"The Kruger National Park is an enormous nature reserve stretching three hundred and fifty kilometres along the Mozambican border and being sixty kilometres wide on average. In general most of the park exists out of plat grass and bush covered plains. Better known in South Africa as the savanna or bosveld. The border with Mozambique is clear because of the allways present Lebombo mountain range that forms a natural barrier. There are a number of rivers flowing from east to west within the park. Being the Limpopo, Luvuvhu, Shingwedzi, Letaba, Olifants, Timbavati, Sabie and Crocodile river from north to south.
for a look at the animial distribution of the park, go here!
http://www.krugersafari.com/statistics.html
We left for Kruger at 6am friday morning and arrived there around 2 in the afternoon. We decided, since we hadn't booked anything to do in the evening (ie-a guided sunset/night drive through the park) that we'd drive around a little bit, to see what kind of animals we might encounter.
First was the Impala, a small antelope that is the most numerous animal in the park. They are basically the bottom of the food chain, they're sole purpose is to be food for the other animals in the park. our first sighting was amazing, there were many "ooooh's" and "aaaah's", but as we kept driving, the majesty of the Impala soon wore off. After a while, our next sighting was a herd of Zebras. They were a ways off into the bush, and had we not been on the lookout for animals, we would have missed them altogether. As we continued on, we began to be introduced to more of the parks residents. Next was the giraffe, then followed shortly by a herd of elephants. we were driving along and all of a sudden we spot an elephant eating near the side of the road. we stop to take a few pictures and admire it, but then Rebecca, who was sitting in the front saw "Elephants! Elephants CROSSING the road!!!" we drove a little closer, but not too much and watched as these animals went about there business, oblivious to the paparrazi-like camera clicking from a pack of north american tourists in a blue Volkswagon Chico.
We then came across more Giraffes in our travels, but those were soon tossed to the side as we spied a White Rhino meandering alongside the road not 200 meters in front of us. we got closer, but again, not too close.
We finally decided to call it a day, after being held up by a traffic-jam of Baboons wandering down the road in front of us. We watched as they played, groomed, and climbed the trees looking for food.
the next day was just as eventful, though not as mind-blowing as the first. After your 1000th Impala, you get annoyed that they're not out there attracting the bigger animals to come and eat them. Luckily, we did stumble across a few packs/prides of lions that day. the first was a solitary male lounging on a riverbank. the second was more impressive, although further away. A entire pride of lions with cubs, multiple females and one large male. They were about a kilometer away and you could only make them out with binoculars, thanks to the co-workers at CSIR for lending us a pair!
That night we camped at Olifants, a camp in the middle section of the park. now when i say camp, i mean hostel-like place. what that means is, each camp in the park has to be fenced in, you can't just tent in the middle of the park. thats like tying a steak around your neck and going out to play with the lions. Each camp is like a hotel but with individual houses, all containing 2-3 beds, a bathroom and shower. they're very posh and quite cheap when shared amoung 4 people. Olifants was the best because we were on top of a hill and could look down into the river below. As we arrived at Olifants, we booked a trip on the astronomy tour. which was my highlight of the entire trip. We were drive out at sunset to a lookout point on the hill, over-looking the river. As the sun went down you could hear the hippos grunting and comming out of the water to feed. The hosts of our trip had a selection of snacks for us to munch on as we watched the twilight turn to night. now, for 130 rand i was only expecting pop and maybe chips, but they had a full bar, with wine, beer and even whisky and Gin. I had myself a nice (double) gin and tonic followed by a glass of red wine as i took my seat to watch the stars. the hostess, who is studying astronomy, showed us the southern and norhtern crosses, then the constellations and how to determine south when in the Southern Hemisphere. The sky was clear and the stars were shinning so brightly, it was an amazing experience!
Sunday, we headed back south to book in at Skakuza, the capital camp of Kruger. we had a night drive booked for 6pm. it was cooler on sunday than the rest and you could tell that rain was about to come. as we drove around the park we didn't see much wildlife, but there was an amazing lightning storm, unfortunately followed by a downpour that caused everyone in the truck to want to turn around. it was kind of a bust on the animal side of things, but the lightning and thunder were really cool and enjoyed it.
anyways, that brings us to today, we basically drove around, trying to find a leopard, the only one of the big five (Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Buffalo and Elephant) that we hadn't seen. Unfortunately, no luck. the drive back to Pretoria was fun, but i was glad to be home. CSIR is finally beginning to feel like home now. Now all i have to do is get to work. but i'll leave that for tomorrow!
African Sunset
This was the sunset at Oliphants camp site, on the top of a cliff over looking the river in the valley below. The photo simply does not do it justice. the following few photos are of my trip to Krugar National Park (Sept 15-18). there are more on my Flickr site, so feel free to click on these photos and have a gander. i'll be up-dating this thing wtih my trip there, shortly.
Rob enjoying Africa
I did, eventually, put down the camera and actually take time to see Africa through my own eyes. Even though everything was brown and dry (September being the tail endof the dry season), the scenerely was breathtaking.
Zebee's
Zebras! I like Zebras. They have stripes. They are the punks of the animal world, but suprisingly, are also the most popular.
Elephant X-ing
These are some Elephants that we saw on our first day at the Park. It was amazing to be driving along looking at bush and then someone would shout out "Stop!!! Elephants!!! Kieran would hit the brakes and we would just sit there and be in awe of these incredible animals. Better than any Zoo i can tell you that!
Because One Can't Possibly Spend The Entire Day Reading About Water Harvesting Techniques!
I calculated how many countries i've been to in the world. the total is: 12 which equals 5% of the planet!  create your own visited countries mapI will add to this list, very soon! on a somewhat related note: Kruger Park here i come!
Rebecca Rob Kieran
Last photo, for now. Here are my roommates and myself on the steps of the city hall.
City centre pretoria
This is a photos from my trip to the city centre of Pretoria. Its a very beautiful city and i'm looking forward to exploring it a bit more.
House
This is the house that i'm living in. It's a real nice place. click on the photo and check out my kitchen, amongst other photos of my trip that i haven't put up on my blog.
Rob Veronica Vancouver
My Cousin Veronica, who lives and goes to uni in Victoria came over to Vancouver to visit with me the day before i left for South Africa. She had just returned from Austrailia herself, the day before so she was still a bit jet lagged, but was a trooper and made the effort. I promised her that i'd repay her by going to stay with her in Victoria upon my return from South Africa, as i am going to have to pass through Vancouver for a couple of days before i return to Edmonton.
2006 interns
here is a photo of all the 2006 Interns, i'll do my best to try and place the face with the name and desitination of their internship. from left to right: Liz (not an Intern, but Kieran's girlfriend and UBC Graduate student), Kieran- South Africa, Pretoria, Lisa- Cape Town, South Africa (working for Habitat for Humanity), Christine- Nelson, New Zealand, Kim- Bangalore, India, Sara- Uraguay, Rob- You already know what i'm doing, Christian- Cape Town, South Africa (Also working for Habitat), Crystal- Kigali, Rwanda (working for UN's World Food Program).
Vancouver skyline
I've totally fallen in love with Vancouver, it's such a better city than Edmonton. I'm sorry, i'm a traitor, i know, but i have to admit that the way this city is set up is so much better than Edmonton. Higher denisity housing, commercial mixed with residential, i love it.
Rocky, Dapo and Rob
So here are some photos from the past month, starting from my going away party and my first week here in South Africa. I'm aware that this, the first photo will appear last, but i thnk you are all smart enough to piece the story together. here is a photo of Rocky, Dapo and I from the Funky Buddha.
First Week in South Africa
I've been here for almost a week and I’m slowly beginning to find my footing, figuring out how to navigate this crazy country and actually settle down and get some work done! At first I didn't really experience much culture shock, when we arrived in Africa, there was a driver there to pick us up from the airport and take us to the CSIR. After that we (Kieran and I) got settled into our new house, which is really nice, except that it gets rather cool during the day because it's made of brick, but this should prove very useful in the summer (November-march) as the temperatures here can rise well into the 40's. Enjoy your winter in Edmonton Suckers! I've been out to buy groceries a couple of times, once one of the girls from the department here took us three out (I’m now including Rebecca, the American Intern here) to get food. Prices here in terms of food are, in most cases, a lot better than in Canada. Like cereal, my staple food when living away from home, is something like 7 rand per box, which is just slightly over a dollar Canadian. The exchange rate is roughly, 6 SA Rand to the Canadian dollar. Work was rather uneventful this past week as I really had nothing to do until I got a computer (I miss my iBook dearly, I really, really miss it). After that, I managed to do some preliminary research on water harvesting techniques. But I really couldn't do too much until my meeting with my supervisor, Jaqui. That was last Friday. She seems really awesome, she is so full of energy, and is truly passionate about her research, it's almost infectious. I would liken her very much to Hilary Watson, that’s who she reminded me of the most. I'm looking forward to working on this project. She also wants this internship to benefit me as well, so I get total free reign on what I want to do, in terms of research. She suggested that by the end of the 6 months I should have a working paper, which is loosely based on the transboundry research we’re doing, but I get to put my own spin on it and investigate an aspect that I’m particularly interested in. So I might get published by the end of this 6 months, that’s very exciting and something I’m excited about. It’s kind of funny, that at our house there is no TV. well there is but it is a very small black and white one which barely has a clear picture, so as a result there isn't really much to do in the evenings. Although as a benefit of this, I’ve been meeting a lot of expats (other foreigners) and locals. The bar at Entabeni (the housing complex I am staying in, which is a Zulu term for "On top of the hill") is really nice, and very close, and you can get beer there for only 7 rand each, which is roughly a dollar!!!! Last Friday, Kieran, Remko (a Dutch exchange student who is studying aeronautical engineering) and I, along with some of Remko's colleagues (Erik, Benny and his wife Lela, all South Africans) went to see the local Pretoria Rugby Team the Blue Bulls take on the Pumas. I don't know where the Pumas are from. The game was great, although it was a shut-out, with the Bulls defeating the Pumas 63 to 7. Erik was giving Remko and I a commentary on the rules and what was going on the field. Very fun! One weird thing I noticed was that they didn't sell beer at the games, unlike in the UK and in Canada, but apparently they did have beer sections, but you had to leave the stadium to go and drink, so I stayed sober that night. Also, the audience in the stadium was predominately white South Africans. There were very few blacks in attendance. (I apologize for any un-PC remarks I may make in these blogs, but I assure you I do not mean them with malicious intent, only that I am unaware of the correct terms, there that is my disclaimer for any fauxpas I may make in this blog) Up until Saturday I had only really seen black South Africans in mainly the service roles of society. They're the cashiers at the supermarket; they are the vendors at the rugby game, and the security detail at the gates to CSIR. I haven't really seen any in the higher up jobs. I knew this was the case, but I didn't really expect to be this segregated. So far I have been confined to white South African Society. On Saturday however, we made it a point to change this. well its not like we went out in search of the blacks, but Kieran, Rebecca, Remko and I decided to go and explore Pretoria a bit more, seeing as there was nothing else to do at home, and we hopped into a Combie and made our way to the city centre. Combies are the way the majority of Africans get around. they're basically mini-buses or minivans that cost 7 rand a trip and you hold up your hand on the side of the road (in a designated route, but how these routes work I still don't know, all I know is that there are some streets where the combies will pick you up and others where they wont) and they stop and you get in. I would liken it to an organized form of hitch-hiking that everyone does. (The parents are going to be on my case about safety, I just know it! Sorry mom). Anyways, in the city centre, we hardly saw any white Africans. There were street vendors everywhere and you can get almost anything from them, from fruit and veggies to toys and sweets. We walked to Church Square, and then a few blocks more and went to Paul Kruger’s house, which is now a museum. He was an Afrikaner and president of South Africa during the Boer war. He was a celebrated hero during the Boer war and was influential in getting the Boers to resist British rule. After that, we headed out to City hall and had a look around there, and then we popped into a few shops and then hopped into another combie and made our way back to the CSIR. This second combie, actually kicked out the other passengers (all blacks) and offered us a deal that for one more rand (a total of 10 rand each, as the asking price was 9 rand) he would take us directly to the CSIR front gate. I felt very bad as we were totally given the rich white treatment at the expense of the other passengers, but took it anyways. Finally, that brings me to today. The three of us went into town to get a few more groceries and then I went into the office, where I am now, to up-date my blog, upload some photos and maybe get some work done, but I’m not too sure about that last one. Just kidding, I have an article to read and I’m keen to do so as it basically outlines the project I’m going to be working on for the next 6 months. Stay tuned for some photos!
Meeting With Supervisor
I have about 15 minutes before i go and meet my boss for the first time. To be honest, i'm a tad bit nervous! She gave me some work to do until today and i've been reading some journal articles related to water harvesting, but haven't really written anything up to show here, i haven't really had time. So i hope she doesn't expect anything concrete as of yet. The walk into work today was pretty amazing. Apparently, CSIR campus is part of a national park (or maybe a provincial one, or whatever the equivalent to a provincial park is in South Africa) and there are tons on animals, birds and plant species that i've never seen before. I'll try to remember to bring my camera to work on monday so i can take a few snap shots of my new environment. well its time to go and meet the boss.
South Africa
So i have arrived safe and sound as many of my friends have already found out as i sent out a big group e-mail to all my friends to let them know that i'm still alive. So far, South Africa has been very welcoming and hospitable. After getting over jet lag (although i'm still not 100% aclimatized to my new time zone) i have spent the last two days getting to know my surroundings and meeting all the people that i'll be working with over the next few months. Right now i have an office, which i share with the other intern and an american who is doing a research project for some fellowship she recieved, on the CSIR campus in which i will be conducting most of my research and other work. I might get transferred over to the University of Pretoria in a month of so, as that is the location of the organization that i will be working for during my stay here in Africa. Honestly, there really isn't a lot to tell about my new home here, I've been getting to know my co-workers and the other students/researchers who are also living the the housing complex of Entabeni. This weekend, i'm going to be looking into buying a bike for my time here, so that i can commute back and forth from the U of P and CSIR. We'll see how it goes. Tomorrow is my first meeting with Jaqui, my supervisor. I'm kind of excited and nervous about it. I hope she likes me! anyways, i honestly, don't have much to say at the moment, i haven't really gotten into my work yet, i haven't had the opportunity to get off the CSIR campus yet, hopefully, by next week i'll have more to say. Well i'm off home now, I'll catch you all later. Rob.
Up-Date
So, I'm writing this at IRES at UBC in Vancouver, when i should be somewhere over the Indian Ocean on my way to South Africa. Due to hold ups at the Consular office, i didn't get my visa on time to make my flight. so it got post-poned to Sunday. I am totally in love with Vancouver, it is amazing! the place is so clean, and the entire city is so compact and everything is accessible by foot. there is commercial mixed with residential and varying types of housing density (from high-rise condos/appartments to individual houses), very cool. The UBC training was very informative and entertaining. All the Other INterns were very easy to get along with. So all in all i've been having a great time here. I'm anxous to get on the plane to South Africa though. I also really want to get to work, i'm totally excited to start my new job as a researcher! okay, thats all. will up-date once i arrive in Pretoria safely. Rob.
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