Sunday 26th June
We got a lie in today as we were going to town at 9.15 (yes, I now consider 9.15 a lie in) but I was woken up at around 6.30 by Zena, but I didn't mind as its not everyday you get woken up by a cheetah.
We went shopping so the new volunteers could get whatever they wanted, and we had lunch in town. When we got back to the farm we found out there was a tour coming. Nicol asked me if I wanted to do it. I said of course and Jess did it with me. She's been here 7 weeks so I was thankful for her to join me so she could help me if I needed it.
I was so happy to be asked having only been here a week. It was a good tour to start with as there was only 3 people and no children. The animals are always much more interested in children and so you have to watch them much more and make sure they don't get to close to the fence and the parents actually stick with them. These people were also really interested in the animals which is obviously great and makes the tour easier. I really enjoyed it - I hope I did a good job!
After that we had free time as we don't tend to work as much on the weekends. A lot of us went to take photos of the lions and the sunset. I love seeing lions so close up because they have beautiful faces, especially their eyes. They have white under their eyes to reflect moonlight when they hunt at night and it's so beautiful; particularly at sunset.
Dinner was a braai (which is what they call BBQ in South Africa). It was so delicious I can't even tell you. After dinner we watched Remember the Titans and then I went to bed while some others watched something else.
Monday 27th June
My group were on feeding this morning and so we went to do that. For everyone in the group other than me, it was there first time feeding so I have to teach them all what to do. There's a big board that tells us how many grams of meat each animals has but there are some things that you have to know which are specific to each animal. For example, one of the lions has to have his meat cut up into little pieces, roughly 1x1cm. That's 1,500g of meat. It takes a while
After feeding we cleaned the meat room and then went to help the others. We painted the inside of the soon-to-be coffee shop. We had lunch at 12 and carried on painting after. At 4.30ish we came back to the house. After dinner we watched another film and went to bed.
Tuesday 28th June
We were down at the curio shop today doing all kinds of jobs. I started out painting these big rocks outside the gate with 3 others. It took probably the best part of an hour and a half but it was good fun as we were outside and chatting. Painting outside it much more fun than inside because you aren't choking on paint fumes. After that we helped move sand and fill in holes, move stuff around in the new meerkat enclosure and build some things in there too. It's such a nice part of the farm and is going to be so great when it's all done.
After lunch my group did water before there was a tour, but it was in Afrikaans so none of us could take it. It was the first time for the new group doing water so we all did all of it together so I could show them what to do. Water is super quick and easy - much more than feeding! We had lots of little things that needed doing before it started so got those done quickly. I played with Zena and the monkeys a bit while the tour was going on.
After the tour finished we had free time until dinner because it wasn't enough time to bother starting anything. Most of us went around the farm taking pictures.
After dinner we watched the Lion King. Those of you who know me well know that it's my all time favourite film (and always will be). It was pretty cool watching it knowing there were lions right outside too.
