Massive Update (Part two)

This is the second part of the massive update I have been requested to do. It may not be as long as the first as i'm set to go hunting Impala with Nathan. Should be interesting!

The week after our triumphant return from Vic Falls was more or less the same as most other weeks. At one point I went out into the bush with Carlos, a man who had grown up in Miambo game reserve and knows EVERYTHING about the bush. While in the bush he was kind enough to teach me trapping and hunting. Its quite complex but i've got a nack for it. I enjoyed learning it and hope to have more one on one lessons with him when he returns from leave.

This week we were lucky enough to have Keith the vet grace us with his presence (There are only around ten qualified vets in all of Zim). For the entire week we put aside the regular activities and darted, tested, and observed many of the lions at the breeding program. On Weds we travelled to the Dollar Block reserve and transported six female lions to Antelope Park. The ride was very long and all of us volunteers were squashed in the back of a pickup down bumpy rural roads in 100 degree heat...but other then that it was epic.

Everything went smoothly until the last lion, Ashanti, was darted. She only recieved half a dose at first and ten minutes later recieved the other half. She was fast asleep throughout the testing process and remained as such until she was jolted on her way into the transport crate. One of the guys with us, Bazz, was inside the crate and helping to pull her in when she was jolted and her eyes snapped open. He proceeded to let out a stream of curses and dive out of the crate. At this point she sat up and we joined Bazz in his cursing as we struggled to push a mostly awake lioness into her crate. I must say, pushing on a fully grown lionesses backside as she sits up and looks at you will give you a massive jolt of adrenelene. Most of us were still shaking five minutes after it happened. We managed to successfully push her in and close the door before she did any damage, thankfully.

Everything went smoothly on the return trip and the six girls are now happily in their new enclosure at Antelope Park.

Thus ends the massive update.

Without further delay or ranting, pictures!




One of the girls at Dollar Block dozing off after a darting








There were two other lions, Simba and Sliwani, at Dollar Block. These are significantly bigger then the largest lion at A.P. and are set to be transported as soon as the paperwork is in order. The boy in this particular picture is Sliwani and he was not being too friendly towards the girls.






This is Teddy, one of the boys at the breeding program of A.P. He is by far one of the most intimidating and beautiful lions that is here. His eyes and mein are particularly impressive.

Back from Victoria Falls (Massive update part 1)

I've been back from Victoria Falls for about a week and a half/two weeks now, but I just couldn't be bothered to do any updates for the blog. Due to an overwhelming amount of complaining via email I have decided to do a few massive updates on my time off today.

I'll start off the update from the trip to Victoria Falls and slowly make my way to the present. A lot has happened in the last two weeks.


Day 1: We left bright and early on the 19th of November and traveled around four hours in the minibus of doom (It fit 12 people, we had 13. It also was completely lacking in seat cushions). We eventually arrived at the granite ridge lodge and went on a game drive at Miambo national park.

Our guide was Andy, a man with an impressive reserve of knowledge and a an envious life. Not only does he have free run of the entire game reserve while he works, but on his free time he often takes a backpack and lives in the park itself. Miambo is particularly known for its rhinos. It has both black and white Rhinos and as a result has alot of problems with poaching. Their solution is to shoot all poachers and suspected poachers on sight.

The anti-poaching staff are given automatic weapons and a liscence to shoot anyone they even suspect of being a poacher. We met up with a few of these gentlemen as we went up to a viewing point. They were not only sleeping on the job but one of the two actually left his ak 47 lying on a rock as he climbed a large rock to speak to his fellow man at arms. We did see several rhino and they are a very impressive beast. After the game drive was over we retired to our lodges and prepared ourselves for an exciting six hour drive the following morning.









Day 2: After an incredibly enjoyable six hour drive in our trusty white bus we arrived at Hwange national park. We stayed at a sister project of antelope park involved in game counts and the general upkeep of the national park. We went on another game drive but this time did not see anything...until we left the park. On the road outside the official boundry (Hwange has no fences and thus the game can go outside the official park.) we nearly ran over a group of six female lions lazing about on the tar road! We stopped and looked at them and they continued to sit there and look at us. This lasted for around thirty minutes until they finally got bored of us and moved off to the side of the road. As we passed by them one of our vehicles broke down and poor Nathan (One of the head guides at AP's sister project) had the pleasure of trying to troubleshoot a smoking engine while six lionesses watched him from behind. It was amusing only because of the fact that I was in the other, working, vehicle. Nathan finally got the vechicle up and running and we returned to our lodge and had a nice meal of roast beef and termites. The termites constantly bombarded the lights above us and very often fell right into our food. This coupled with large dung beatles (Which I promptly dubbed suicide bombers as they would fly right into your head and hit you with the force of a bomb) made for a very pleasant meal.









Day 3: Again we woke up bright and early and drove for a blessedly short time of two hours to get to Victoria Falls. Upon arriving we went straight to the booking office where I booked both white water rafting and bungee jumping. After finalizing this we went to our accomidations at Hunters Lodge and unpacked. Several hours later (The girls had alot of things to unpack!) we took a trip to the Victoria Falls national park. The only word I can really use to discribe it is majestic. The falls were not in full force yet but it was still quite the sight to behold. It was certainly daunting to look over the edge of the gorge and see a sheer rock wall and a fall of several thousand feet. Later that night we went to the Bohma resteraunt and ate a very large meal consisting of various game meats and strange food. I had crocodile, ostrige, warthog, buffalo steak, a mopani worm, and impala. All of which were very good!


Day 4: On this day the group split up and did different activities. Myself, Sandra, Lenny, Dan, and Markus chose to go white water rafting through the mighty Zambizi. It was a great experience for some and terrifying for others. I fell into the former catagory. We began by having a safty talk and then descending the gorge using a path I could only describe as trecherous. It was steep, slippery, and many of the paths had no saftey rail and had you side stepping along a narrow path. At one point we were climbing down a half stairway half ladder construction when I discovered that it was missing steps, was wobbily, and the railing was either rickity or in some places missing entirely.

We survived this rather insane descent and got in our boat. Our guide was a man by the name of Colgate (Yes, like the toothpaste) and despite his absurd name he was very good at what he did. We went down ten or so rapids and I managed to fall out only once when the boat completely flipped. Falling out was not a great experience because not only did I have the german and the boat on my head pushing me down, but the life vest was so tight that you could only take half breaths. Despite this, I survived and managed to come up under the boat spitting up half the river in the process.

Several rapids later we went down rapid number five. This rapid was the worst of them all in terms of difficulty as you went down a ten foot drop and into a massive set of waves. We went down and the boat actually went verticle and only myself, Markus, and Colgate managed to hold on by dangling from the top ropes of the completely verticle raft. It was a great adreneline rush. The girls and Dan, on the other hand, had fallen out nearly every rapid and were not happy campers. They perservered, however, and the half day of rafting ended with no casualtys. We then had lunch and proceeded to ascend what I can only describe as a mountain. After a half day of rafting and nearly drowning once or twice, this was not a pleasant experience. Once again, however, we made it up with no casualtys and only one stubbed toe.

As the day wore on my stress level began to gradually increase, as I was I was schedualed to throw myself off a bridge the upcoming morning. I went to bed dreading it and got no sleep until around four in the morning when I decided it wasnt worth the stressed and I abstain from doing it.


Day 5: I woke up in the morning feeling good about my descision but decided to accompany the others doing it (Lyn, Laura, Shelton, and Dan) for support and in case I had a last second change of heart and wanted to do the bungee after all. We got to the bridge and I took one look over the edge and the slight chance that I would have done it disapeared completely. It was an 111 meter bungee (300ish feet, I believe) and at the bottom was a large number of sharp rocks and rapids. These rocks would be what I would have had the pleasure of seeing rushing up at my head as I threw myself off the bridge. I'm very happy I decided not to do it. The others were absolutely terrified and miserable the entire time before the jump but said they really enjoyed the jump itself. I still dont think its worth the misery before the jump, however, and stand by my descision not to do it.

Later that day we were set to go to Chundu Island and loaded up into an open topped game drive vehicle and set off. As we reached the park it was located in it started to rain cats, dogs, and alligators. Luckily we parked under the tatched roof entrance to the park and sat there playing cards as Shelton decided what to do. He finally sent the vehicle to have a roof put onto it as we were going to long way around (The quickest route was inaccessable due to the rain). An hour later the vehicle returned with four pieces of wood tied to the sides and a bedsheet draped over the top. That was our shelter from the pouring rain. As many of you are probably realizing, this did not work very well. We all got soaked and when the vehicle broke down we took it as a sign from the Gods and went to a bar instead.


Day 6: This was our last morning at Victoria Falls and many of us spent it at the markets haggling for gifts and cool trinkets. I must say, I enjoyed haggling quite a bit. It was fairly easy since everyone in Zim is desperate for money and if your stubborn you can get a very good good price. I've got a nack for it and managed to get some incredible deals. At roughly 12:30 we loaded up into our favorite vehicle and had a very sore and tiring 8 hour drive home. I faired better then most as i'm slightly more resilient then the others and also kept myself amused with my ipod and several games of cards with a few of the others. When we finally arrived I was very pleased to be "home" and was very happy to see my lions again.


Thus ends part one of the massive update. I'll try to do the other half tonight.

Fire breaks and Leprechauns!

Yesterday was probably one of my favorite days here so far.

Ed (One of the senior staff here) approached the Volunteers yesterday and asked for help creating fire breaks. Mr. Connolly (The owner of Antelope park) asked that the entire center of the park be burnt in order to encourage greenery to grow and thus have the game gather in the middle rather then the outskirts (Which is always being burnt due to fires from outside the park leaping the fence). We were warned that it would be incredibly hard and hot work and that it was not for the faint of heart. I, of course, volunteered to do it the entire day rather then the one session that most chose. It was indeed hard and hot work but it was great fun! The flames were spectacular and it was very satisfying setting large swaths of long grass aflame. The work was split into two parts. One group would light the fires and one group would use large branches to put the fire out.

The only downside to volunteering to do this for most of the day was that I burnt off most of my arm hair! It looks strange having mostly bare arms. Hopefully it grows back.

After burning the central area of the park down we returned to have dinner and then a going away party for Jackie (One of the staff members that is moving to Zambia to assist with the new project there). It was great fun. The Deysels (general managers of the park) allowed the lion handlers and other Zim staff to attend the party and good times were had by all. At one point in the evening Lucky (One of the lion handlers) dressed up in Bazz's (An Irish photographer) Leprechaun suit. Everyone could not stop laughing. To top it all off, I had this morning off and got to sleep in until 8:30! Around here an extra two hours sleep makes all the difference.

Tomorrow I go to Victoria Falls with the newer group of Volunteers. This is very good, as I get along with them infintely more then with the older group. On top of that, Shelton (of the two project managers, hes the one we like more) is going to be our driver and guide. I'm looking forward to doing the white water rafting and eating some good food. Part of me is looking forward to doing the Bungee and part of me is dreading it. It should be an interesting six days.

Checking in

In the past few days nothing momentous has happened, just the same enjoyable activities.

I've gotten to know the cubs here very well. I particularly like Echo because hes such a big teddy bear. Very affectionate and always rubbing up against your leg and wanting a cuddle. Its easy to forget sometimes that he could kill you without even breaking a sweat. He and his brother have gotten quite big. They are going to be retired, i'm told, sometime in December. They're getting way to big to walk at 18 months old!









I've been on several snare sweeps in the past week and a half and have enjoyed them immensely. This makes me seem a bit strange in the eyes of most Vols here as the majority of them dislike it...but oh well. Not the first time i've come across as strange and it certainly wont be the last. I've got quite the nack for finding snares, too. Taka, one of the lion handlers here, is always joking that I should get a job in anti-poaching. It wouldn't be the worst job in the world but I couldn't stand not being able to work with the lions.

I've been on a few more horse rides and i'm getting passably skilled at it. I have the trot down very well and hopefully i'll be mastering the canter next. I've been sticking to my trusty mount Cassio as we get along very well.

On the nineteenth I will be going to Victoria Falls on the boarder of Zim and Zambia. It will be a nice change of pace and food. It is alot easier to get food in Vic Falls as it is on the boarder and people make regular trips across to Zambia to purchase goods. I plan on doing many things up there, among them being white water rafting and a bungee jump (if I can gather the courage to do it!). I will certainly take many a photograph and have multiple updates on how it went upon my return.

Some nice landscape pictures

As per requested, here are some decent pictures of the terrain that i've taken.

Oluphunts!

Today it was my extreme pleasure to go on an elephant ride, take a long walk with the four elephants, and then go swimming with them. I got pictures of the first two and the dvd/photographer Adam got pictures of the swim. After spending most of the day with these prestigious pachyderms I fell in love with them. They are extremely intelligent and actually answer/recognize their own names. They can be quite mischievous and silly too.

Later this afternoon I went horseback riding through the park for the second time. My first time I found myself astride Cassio, a very large and stubborn bush horse. Clayton (One of the stable hands and my instructor for the day) said I handled him very well. I enjoyed riding Cassio quite a bit. You just need to be dominant and provide constant encouragement when cantering and trotting-lest he slow to a walk. Today, on the other hand, my not so trusty steed was Jackson. Jackson is the polar opposite of Cassio. While very stubborn, he randomly breaks into trots, canters, and occasionaly gallops and so you are required to keep him on a very short leash.

Now, for the pictures...

A Plethora of Pictures!

We finished meat preparation and cub feeding early today, so I decided to take the opportunity to upload some of my favorite pictures from the last few days.


One of the things we do is clean up "Vultures Restaurant". This clearing is essentially where they dump all the rotting meat that is not fed to the lions in order to encourage the Vulture to take up residence in the park. Its a very amusing activity with the right people because everything has been in the heat so long it has turned into leather. This cow, for example, was as stiff as a board. Its hide had entirely turned into brittle leather. We had alot of fun down there. Pictures, catch, and using brittle skin bits as boomerangs.










The following morning, myself and two other volunteers went on a long walk (Five hours) with the two Es. They were very affectionate and well behaved. We would walk for an hour or so and then sit and relax with them for an hour or so. Very enjoyable. I forgot my ipod, though, and as a result took up whittling. I actually got fairly good at it.

Catching up

In the past few days, we have had a few events of modest import.

We have had two night encounters. A night encounter involves taking out fairly full grown lions to hunt game at night. We accompany them in a vehicle and assist them with a spotlight so they can find game easier. The first night encounter we took out Lossi and Luengwa and we had some decent chases but no kills. On the second we took out the boys from Hunters enclosure. Some very good chases but again, no kills. It must be said, however, that fully grown lions at night are both magnificant and somewhat intimidating.

A rather famous explorer by the name of Sir Ran paid us a visit with his family and was kind enough to grace us with a set of stories from his travels. He has done alot. He's been all over the world and has broken/holds several records including transversing the world by passing through both the north and south pole. A very impressive feat. On a morning lion walk we had an interesting conversation about the state of the world, travelling, and surprisingly enough-philosophy. He actually holds the same philosophy on life that I do. A very relaxed view that makes it a point of enjoying life. What brought him 'round to the same philosophy that I follow was his trip to the Catacombs of Paris and the fact that there are over 6 million bodys buried down there. All without names. Yet, they each had their own stories, dramas, successes and failures. Six. Million. It is our nature, however, to see our own lives as so very important. A roaring fire surrounded by flickering candles. We are self centered by nature. In reality, we are as a single ant in a colony. It was interesting meeting someone with the same views as myself. As for Sir Ran, he was very impressed that I had come to the realizations that I have at the age of nineteen. He, on the other hand, said that he only adopted it at the age of 55 and has been living it for eight years now. He said he has been incredibly happier.

It is now time to go on a snare sweep. Hurrah. I'll most likely put up some more pictures later tonight.

And now for something completely different

In this update I will, oddly enough, be deviating from my usual topics of animals, complaints, and my most magnificent self. In this post, I shall speak of people. Now, I can practically hear the masses crying out in unison "But...but...you hate people!" This is true. However, not even *I* can be so heartless as to scoff at the people of Zimbabwe. I have never met a people quite like them. They have it hard. No, I dont mean four dollars a gallon hard. Or not being able to afford the newest playstation (Oh, the humanity!) hard. Nor eevn having your house forclosed on hard. I am speaking of the hardship of living in TRUE poverty. Of thirty people living in a hut the size of ones living room. I am speaking of the near imposibility of finding a job, let alone one that can sustain your family. Of gas being five U.S. a LITER (Five liters to a gallon) when it is even available at all. Of not even having clean running water or plumbing. This is the condition roughtly 80% of Zimbabwaens live in.




Yet , despite all this, nearly every Zim I have come across is friendly, polite, and rarely complains. It really makes one ashamed about the times when you've complained about the price of gas or a slight rise in food prices.

Today we went on a trip to a local familys abode. It consisted of a small hut, a ramshackle pen for their goats, a chicken coupe made of broken pottery, and a cooking area shielded with rusty sheet metal. All this to sustain an extended family. Regardless of the little that they had, they welcomed us with open arms and granted us every guest right. The scary thing is, this family is considered middle class. Those that actually have money cant even get it. The banks only allow a total of 50,000 zim dollars a day to be withdrawn per person. So after standing in line for an entire day to get this meager amount, you have a measily 50,000 Zim to show for it. A trip to town will cost you 15,000 and another 15,000 to return home. Thus leaving you with a whopping 20,000 Zim dollars. This is barely enough for you to purchase a coca-cola.

What is truly humbling is that although they face severe hardships, they are infinetely more polite and kind then Americans. Being in this country certainly makes you feel both grateful for what you have and somewhat spoiled.

More pictures

One of the girls stalking Impala. At such a young age they are not the best, but they will still make the effort. Its a learning process.








The S's lounging about.






Zimbabwe is a beautiful country.







Me posing with Echo.

A collection of thoughts

This particular post wont really follow any structure. Its more of a collection of thoughts that have been floating in the vast (and some may argue, empty) cavern that is my mind. You've been warned.

The biggest thought winging around aformentioned cavern as of late has been 'God, I really dont want to go back home.' Which is odd, because i've hardly entered crunch time. I've still got seven weeks left. I think i've contracted that most deadly of diseases known as wanderlust. I havent determined whether this is good or bad. Its probably a bit of both. They are starting a brand new project in Zambia which i'm very interested in doing. It would be almost exclusively very young lion cubs and they actually need help there. I REALLY want to do other things, but I have the obligation to be home for christmas and the pressure of doing the college grind. Quite annoying.

One trip that I absolutely plan on doing (Although I havent a clue when) would be going to Alaska or some other place and going on an extended "Hiking trip". I've had the vague notion before, and i'm sure some of you have had the pleasure of listening to me go on about it on several occasions, but this experience has planted it firmly along the tracks that my mind tends to wander.

I've also reaffirmed my belief that I would rather be happy and poor then wealthy and miserable. I would gladly be payed a pittance if it meant I could be happy in my work. Too much stock is placed in money and things. The IT guy quit, so i've been helping to solve the problems in their internet cafe. I jokingly said that if they fed me and kept a roof over my head I would do it full time. After thinking on it, I really would do that if I was given the opportunity. I may not be working with the lions all the time, but just living in this beautiful country would be worth it.

I do apologize for the somewhat sporatic style of writing, but I am doing it off the top of my head. All while a little sandglass at the top of my screen reminds me that my time connected to "civilization" is trickling away.

Pictures and storys! (And, of course, ramblings)

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Or, at least, as many as I could upload considering its 10 minutes minimum PER PICTURE. Its your lucky day, because i'm also throwing in storys and ramblings completely free of charge. Thats a 100,000 zimbabwaen dollar value absolutely free.

So, without further adue.


This is, I believe, Puma eating a very prime cut of beef. He may look scary, but he's actually a big teddy bear. Until you piss him off. Then he can be a teeny bit unnerving. I got a boatload of pictures from these boys feeding and also a few videos! They are VERY good videos. I'll have to wait until I return to upload them though. A single picture takes 10ish minutes. Three cheers for Zim internet.



Myself and the two lovely ladies Sahara and Sahriah.








Again, me and the ladies.








Me and Echo relaxing on a rock.


Now that you folks have some pictures, i'll begin with the stories and ramblings.

After adjusting my perspective on things, i've found I love it here. Absolutely love it. The terrain is beautiful, the animals are lovely, and the people are friendly. Best of all, its a very relaxed and easy going culture. As i've said, i'm not really an integral part of the process here. But after thinking about it, thats not surprising. This place has to be fully functional regardless of the number of volunteers. Or lack thereof. I think i'm going to be in trouble upon my return to the states. Its a very different environment. Although, we are in a sort of bubble here. This park isnt nearly as impacted by Zim's current situation as the rest of the country.

Now, for your entertainment, story time!

Thursday morning I went on a six hour long walk (6:30-12:30ish) with Sahara and Sahria and they were very well behaved. They stalked several Water buffalo and almost caught a warthog! Sahara was sniffing around its den when it charged. Sahara chased after it and Sahria ran the other way! Not a very brave for a lion, that Sahria. Lucky for me, they were also feeling very photogenic that morning. I've got oodles of pictures. Yes, I said oodles. Theres that many and they're that good.

This morning I went on another six hour walk with Echo and Ektosha and they were feeling very silly apparently. After walking and watching them stalk each other, we settled down for a rest and a bite to eat. Echo got ahold of some rubber and threw a hissy fit when Tinofa (the handler) tried to take it away. Just so your aware, when a 18 month old male lion throws a hissy fit its a bad thing. Much growling and snapping and Tino almost got his head taken off. We finally got it away from Echo and he settled down and slept. Until a mule drawn cart went by. Upon which he BOLTED in the other direction and wouldnt return until after it had departed. Evidently the big, bad, stubborn Echo has an irrational fear of mule drawn carriages. Hes quite the spaz.

Todays afternoon walk of the two S's was particularly eventful and amusing. Despite being fed that day, they were very active and stalky. We encountered a group of Zebra with a particularly nasty stallion leading it. There was a standoff of sorts that happened. The stallion would charge the two cubs, who would then back off. Then the cubs would charge the Zebra...who would kick and narrowly miss them with its massive rear legs. After ten minutes of this, the cubbys decided to take a seat. The old man (his name given by the folks here, apparently hes chased off quite a few of the lions here.) did not appreciate this. He charged them and chased them into the distance. Evidently Zebra can be very nasty creatures.

The rest of the volunteers returned tonight. They're a very fun/hilarious group. Its going to be a fun two months.

A typical day so far.

Well, i've roughly ten minutes left on the internet so I figure i'll make another post.

First things first. A single typical day here beats soundly ten at home.

Wake up time is, to my deep despaire, at 6:00 AM. At roughly 6:30 I usually go on a lion walk with either the two S cubs (Sahara and Sahiva) who are a year old or the infinitely more rambunctious Es (Echo and Ektosha) who are 18 months and nearly twice the size of the S's. This walk usually lasts until 7:30-8:15 depending on how energetic they are. Its really alot of fun and actually very relaxing. Relaxing for me, at least. Some folks that come here have a strange fear of these incredibly powerful and potentially deadly beasties. I find that as long as you use common sense you are not in much danger at all.

Breakfast is at 8:30 and we eat VERY well. Very. Very. Well. I think i'm going to come back home weighing more then when I left.

The next activity is at 9:30 and can be anything from cleaning enclosures to feeding the lions (which i'll see five of the fully grown boys fed tomorrow for the first time!) to possibly just joining the handlers on an elephant training session/eating session or walk.

At 1 the activities can again range from cleaning to meat preperation to cleaning the stables.

At 4:30 the afternoon lion walk takes place. This again usually ranges from an hour to two hours. The cubs are very affectionet which is both good and bad. Its fun to have them cuddle with you but if they get too playful you could get a nasty scratch. Injurys dont happen often at all though thanks to the very stern guides/handlers. I have found them to be both a help and a hidrence. They keep the lions in line but dont really seem to feel overly compassionate for them and are very buisness like. Not surprising I suppose as they ARE payed to do it. Some are better then others in this respect.

At 7 is dinner and we again eat exceptionally well thanks to the efforts of a top notch group of cooks.

Our nights are free and for me they have typically been spent relaxing by the fire pit, getting on the internet quickly to update, reading, and going to bed VERY early. This will change, I am told, when the younger volunteers get back from Victoria Falls. They range from 20-28 and the two with me currently are in their upper 40s. While very nice, Jo and her friend are not prone to staying up late or having a very good time.

One annoyance I have noted is that we are seemingly baby-sat at all times by some sort of guide or staff member. Honestly, do we really need supervision while picking up poo and bones or preparing meat?

Enough rambling for now. I'll have pictures of the lion feeding tomorrow up soon hopefully.

Expectations....

Hello-hello.

It is currently Tuesday and i've had a bit of a chance to settle in. This trip is many things, but one thing it is not is the experience that I had envisioned.

One large difference from what I had expected-they really don't need us that much for labor. They have a decently sized staff on hand that takes care of most major things. The things we seem to be doing places us more of in the role of the third wheels. Enclosure cleaning, for example. Yesterday it was myself and two other older volunteers here. Plus three of the "Guides". We had two shovels, a bin liner, and a scrubber for the bowls. Do the math. The same applies for preparing meat, walking the lions, 0r other such activities.

It is also MUCH more laid back then I expected. To clean the enclosures at the main breeding center takes eons. First we have to find the guy with the key to the equipment shed, then we have to find the guys to move the lions, then we have to find the wheel barrel, then usually there is no wheel barrel so we need to go back to camp to get one, and so on and so on. Once you remove yourself from the American mind set of time is money, though, its not that bad at all.

As for timing and punctuality, its more of a suggestion then an requirement.

Once you shift your expectations and perspective, however, its really quite enjoyable. Not exactly the experience I had expected and i'm hardly an integral part of the process...but enjoyable nonetheless. The relaxed air really suits my personality. I'll often have an hour in between things where I can choose to just go sit underneath a tree or take a stroll.

Its only been three days and I already feel that i'll have difficulty assimilating back into the American lifestyle.

22 Hours of flight time and still kickin'

Okay! So. A minor update as I only ten minutes of internet time left.

My trip down to Zim. went off with relatively few hitches. I managed to get on the correct flight and thus did not end up in Siberia. I was lucky enough to have a pretty cool fellow sitting next to me for the whopping 18 and a 1/2 hours of flight time. The food was of a surprising quality for airplane fare. A large dinner and a buffet in the back of sandwiches, drinks, and snacks throughout the entire flight. Upon touching down I contacted Gertie who was the propriater of the inn I was staying at. She proceeded to give me horrid directions as to where I was to be picked up. "Go left. Look for a giant yellow container thing." What she failed to mention was how long left or that the container was actually in a parking lot wwwwaaaaaaay down and around a corner on the left hand side. The bed was decent, but being hassled about paying them was a bit of an annoyance. They seemed to think I was going to stiff them. No clue why.

The flight to Zim. also went well and I managed to get to the park without any troubles. Its an interesting country. Much much different from the US in terms of culture. That aside, its BEAUTIFUL. I saw quite a bit of scenery on the two hour drive from Bulawayu to Antelope park. Upon arriving I was given a nice room to myself, a tour, and was greeted by pretty much the entire staff. This tour took around fifteen minutes and I was then given the option to do a lion walk. I, of course, took it.

It too was amazing.

The two lions (Sahara and Siva), despite being only a year old, are massive. They could easily do quite a bit of damage. We walked and played with the "Cubs" for around an hour and a half. At one point they climbed up a rather large tree with the ease of giant meat eating squirrels. Apparently lions can be quite the climbers. Once this one done, myself and the two other volunteers and two staff members went back for a bite to eat. The food was great, although I feel very guilty eating it. The staff are only allowed minimal amounts of food whilst we get our pick of some very high quality chow.

As for my fellow volunteers, six are at victoria falls until Friday and two have remained here. The two here are very nice and friendly, although apparently the younger group at Vic Falls are a very rowdy/hilarious bunch. I've already been entered into a drinking contest with the current absentee champion Elaine. Should prove to be an interesting two months.

I also lied about the minor part of this update. Go go amazing typing skills.

I'll have pictures the next post.

T-10 hours!

I have decided to listen to Andrew's advice and as a result you are now reading my own little addition to the "blogosphere". I'm not quite sure, but when I hit the "Create" button I may or may not have felt a piece of my soul die. Then again, it could have just been gas.

Regardless.

Roughly ten hours before I board my plane and begin my whopping 21 hours of air time. I pray my neighbor is not of the plus sized variety.

As further testimony to my oddness, I have come to the realization that i'm more hesitant and worried about the actual traveling there than I am the two months i'll be spending with people I don't know/doing things i've never done before. Should be fun!

If I successfully survive the travel ahead without any major blunders I am confident that my...er..unique personality will allow me to settle into this new life with relative ease.

Provided i'm not mauled by a lion cub or kidnapped and raped by angry rebels - I plan to update this somewhat regularly with ramblings and pictures. So stay tuned!

I suppose I should be getting to bed, though. Eventful days ahead and whatnot.