Conservation - SOUTH AFRICA Daily Life

Daily life

After being rudely awoken by the sounds of baboons running across our roof at 6.30am, we make our way to the kitchen where we indulge in a South African breakfast of Rooibos Tea and Dipping Rusks (solid muesli biscuits).

By 7.00am we were in the Land Cruiser driving through the reserve to our work destination, this was never a dull drive as we would come across many different types of wildlife – Kudu, Impala, warthogs, loads of bird life and fairly often even the odd Ellie! The morning work usually consists of the more labour intensive activities; today we were removing fences from around the reserve’s perimeter to open up Legodimo’s borders to all passing wildlife, and to try to revert this whole area back to its natural state with un-interrupted migration streams. By 11.30 the heat is generally too intense to continue productively so we make our way back to the lodge.

Lunch consists of various sandwich combinations, and is consumed whilst watching the river and all who would drink from it; from 12 until 3 would be our time to rest and relax this may be reading, writing, or just lying by the small swimming pool at the camp.

The afternoon’s work would consist mainly of research work into Elephant breeding herds, their size, gender and whereabouts. This would be done through I.D. sheets where you draw on any distinctive markings, enabling us to identify specific groups.

By 6pm we were back at the lodge preparing the evening meal. All food is bought by Projects Abroad in one big weekly shop due to the remote location of the reserve – it’s nearly 2 hours to the nearest town, and facilities there are basic at best! Dinner is always a hot meal cooked by the volunteers and staff together. Out in the field, the cooking is done on gas rings or over the open Braii (traditional BBQ). The role of chef is rotated daily, and we have a huge variety of food for the evening meal ranging from a typical African dish of Ostrich Steak and Pap, to Spaghetti Bolognaise.

Dinner is generally followed by some form of entertainment; Monopoly, Cards, Darts, or the occasional film night, night game drives are also be a regular fixture, and is where you have a better chance of seeing some of Africa’s great predators.

After this, if you’ve still got the energy, volunteers tended to go for a hot shower or wash their clothes. Legodimo has potable water on tap, so there’s no need for the hassle of boiling or sterilising water to drink. Hot water for washing comes from the donkey-boilers – huge drums of water attached to the plumbing and suspended over an open fire, which provide enough water to last until the morning.

This is a typical day on the Legodimo reserve, but no day is the same due to the huge variety of wildlife we encountered, and the work we did on this expansive and stunning piece of land.