This blog was written by Taylor Mee, a Bushwise International Field Guide student. Each student takes a turn as camp manager, and writing a blog is part of the experience.
3 min read
We’ve reached week three and I think it's pretty safe to say we are really starting to settle into being full time Bushwise students. The 5am wake-ups, the intermittent phone signal, showering with frogs – it’s all becoming wonderfully familiar.
Not long ago, I was drifting off to sleep to the delightful screech of mating foxes, and instead my eyes now closed after a “hard” day's work to the distant call of a hyena. I say “hard” because being out here really feels like anything but hard work. Would I rather be sitting on the 77 bus, stuck in traffic, listening to some school kids shout about which TikTok they watched last night or be on the back of a game viewer, stuck behind a buffalo herd, listening to the wondrous sounds of the bush? Sorry, London, this man chooses Mahlahla.
Amongst all the fun we’ve been having, it has also been a huge privilege and honour to be appointed camp manager for this past week and, in turn, become a shoulder to lean on for my newly adopted Bushwise family.
Our first exam week hit camp hard as I took over the reins, further extenuating the need for me to be a strong figure that my people could turn to in their toughest moments. But it was so encouraging to witness that seemingly nothing brings people together in a mutual act of support and solidarity quite like revising for, and attempting to pass, the first of your CATHSSETA exams.
It’s wild to think (excuse the pun) that in the short space of time we’ve been here, our knowledge base has already grown massively. Not long ago my field guiding mental database consisted of being able to provide a list of mammals commonly found in this part of the world – your giraffes, your zebra, of course your big five!
I don’t want you thinking I’m a fool, though! Don’t get me wrong I’ve watched my fair share of BBC Natural History Unit programmes, but there’s only so much information three series of Planet Earth can provide you with (we want series four please, Dave!).
Now, however, if you want me to distinguish the difference between basalt and granite based soils, I can do so without a second's hesitation. Need to know the cloud formation before a cold front hits? Hit me up! What taxonomic family does an Otter belong to, you ask? Mustelids people, they’re obviously mustelids. If by the end of the six months here I’m not able to distinguish a tree by a solitary lick of its bark or decipher which bird has flown past simply by listening to the flap of its wings, I’ll be incredibly disappointed – at this moment in time it feels like anything is possible thanks to the amazing experiences we are having and the training we are receiving.
I also never thought I’d get so much continued joy out of looking at poo! The dogs walking in the hotspots of London won’t know what’s hit them when I return. We’ve already become so accomplished at identifying dung by its shape, colour and context that after six months here learning everything Darryn, Jason and Simone have to offer, I’ll have absolutely no hesitation in determining that it was the owner of the black labrador, approximately 8 months old, on a strictly dry food diet that didn’t pick up their dogs waste last Wednesday morning between 07:22 and 07:36 am. You're a welcome, officer.
All in all, I think there is no doubt we can call semester one a success! New lifelong friendships are beginning to form, a whopping 8 modules worth of knowledge stored away (hopefully) forever and plenty of awesome sightings under our brown belts!
It’s very sad to be hanging up my camp manager boots at the end of this hard week of studying. But I take one last look at the base, as I climb into the taxi taking us for a few well-earned days of relaxing in Hoedspruit, knowing that I’ve left Bushwise Mahlahla in a better place than I found it.
Ready to start your own adventure with Bushwise? Explore our courses and apply today to begin your journey in the African bush!
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