Mkhuze is the search for specific animals.  On safari, we would just drive around and whatever we found, we found.  Occasionally we would get a tip from another safari vehicle that a particular animal was in an area and then we would go check it out.  At Mkhuze, we were assigned each day with finding specific animals.  As I already said, the dogs needed to be tracked twice a day.  Even if we didn't see them, we had to be able to find them on telemetry.   The other animals we tried to find at least once a day between one of the two camps.  

The winning lotto ticket on any of these searches is to see the animal itself.  Even better would be to see the babies.   I knew the wild pups were in a den and we had a general idea of where the den was, although it was inaccessible by vehicle.  I knew I would never see the pups.  We also knew Misty, the cheetah, had 5 cubs, but I really never expected to see Misty or her babies as they are so shy and well camouflaged.    I don't think cheetahs walk up the road like the dogs, elephants and rhinos apparently do!  Although, the other camp did see a leopard in the road one day. 

So, on what turned out to be my last day there I was given the gift of a lifetime. Not only were we able to track, find, and see Misty, we saw her cubs too!  All 5 of them!  And, there was some National Geographic stuff going down as she was facing off against a mamma wart hog and her babies (what are baby wart hogs called anyway?  Anyone? Bueller?) 

5 ladies in a truck all kinds of excited!!!! In all my days, I don't think I will get a chance to see something like that again.  Back to camp we went, feeling satisfied with ourselves.... not to mention something we can brag to the other camp about1  What did they see? Nothing!

In the afternoon, it was our turn to track the dogs.  Meghan had taken us to a place far up on a hill and we picked them up immediately.  They were also on the move so we would drive, stop, track, drive, stop, track.  Eventually it was was drive and track at the same time!  And then, up ahead, just around a bend we saw this!

The entire pack!  Babies and all!  It was like the first day of school.  They took off into the grass and we tried to track and follow them but never saw them again.  We did however spend the next 3 hours driving around chasing them with the telemetry.  

It was an absolutely  perfect day, and a perfect way to end my stay at Mkhuze.  

'Scuse me. Have you seen my yak?

So you are sitting in the back of a truck, it is sunset, and you are busy trying to figure out what those silly dogs are doing based on their radio signals.  Suddenly, up the road, just on the other side of a small hill you see a lumbering, greyish white THING waddling back and forth.  You cannot see its face, just the torso.  You think

A) Oh, here comes a rhino up the road

B) Weird, that's a really small elephant

C) Is that a yak????

C.  Definitely C.  Because that's logical, right?  

I blame the malaria medication. 

Elephant Recess

One morning our assignment was to find the elephants, try to count them and take pictures.  Now, at this point in my trip I have seen A GAZILLION elephants and was a bit blasé about the whole thing.  Here's the thing about animals though, they always have something wonderful up their sleeves, or trunks in this case.  

After about an hour of tracking a female who is part of the breeding herd, we realized they were heading for the river.  We found a high, secluded vantage point overlooking the water and what do we see? A lone male drinking by the water.  No big deal. 

 But then, one by one, the breeding herd came out of the tree line and started making their way to the water.  The male turned around and, instead of making some show or stand off, greeted some of the younger ones as they passed!  It was mesmerizing!  

All in all 22 elephants of all ages and sizes.

  The babies started playing in the sand, literally roughhousing to the point of needed to be put straight by an adult.  So much like us... So much, like us.

  

I'm Going to Mhkuze...

Mkhuze!  Finally!  The whole reason for going to Africa!  To work with wildlife conservation monitors and help them, well, monitor the wildlife in the Mkhuze game reserve.  There are many different types of animals in the park, giraffe, dogs, elephants, rhino, impala, birds etc., but only some of the animals were being actively monitored - The wild dogs, the cheetahs, elephants,  and vultures.  The dogs and cheetahs had radio collars on them.  Twice a day the dogs had to be tracked and once a day we went out either looking for the elephants or the cheetahs or whatever came along. 

Apparently, on top of loss of habitat, disease and other issues, poaching is a problem in South Africa.  Since the wild dogs are one of the most endangered species in all of Africa (I think there are only about 3500 left or something like that), they get top priority along with the cheetahs.  Literally, every single animal matters.  The wild dogs just had a litter of pups as well as the cheetah, Misty, who had 5 cubs.  

My camp consisted of 4 women:  A Brazilian, a Canadian, a German and me.  Sounds like the start of a bad joke, doesn't it? - So a Brazilian, a Canadian, a German and an American walk into a bar....... 

These women were wonderful!  Each of us there for our own reasons, but there just the same. Our monitor was Meghan who exuded passion for these animals.  

On our first day we got to see the dogs right off the bat!  All the adults!  And they were on a tear about something!  Turns out there was another wild dog that didn't belong to the pack that got them all in a tizzy.  

"It's that other dog I tell you!  I can smell it!  It was just here!  Where did it go, where did it go?"

Anyway, not only did we get to see the dogs, but we learned how to use the telemetry, learned the difference between a resting signal and a moving signal, and how to tell the direction it's coming from.  I felt very official, and so excited!

This is not me, but I do look this impressive when I am tracking too! That's my story and I'm sticking with it :-)