African culture – WANDER OUR WORLD

4. Juli 202019. Juli 2021

Africa and Europe parted by a little virus

Hello, Bonjour and Servus still from Germany, unfortunately I couldn’t move to Cape Town yet. Mid-March I applied for my working permit at the South African embassy and I was very close of stepping into a plane and move to the African continent. Just before this vicious little virus, called Corona, had made an appearance in Europe. However, I had some hope that the embassy would still work its way through my visa application, even when I read the statement by president C. Ramaphosa that no tourist visa shall be further worked on. By mid-May I received a big letter that I recognized to be from the embassy. It contained my passport but no visa, no other explanations, nothing. I checked my passport 10 times and more but still no visa that I could find. Such a dissapointing answer.

By now, I still haven’t received any other Information from the embassy, they finally opened up again but can’t tell me anything. So, I suppose once they will start working on visa applications the whole process will start again. This is really frustrating. But luckily I get to start my new job for the company in Cape Town from my home office here in Germany. This surely won’t be easy as I don’t know anyone from my team or any other colleagues. And how it looks like at the moment, it seems there won’t be any international flights to South Africa any time soon. With the embassy still not working on any visa applications, I am a bit clueless when this journey will actually start.

In the meantime what am I doing during these times when I am fully ready to go, longing for Africa but can’t fly to any of the countries I want to? Well, I started reading plenty of guiding and tracking books that explain specific features for typical African animals, their tracks, calls and even the different grasses growing in Southern Africa. Also, I am glad to be able to participate in the fun digital tracking games by James Varden from Ride Zimbabwe. Every now and then he is posting tracks that he has found in the bush with the question which animal belongs to the spoor. It surely is fun and a challenge trying to match the picture to one of the tracks in my books. Besides, I exchanged with Josephin on my Cape Town adventure on her podcast, which surely was lots of fun. You can listen to it on her Bushbaby podcast channel.

Guiding books for Southern Africa, recommended by FGASA

Giant Crowfoot from James‘ challenge, a grass growing in Zimbabwe

From James‘ tracking challenge, would you have guessed it right that this was
a genet?

Bushbaby podcast, if you long for Africa it’s a great opportunity to listen to some African stories

Furthermore, I thought this is actually a very good opportunity to donate money to the ones that are in need. This crisis hits all of us, but some are just way more affected than others as they struggled already before the crisis for their well-being. There is so much help needed and it’s never easy to decide which project, which organisation or which person you would like to support. However, it’s important that the money reaches the specific group you have chosen. That’s why I have decided to support the „My Beautiful Home“ project in Matopos, close to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. This is an annual competition aiming to encourage and reward the practice of decorating huts in the traditional way using natural pigments such as ash, coal and soil as a mean of highlighting and maintaining the art and culture of the area. From my volunteering time in Zimbabwe I know that Ride Zimbabwe is engaged in that project and supports the local community. So, if you have always wondered how you can contribute to conservation this might be your call! Any donation will be much appreciated and help the Ndebele people in Matabeleland. If you are interested, please let me know until end of July.

James from Ride Zimbabwe next to a local hut in Zimbabwe

And then, I also found a new way to travel through Africa, by cooking. The African kitchen has so much to offer and is really divers. I have tried already several dishes, such as Mbatata from Malawi, Sweet potato mash from Zimbabwe and Vipopo from Zanzibar. Mbatata is similar to baked minced meat with potatoes, a really delicious dish. The Vipopo however, wasn’t my favorite but I am sure it was probably the way I did it as I haven’t heard about it before.

My version of Mbatata, a recipe from Malawi

The outcome of my Vipopo version, a recipe from Zanzibar

Last but not least, it’s always good if you have some memories to dwell on. Hence the happier I am to have taken so many pictures from my travelling throughout Southern Africa that I can click through. The endless landscapes of Namibia never gets old, while I can still feel the beat of the elephant herd in the bushes when I drove through Moremi, this was definitely a highlight in Botswana. To feel the Victoria falls and see the sun setting behind the zambezi certainly is a must for Zimbabwe, while Hwange National Park shows you the true African wilderness. Hearing the hyena calls or the rumbling stomaches of the elephants next to your tiny tent will surely bring you closer to nature. I will never forget the feeling when I was sitting on my horse when I first spotted a big cat, a lioness with its teenage cubs. Unforgettable memories I am very thankful for.

Red dunes and last surviving trees in Sossusvlei, Namibia

Epic river banks of the Chobe river, Botswana

The mighty Victory Falls from the helikopter, Zimbabwe

Enjoying a beautiful sundowner in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Lovely scenery of Kruger National Park, South Africa

If you want to see more pictures of Southern Africa, check out my gallery – enjoy!

My newest lessons learned during the COVID-19 mess:

What’s going on – Confusion is the new normal;
Stocking up – Stay well connected with your neighbours, they might be the only ones providing you with toilet papers;
Hang on – One day you might have a visa, next day it’s being revoked.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, let’s hope for some quick recovery from the COVID-19 – bye bye, salut and sala kahle ∞

22. März 2020

How to manage the visa struggle

Hello, Bonjour and Sawubona from my newest adventure of moving from Europe to South Africa, Cape Town. Corona virus is not a friendly helper, but that’s a whole different story. In this blog I want to focus on advices how to get a visa, which is already an interesting battle itself.

When deciding to leave a continent with family and friends that you know behind, you go through many stages; from being euphoric to worried to happy. And then it comes: the naughty visa application. Some say it’s worse than going to the dentist, some say it’s random and unfair, I say it’s a struggle to survive even if you think you might be prepared for it.

First things first, you have to find out which visa application form is the one you need to correctly fill out. This really is a bigger step than thought if you have no one with experience to tell you. Afterwards, you need to gather all documents and proofs demanded by the application form. Now this really is a masterpiece of its one, almost impossible if you don’t have any competent help and leading to lovely, time-consuming trips to the embassy. Most of the time you can’t rely on help of the employees of the embassy so make sure you got all your paperwork done correctly.

Every visa application process is different and it even differs from embassy to embassy for the same country. So here my advice if you want to survive the visa application process efficiently when applying for an intra-company work visa from Germany to South Africa, Cape Town:

Check out which embassy is the one you need to go to (Berlin for whole Germany except Bavaria. If you live in Bavaria, Munich is responsible for you).
Make sure the intra-company work visa is applicable for you. This should always be the case if your German employer sends you to Cape Town to a branch or subsidiary within the group and you don’t quit your job in Germany but will be re-employed after the expatriation time in South Africa.
Download the application form from the SA embassy website.
Get a folder ready for all documents to come.

Gather all documents mentioned in the visa application. This is:

passports from all nationalities you have,
copies of all your passports,
download and print the form DHA-1738 and fill it out,
biometric picture not older than 6 months,
a letter of the branch / affiliate in South Africa confirming the transfer and specifying whether your position is junior or senior. This needs to specify your new occupation and the relationship between your German employer and the one in South Africa. Documentary proof is likely to be asked, so better be already prepared with the registration documentation issued by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPS) for the South African company. Furthermore, a translated trade register excerpt for the German company will be needed. Most likely you will also be asked to present an organogram to show the relationship between the German and South African company, best to show as well your current and future position and how they are related,
a written undertaking by the South African company so ensure all points mentioned under this number in the application,
a plan developed by the South African company to transfer your skills to a local citizen incl. currently certified copies of their identity with their ID numbers. If you don’t present the original letters but copies that are sent to you via email, the HR person signing all those letters need to present a certified passport copy as well,
a confirmation of your German employer that you will be transferred to the South African company, mentioning the time period for your stay,
your original contract translated into English and certified by a sworn translator incl. an attached copy to it. As a back up take a copy of your original contract. Moreover, you need your original assignment letter or contract for your new position in South Africa,
original police clearance certificate,
a signed medical report as provided on the website of the embassy,
a signed radiological report as provided on the website of the embassy,
if you have children accompanying you, take a proof of parental responsibilities with you,
if a spouse is accompanying you, take your marriage certificate translated into English and certified by a sworn translator with you,
if you travel through a yellow fever country, take your vaccination proof with you,
proof of payment of the application fee 5 working days before your application in the embassy,
an A4-size envelope franked with the Express easy DHL online label (0,5kg).

Supplement documents potentially needed for no. 5

Make sure all HR departments from all countries involved, provide you the right documents. Check and check again bevor booking your transfer to the embassy. YOU need to go to the embassy and YOU will be the one who needs to go again if anything is missing. Keep that in mind.

Print your documents in good quality, the embassy won’t print anything for you.

If you think you got all the papers together and are ready for the application, check again if you really got it all correctly together before heading to the embassy. The one in Berlin opens at 9.00am every day but make sure to be there no later than 8.30am to avoid long waiting queues. Anyways you must be in the embassy before 11.30am or your application will not be processed that day and you need to come again. Keep also in mind that no visa application will be processed on Wednesday in Berlin.

So when you have finally arrived in the embassy and received a waiting number, be patient and just give a short prayer to god. This might raise your chances. Once it’s your turn you will need to hand over all documents you have gathered in the correct sequence as mentioned according to the application form, this is essential to have the employees‘ goodwill at least. Then you be patient and wait until your application is thoroughly checked and you are called again.

This now is the moment of truth, was all your preparation good enough or will you go back home and redo your homework more carefully again? Whatever will be missing or additionally required by the embassy is going to be highlighted, so hope for no highlights at all. If your application will go through immediately, count yourself as very much privileged and well organized while understanding the language of bureaucracy to the highest standard. Congratulations! Now you walk out the embassy and spoil yourself with some bubbles before a long period of patience, patience and patience.

Get your papers in order for the embassy

If you have to come again to the embassy, don’t worry this is the normal case. For the next time however, bring the same forms with you where the employer of the embassy has left the marks, highlights and information. Do not use a new version. This time when walking into the embassy, pray again that it will be all to the satisfaction of the embassy. If this will be the case, you can be happy and be patient as well. From now on it might take a while until you hold your visa in your hands – if no corona virus comes in between to make a perfect mess.

My newest lessons learned:

Rely on help – relocation agencies might know the interpretation of bureaucracy language or even a sworn translator,
You can’t check enough – not even your own helpers,
Be an early bird – arrive early at the embassy and wait patiently until they open in front of the gates.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives – bye bye, salut and sala kahle ∞

1. Dezember 20191. Dezember 2019

Giving thanks and helping others

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Matabeleland Animal Rescue & Equine Sanctuary (MARES ZIM) based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, which is an organisation saving donkeys and horses that are badly injured, abandonned or not treated correctly by their owners. It was a Voluntary Private Organisation formed in the early 2000’s during the land claims where many farmers were kicked off their farms and were unable to take their animals, including horses. Since then, Claire Einhorn dedicates her life to save the lives of these animals and leads now this registered charity in a politically tormented country that is suffering from a very bad drought this year. Her activities range from rescuing, rehabilitating and providing supplies for mainly donkeys and horses, which she does with her full heart and amazing local employees that help her.

Claire preparing the treatments for Bandi

Rehabilitated donkeys with new harnesses leaving the sanctuary with their owners

This time of year I would like to make a donation towards her sanctuary and everyone who would like to join in, please contact me. Following, I will give you a bit more insights into her work and charity.

During my three months volunteering time in Zimbabwe, I could work with Claire for about two weeks and helped trying to cure a foal named Bandi (see my blog post). Claire showed me how to work with animals that suffered from bad treatments, how to gain back their trust and which medical treatment they need. She even showed me how to work with syringes and how to do an intravenous injection (IV). All throughout my stay in Zimbabwe she was there for me and helped me, even when I was about 100 kms away from her.

Bandi and I hoping the best for his future

Trimming the hooves is also necessary for Bandi

Helping all these badly injured animals, brings not only joy, but also plenty of moments of sorrow, when you don’t know what the future will bring for them. All the treatments are very expensive and need a lot of time dedicated to each and every patient.

Claire has 25-45 donkeys at her sanctuary at all time, depending how many donkeys are abandoned or can find a nice home somewhere else. Further, her stables hold about 8-12 horses. All of these animals have reached her sanctuary for the same reason: to have a last chance to survive. In order to keep the sanctuary going, Claire runs a very successful restaurant close by: Déjà vue. However, money is always a short supply when you have so many sick animals that need plenty of care. Therefore, I want to support her with a donation to her charity, if you are also interested in her work and would like to support her, let me know or even donate directly via her website.

One of Claire’s patients enjoying the morning sun

Claire will be very happy to show you her work through videos, photos or documentations on her facebook page or instagram. Let’s share this beautiful, holly christmas time with others in need and bring a bit of the christmas spirit to Southern Africa.

My lessons learned:

If you are dedicated with your full heart, you can make a huge difference and save other’s life.
Saving one donkey won’t change the world but it will change the world for that donkey.
Since its formation MARES has rescued and rehabilitated many animals until December 2019 – more than 350 donkeys, 280 hores and 60 other animals.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives – bye bye, salut and sala kahle ∞

26. Juni 201917. Januar 2020

It’s not a goodbye but a see you soon

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Matopos National Park, Southern Matabeleland where my Zimbabwean journey ends with my last horse safari. It’s very sad to say but unfortunately my time in Zimbabwe has already come to an end, time just seemed to be flying by way too fast and almost 3 months have passed by since I have arrived! So many fun and exciting days with lots of lessons learned, adventures lived and wonderful highlights experienced. I am thankful for every single moment.

Nugget and I enjoying the Matopos afternoon light

My last safari with Ridezimbabwe was very special as I finally had the chance to get to sleep under the star sprinkled sky, in the middle of the African winter. Ah it was very cold during the night but also so unique! We slept close to the water at Toghwana Dam after a long drive finding that place. At least 3 times we got lost, everyone on the road directing us in opposite directions. It was driving me crazy! I neither speak Ndebele nor Shona but I still understood we were completely lost in the bush; driving madly back and forth and even in circles on the dirt roads. After 4 hours and 120km we finally arrived, pitched up our rustic campsite and enjoyed the bonfire.

I chose to sleep next to the horses and saw plenty of shooting stars rushing through the pitch black sky. What a wonderful night outside, the perfect way to end my African adventure.

The next day we had to get ready, pack everything and load our 8 horses into the big lorry to drive them back home to Umguza, where they can rest now after plenty safaris in the last weeks.

Vice Roy following Dodger into the lorry

I have spent my most interesting months here in Zim with plenty of fun experiences. It has definitely been the best job that I have had in my live so far; teaching me how fragile life can be.

I am so grateful that I got to witness a little foal being born, which was just the most magical moment in Cawston Wildlife Estate (see this blogpost).

I am so happy that I had the chance to enjoy plenty of magnificent sunsets in the African bush, one more spectacular than the other (see this blogpost).

If I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa.
John Hemingway

I am so thankful that I was taught how to shoot a 0.22 and a 0.375 at the shooting range, definitely a fun experience (see this blogpost).

I just feel so blessed for all amazing people I have met and all the fun adventures I lived through in a gorgeous country, desperate for some economical changes. I could get to travel to different places in Zimbabwe such as:

Matopos National Park, where I got to see the rhinos (see this blogpost),
Hwange National Park, where I found some lions laying in the bush while I was riding (see this blogpost),
Vic falls, a city full of adrenaline, which I got to know when I got mock charged by an elephant bull (see this blogpost),
Zambezi National Park, where I saw the buffalos so that I had finally seen the big 5 here in Zim (see this blogpost),
And Bulawayo, where my Zimbabwean journey began with a little foal (see this blogpost).

The falls in all magical colors at the Zambian side

Zambezi National Park with its amazing scenery

I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.
Ernest Hemingway

My new lessons learned during my last horse safari in Matopos National Park:

Never trust people along the road when asking for road directions – everyone will direct you onto another path.
When sleeping under the stars in winter, choose a place under the trees – or you might wake up very wet.
Enjoy the dark sky with plenty of shooting stars – better have lots of wishes ready to choose from!

When you leave Africa, as the plane lifts, you feel that more than leaving a continent you’re leaving a state of mind. Whatever awaits you at the other end of your journey will be of a different order of existence.
Francesca Marciano

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, Africa has always its own special ways to find you somehow – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

22. Juni 201917. Januar 2020

A big grey giant and a small stone

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Cawston Wildlife Estate, Northern Matabeleland where I help for about 2,5 months with the horses. My very last horse Safari on this game reserve has just finished with an epic sundowner and an even more spectacular full moon rising above the horizon! Just such a special sighting here in the African bush.

My last day at Cawston was lots of fun, I got to shoot a 0.375 rifle. First shot on the shooting range was just for a practice round with a smaller ammo and somehow I missed the target completely. Probably I was just too scared of the noise and the pushback. The next shot was with the big ammo and I was very nervous as I knew this pushback is going to be even stronger – but I had no idea what really is going to happen. When I pulled the trigger I just had automatically to take a step back due to the forces on my body. Unfortunately, I missed the bullseye but at least I hit the bigger target this time. Lots of fun but still plenty of practice ahead of me to become a professional hunter…

It’s time to say goodbye to my lovely home in Cawston Wildlife Estate as my Zimbabwean journey takes me to Matopos National Park for my very last Zimbabwean horse safari.

Last time I was here, I saw a rhino (see this blogpost) on a game drive from a vehicle. This time I got even more blessed! It’s been about 3 weeks since I last sat on a horse, due to my foot injury from the spiderbite. So, I was very happy when I jumped on my horse, Engine, to go on a bushride in this colorful winter scenery. Engine showed me that he really deserves his name, it was a dancing party for the whole 5 hours while we were bundu bashing. This made it hard for me to look for wildlife as I had to concentrate on my horse.

We were tracking and tracking and suddenly we stood just right in front of this majestic looking grey, big cow. First I thought she was standing next to a stone until I realized she had a little calf with her that was sleeping on the ground. How gorgeous was that?! Fabulous sighting.

The afternoon ride had some wonderful sceneries for us, we got even a few rain drops creating a beautiful rainbow. Winter has fully arrived and shows off with great colors and fantastic sunsets. We found one spot from where we had an awesome view on the valley in front of us, enjoying the sun setting behind the hills.

My new lessons learned while helping at Cawston Wildlife Estate:

Enjoy the full moon rising just above the horizon – it’s such a spectacular moment to see the moon crawling up behind the trees.
Don’t forget your earplugs when shooting a 0.375 – lots of noise but lots of fun!
Always have your jacket with you – June can show you some very cold winter days.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you soon for my last fun days in Matopos – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

13. Juni 201917. Januar 2020

The mighty falls of Zimbabwe

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Cawston Wildlife Estate, Northern Matabeleland where I help for about 2,5 months with the horses. Unbelievable, but we have another new member in our family that was born in the middle of the bush on the game reserve, a little female donkey. She is now in the paddock with the male baby donkey as well as our lovely foal. All running and playing happily.

For one day, I got to go on another bird shoot and this time I could also walk through the bush with everyone to find guinea fowls to be shot at. It was a very interesting day with lots of birds that got catched. In the evening we had a braai in the middle of the bush with a magnificent sunset, it seems to be very special each night, just fabulous!

Preparing for the shooting in the sunrise

Waiting for some guinea fowls to fly out the bushes

For the next couple of nights, I went up to Victoria Falls to see the mighty Zambezi falling into the gorge. It was a fantastic 2 days trip, where I got to go to the Zambezi National Park, saw elephants, giraffes, kudus, zebras and even buffalos. I have finally seen all big fives here in Zim and just feel so lucky about it!

Sunset view in the Zambezi National Park

On the way to the gorge, where I wanted to do the Zipline, I got mock charged by an elephant. Luckily, I wasn’t alone as I probably would have just run into the rest of the herd behind me. The young bull was on the opposite side of the rest of his group, which I just noticed later. This encounter was the most adrenaline kick during these days, way more than the Zipline itself.

The Zipline goes through the Zambezi gorge, just after the falls, where the water finds it way in a zick zack pattern. The ride was quite fast and a lot of fun, especially the way back to the starting point offered an epic view towards the majestic bridge, connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Afterwards, we passed through 2 border posts to make our way from Zimbabwe to Zambia with a short visit of Livingstone and a hike along the falls on the Zambian side. Here, I had the chance to walk all the way down into the gorge and be on the same level as the Zambezi. The river should be at a very high level now but due to rain shortages, the river carries only a fraction of what it should. This gave me the opportunity to actually get some nice views of the falls with plenty of rainbows. Of course I got wet but not soaked as it normally would be the case during this season.

From this eastern tip of the falls in Zambia, I walked my way back to the most western point of the falls on the Zim side, where I had the perfect view of the sun setting behind the falls. Such an amazing day and a wonderful experience! Glad I had the chance to take off of work for 2,5 days and enjoy this great journey.

The Zambezi ready to fall into the gorge

My new lessons learned while experiencing the Vic falls:

If you get mock charged by an elephant, pray for some competent friend to be around you.
Watching the Zambezi falling into the gorge on the Zim side, is at its best during golden hours.
You can hike down into the rocky gorge on the Zambian side of the falls.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you soon – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

6. Juni 201917. Januar 2020

Magical moment of life

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Cawston Wildlife Estate, Northern Matabeleland where I help for about 2,5 months with the horses. Unfortunately, not only one of our horse has tick bite fever (see this blog post), but also I am affected by it now. A couple of days I thought I am getting the flu, until I remembered the tick bite I had. So, I had to go into town again to see a doctor and get antibiotics. That’s why I have to miss out another amazing safari in Hwange National Park. Hopefully it will be better soon and I can go back to riding again, to enjoy my last month here in this fabulous bush.

Meanwhile, I lunge some of the horses, especially our beloved Zhovhe that still isn’t too happy when a sand bag is put on his saddle. He still isn’t fully broken in and there is a long way to go. I am just hoping he doesn’t have any back issues.

Zhovhe and me watching the giraffes at distance

Last weekend I got to shoot with a rifle for the very first time ever at the shooting range here in the reserve. Quite an exciting thing to do and I have to say I do like it. The targets I was shooting at were about 25 m at distance. Didn’t look too far compared to my very first shot I did a couple of weeks ago trying to hit the tomato (read this blog). I am quite proud, as I always hit the bulls eye as well as the stones. Just my second last shot was the only time I missed one of the stones, so I am very happy with my first trials!

Afterwards, we went for a magnificent sundowner on the ridge on the other side of the reserve that is a 20 mins drive away from the homestead. This time, we were finally on time to watch the sun setting on the horizon behind the trees. All the other times, something happened and we were just too late to indulge in this magical moment. The braai that evening was just a lot of fun and I wish for every single Sunday being like that, welcome to my kind of paradise!

Next morning, was about the best and cutest start of a Monday, I could ever imagine in my life! We had put one of our three pregnant mares into the stables for the previous night and during early morning hours we found that mare, Donha, running up and down in her stable. So, we put her quickly in a paddock on her own where she started to give birth shortly after. All of us were just standing next to poor Donha, watching closely if everything went alright. One more amazed than the other. 45 mins after, a cute little female girl is now a new member of our family. Another 45 mins later, the foal managed to stand up and wobble around, trying to find some milk. This was quite a mission and took until the early afternoon when it got finally some milk. By now, it’s just a lovely little beauty, jumping around and growing healthy. We are all now waiting for the second foal to be born, which could come every day from today on.

My new lessons learned while helping in Cawston Wildlife Estate:

Having the magnificent chance watching a foal being born, is just about the best way to start a Monday ever in life!
If you feel like you ran a marathon while feeling as if you have the flu, you might have been infected with tick bite fever.
Always count your pills the pharmacy hands you over, otherwise you might end up with half what you paid for.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you soon – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

3. Juni 201917. Januar 2020

It‘s baby season

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Cawston Wildlife Estate, Northern Matabeleland where I help for about 2,5 months with the horses. Every now and then we take the horses and look around in the ostrich paddock for some eggs that might have been layed but still there are none to be found. I am really questioning if it is time for the females to lay some eggs or if this will be later this year, maybe end of winter.

Donha and me looking for some ostrich eggs

We do have a new patient, unfortunately it’s our precious Starlight. She is very likely to have billary, which is the African tick bite fever, as she was shivering one morning, had high temperature and pale gums. So we had to give her some injections with a special powder that is mixed with water. Of course, I was alone at that time and so I had to do the injections by myself. And what should I say, the instructions said that I had to inject at least 2-3 shots. Goodness me that was quite interesting, I have seen it so many times by now but never attempted to do it myself. Not quite sure who was shaking more the horse or me. Luckily, she survived the night but unfortunately I had to find her the next morning with two big lumps on the neck where I injected her. Now, I have to treat them as well, still a long way to go until I am a good vet…

Work starts now at 6.30am so I can finally see again the food I am preparing for the horses. I quite like that extra half an hour of sleep I get now before feeding and grooming the horses. We had some beautiful outrides during the last days and we saw herd of impala and wildebeests very close. Also some eland and tsetsebees crossed our path.

Another little calf was born, this time it’s a male and I got to see it just a couple of hours after it’s mother had given birth. Such a cutie, it could barely even stand yet. And just shortly after the calf was born, the little donkey has finally seen the light of this wonderful live. We were waiting for him quite a few weeks already. I got to see it a couple of hours after it was born during the night, it could already run around in the morning sun! Maybe one or two horse foals will be born soon, that would be fabulous. Let’s see what will happen.

He could already walk in the morning sun

As my second month has passed by, I had to go into town and renew my visa. On my way to town I got the chance to sneak a peak into a clinic close by the reserve and a physiotherapist place in town. It’s very different from what I know back in Europe, but it looked all quite clean.

My new lessons learned while helping in Cawston Wildlife Estate:

Take your time when looking for ostrich eggs – you might be looking for months.
If you want to see a calf or foal being born, stay up during the nights – they always seem to be born during the nighttime.
IV injections need a lot of practice – or your patient might have some lumps.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you soon – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

21. Mai 201917. Januar 2020

A special cat‘s visit

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Cawston Wildlife Estate, Northern Matabeleland where I help for about 2,5 months with the horses and have just safely arrived back from Hwange National Park after a great safari. Since I now saw the lions (see this blog post), I thought nothing can bother me anymore in Cawston. However, walking around on the reserve by myself during night still makes me feel uncomfortable. I hear all different strange noises and in my imagination it’s always a leopard killing impalas close to my room.

My torch starts to become my best friend as it is still dark at 6am when I start working and it already gets dark by 6pm. The torch is also my only weapon against any nocturnal friend that might cross my path during the dark hours. As artificial light is a very rare source here, one relies on the cell phone light, torch or the full moon. So you better always carry one of these items in your pockets.

By now, we are definitely heading towards winter, the leaves are changing into beautiful orange shades and the early morning hours are getting very chilly as well as the evening hours. During the day however we can still hit 30 degrees Celsius, hence I dress in many layers.

I am fully back into my working routine in Cawston and love my 6am to 5pm job that doesn’t know any weekends. Incredible, that I just had one day off since the 3rd of April. Time flies! We still often look for the donkeys to check on them and it always turns out to be a gorgeous bushride, where we see kudus, giraffes, tsetsebees and other wild life.

Starlight smelling wild life ahead of us

We have 2 donkey patients at the moment, one of them is the little foal called Style. Not quite sure what she has but I hope we treat her correctly with what she needs. Roiboos tea, honey, hi-tet, vitamin B shots and penstrep are our little helpers here that hopefully will work for these injuries.

We are still waiting for the donkey foal to be born, which should be happening very soon! However, a little calf was just born and it is the cutest little thing ever at the reserve right now.

Little baby cow that is just 2 days old here

And then, during my lunchtime I had finally the privilege to see a leopard laying in the tree in front of camp. Unbelievable! I spotted him from my happy place. So grateful to have had this wonderful experience. To spot these nocturnal cats is not given at all time and I wasn’t sure if I will have this fantastic opportunity here at Cawston. The more I am so happy for this chance. I have heard so many leopard callings during the nights and seen so many tracks on the sand pads, to finally have a face to these signs is just incredible!

As one of the boreholes had some problems and we couldn’t get any water anymore, the guys had to drill a new one. I got the chance to see this process, which took about 12 hours. First, a water source needed to be found underground. A fruit or mopane tree branch is needed for that and it will be bended in a special way to see where its pointing towards. That’s where the source of water should be. After 45m of drilling, we finally found the water around 6pm. Afterwards, it took another 6 hours to get all the rods out and the pipes in. Somewhere in the middle of this process I just fell asleep. Long days.

Getting the pipes ready for the borehole

During this day I also got the chance to hold a rifle in my hand and shoot for the very first time in my life. The sound gave me a fright and of course, I missed the tomato that was just way too far! Maybe the next time will be better.

Last night, a scorpion just marched into my room as if it was open door to everyone. I had to intervene and make sure he is not going to try to come in again. I left the scene like as if it was an accident…

My new lessons learned while helping in Cawston Wildlife Estate:

Always check the tree branches – you might be lucky enough to find a lazy leopard hanging in them during the hot hours.
Water is never granted – it can be quite hard to find this needed resource.
Having a rifle in your hand can be very odd – not only the feeling but also the sound when triggering can definitely be frightening.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you soon – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

17. Mai 201917. Januar 2020

A lions roar to the rhythm of hoof beats

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Hwange National Park, Northern Matabeleland where I stayed 4 nights in a proper bush camp and helped with the horses on a safari. We drove from Matobo National Park that is about 1 hour South of Bulawayo to the Northern part in the country and arrived after 6 hours in our bush camp in Hwange National Park. On our way we saw a couple of kudus, hornbills and a roan antelope that is apparently quite rare to be seen.

During the evening hours we set up the tents, prepared food for the horses, dinner for us and enjoyed ourselves around the fire while listening to hyena callings and the rumbling stomachs of elephants. An electric fence is helping to protect the horses from predators such as lions as you get all big fives in the National Park. This is definitely different to Matobo or Cawston, the two reserves I have been to in Zim. Therefore, our guide carried two guns from now on.

Right in the first night one of the cars broke down in the bush. Lucky enough there was a radio in the car to call the staff in the campsite asking for help. Unfortunately, the car couldn’t get fixed that evening as some nuts and bolts were needed to repair it. So, the car had to spent the night out in the bush until the spares could be bought at main camp of Hwange. Luckily, the car didn’t get chewed up by some hyenas during the night.

Our bush toilet had a great view and the waxing moon gave us some light in the bush shower during nights as there was no light or any electricity except for the fence. And of course we didn’t have any phone signal in this remote place. To enjoy a hot shower we heated up the water on the fire, which I was definitely grateful for as the late evening and early morning hours got very chilly in the park.

The next two days were all about outrides and wildlife encounters in the fabulous scenery of thick bushes and wide open plains. We have seen zebras, wildebeests, warthogs, ostriches, jackals, impalas, baboons and even a roan antelope. But no sights of lions unfortunately (or luckily it all depends on the view..). On a short drive to main camp and the stables, I even saw a herd of 9 roan antelopes, which was just marvelous!

For our last afternoon we took the car on a game drive and had a sundowner, which offered fabulous wildlife sightings. We saw elephants, giraffes, kudus, zebras, yellow hornbills and lilac-breasted roller in the marvelous afternoon sunset light, while enjoying our drinks. The following night was quite hectic, lots was going on especially hyenas were calling the whole night until 6am very close to our fence. They were circling our camp but luckily didn’t try hard enough to bother the horses or us.

The last morning started off with a stunning bushride through the pan, along some waterholes, where we saw zebras, impalas, wildebeests, jackals, baboons and some eagles controlling their territory. We trotted along the sand pad that was full of lion spoors, when we heard some bird callings. We stopped and turned around for a couple of meters and there it was: the deep growling of a cat.

Government and Gizmet happy to have each other

We found lions! Three at least, a lioness with her teenage cubs lying in the shade of a bush, barely visible, so well blending in with the scenery. We were definitely a bit too close, the growling didn’t stop and the lioness was surely not happy of our presence, therefore we backed up to put some space between us and the predators. I surely don’t want to be bait! What a special moment to experience. I just enjoyed this fantastic experience until we heard some new bird calling and we saw one of her cubs walking down the hill towards the lioness. This was the moment when the mother jumped out of the shade of the bush and gave all of us a fright. Luckily, she stopped and walked towards her cub before laying down in the shade again. My adrenaline was high up, unsure if we should move away or stay and do nothing. We did the latter until the cub ran away to the spot it came from. The deep growling still continued until we made our way back to camp, cantered along some small path and just enjoyed the rest of this majestic ending of our safari time in Hwange National Park. Just about the most perfect ending I could wish for!

After we packed everything together and had the horses loaded, I drove back to the stables that are close by the main camp. A little surprise was waiting here for us, Lucy the wild zebra was hanging around with her horse friends. Unbelievable, she is so close with all of the horses. She stays around the stable and enjoys their presence. However, it would be important for her to stay with a zebra herd instead. Maybe one day she will be excepted by some other wild zebras. Such a perfect day for this unforgettable horse safari in this very special park. Glad to have had this splendid opportunity of helping out here in Hwange!

My new lessons learned while on safari in Hwange:

Never feel too secure on your horse in Hwange NP – predators can be laying under each bush.
Wild zebras can adopt interesting habits – if they are not welcomed in a herd, they might feel happy to hang around horses.
You should have a radio in your car in Hwange – just to make sure, if it breaks down during late hours, you can call for help.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you soon from Cawston with some incredible visitors – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞