In the blink of an eye the first semester is over! We have learned a lot and already made good friends for life.
We had some amazing encounters with some of Africa`s most dangerous animals and also seen some amazing animal behaviour. Some of the encounters were lions roaring just beside the game viewing vehicle, my heart almost sank! An elephant that decided he wants to take a mud bath right in front of us while we had our coffee break and doing some birding. Not one day in the bush is the same you see something new and different every day. Even when you are sitting in the classroom and doing some studying something can come slithering up and surprise you. We had a harmless spotted bush snake that visited us during one of our study sessions.
Photo by Ellie Schwartz
The trainers are also working very hard to keep us happy on campus and helping us where they can, answering all our questions and helping with our studies. And everybody that is a part of this program is really concerned with the student’s well being. Life on campus and studying to become a field guide is hard work and with this group of students there is never a dull moment! But all this said it is also very rewarding. To be in the bush every day and see what we see and learn all this useful information about plants and animals is just such a huge privilege.
Photo by Traer Scott
Its not everybody that can say he/she slept in the bush with nothing but a mattress, sleeping bag and some good company under the stars of Africa. That is a sleepout I will never forget! All you hear at night is the trumpeting of a herd of elephants that wants to know what these humans are doing and laughing of hyena and roaring of a pride of lions in the distance.
I will say the most important thing that I have learned from Bushwise is that you must not just look at the big things like cheetah, lion, buffalo and so on but look at the smaller things. The smaller things over here is much more interesting for me than all the big mammals. Over here it is actually indeed the small things that makes life worth living and the bigger things are just a bonus.
Photo by Stefan Prinsloo
Good luck to all my fellow students for the rest of the course and thank you for making the first semester so wonderful.
Blog by Sean Fox
Photo of Sean Fox
