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Conservation With Kate

Every year my mum, sister and I (and usually Portia) go down to Pembrokeshire in Wales. My mum grew up there and so that's why really, and her best friend from uni lives there. We usually go in August but this year we went in July, just after I got home (literally).
I arrived at the airport and went straight to Wales; stayed in Cardiff for one night for my grandma's 90th and then drove to Pembrokeshire the next day.
We always stay with our friends - my mums best friend from uni and her family. We are really close and we always have a great time. We arrived just after lunch and since it wasn't raining we went to Broad Haven beach for a walk which was lovely, despite it being a bit grey. We then went to Dale for a drink on the wall - a bit of a tradition. Dale is a lovely place and we go every year. You can go crabbing there off the pier, or just enjoy a drink from the Griffin. The view is fabulous and it never disappoints.
The next day was one of those rare days in the UK - it was hot. And I don't even mean what British usually mean by hot (aka slightly warm and no rain) - it was actually hot; I'm talking around 30 degrees. We went to Barafundle Bay to make the most of this opportunity.
Barafundle Bay is one of Pembrokeshire's treasures, and used to be one no one knew about. In recent years it's had a lot of attention from tourists and so has become busier but luckily, despite the weather, it was still nice and empty.
It was the perfect day for the beach. The water wasn't even that cold. We had sandwiches on the beach and went for a swim. It was lovely.






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The fact I was leaving really hadn't sunk in. The last week in particular had gone so fast. I am not ready to go home; back to reality and away from all the amazing people and animals I've met here.
The previous evening, Bobby, a capuchin monkey had arrived. Today everyone had to sit with him in pairs so he would get comfortable. He was attacked by dogs and so was a bit nervous. Hannah and I did the first shift.
Bobby is both adorable and insane all in one. He didn't want to eat anything, except one quarter of a piece of bread with jam on. He did however, kill a family of lizards. He found them and threw them around the enclosure. He tried to eat one but couldn't bite into it. It was very weird.
He also enjoyed biting my shoes. He was strange as he would curl up next to you, but only liked being touched in certain places and would hit your hand away. He liked my shoes though, not sure why.
There was a tour at 10: my last tour. I wanted to lead it since it was my last, but 3 others who want to do tours while they are there came along, to see how it goes. It was a good tour. The people were lovely, and the animals were great. We took them to the shop as well and they bought things. It was sad to be my last one, but I enjoyed it.
After lunch, we did water. Amalie and I spent a lot of the afternoon walking around the farm, taking pictures and saying goodbye. It was so sad but it still hadn't sunk in at all that we were leaving. We spent a lot of time with each animal. Bobby ate more, and Alex and Tau were very happy.
To be honest, the whole day is a bit of a blur. I couldn't believe it was my last day. Amalie and I walked around until sunset (neither of us had packed but we didn't want to waste precious animal time by packing.)
Once the sun had gone down, we packed and had dinner, and then hung out with everyone.
Saying goodbye to the Burgers was the worst. I went to their flat to settle my bill, and had a long chat with them. I absolutely adore this family, and have so much respect for them and have had so much fun with them. I really hope I will see them again.





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Wednesday 13th July
Sandra woke up at 6 and left Zena and I so she could finish packing. She left at 6.40 but came in for one last goodbye! Very sad :(
Chriszanne said I could stay with Zena for longer if I wanted, which obviously I said yes too. Amalie came in too as she was up saying goodbye to Sandra. Chriszanne fell back asleep and so no one came to let us out until 7.50, and we were meeting at 8. I didn't care though as would rather spend that time with Zena.
I was on feeding today - my last feeding. Because it was my last one, I wanted to feed the lions. This was the first time they actually fed properly. By that I mean, the right lion went straight to the right person, and no one had two lions chasing after them. I was very impressed.


We were in the middle of feeding the foxes when people come running over saying I was needed. Turns out there was tour I didn't know about. Hannah was leading it, but it was her first one so I went alone with her - she was very good. It was for a lovely family who were really interested. The best tours are always for the people who actually care about the animals.
After the tour finished I helped others with some work. We were filling in holes, while others electrified a fence. Then it was lunch. It was fat cake again which was so good; even better than last time.
Another group went in with the caracals and the lions and the rest of us relaxed. When they were back we fed some of the lions. It was my last lion feeding and my last time touching the calves. Bitter sweet. I love watching the feeding. The way the lions are around the calves is really cool to watch; especially the female teenagers who aren't as strong. It takes them longer to get into the calves and so they lick them and nibble them for a while to soften the skin (I assume) before biting in. I stayed at watched for quite a while after we had fed them because I knew I wasn't going go see it again (anytime soon at least!) It's so sad being in your last week because you know a lot of the things you are doing, you are doing for the last time.



In the evening we watched a movie and hung out before bed.
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Friday 8th July
Today was our day off and very weird without the 5 who had left. There were only 10 of us and we wanted to go see me before you. We decided to go to the 9.45am showing, and so went pretty much straight away after breakfast.
The film was so good. I loved the cast, and I did cry! Surprisingly I cried at the film and not the book, and part of me preferred the film (but I think I'm a minority).
We went for lunch after the film before returning to the farm. 5 did feeding (myself included) and 5 did house and water. I helped build some beds as we are majorly overbooked for the next few weeks. I also dyed Sandra's hair red, and Hannah dyed hers brown. While we were in the middle of this, a new girl called Izi arrived as she had skipped the Johannesburg orientation. We were all covered in red hair dye so it was probably the worst time for her to arrive, but it was funny.
After we had cleaned up, we showed her around the farm. We had to wait until 9 for dinner for the rest of the new people. There was 12 of them arriving (13 with Izi) and so Felidae is full!
When the arrived we had dinner and all introduced ourselves and stuff. It's crazy how many people we are now.
Apologies now that there are not many photos in this post - I was busy and didn't take many!

Saturday 9th July
I was so excited for today. We had been working all week on the curio shop ready for the opening. We also knew we had a relatively big tour coming.
It was a hectic day.
We had to fix something in the wild lion pride enclosure. This was mad. No one can go in with these guys, but Nicol had to in order to get to the place we had to fix. He had to go from one gate to another and shut it, without any lions getting in his way. This meant trying to make 10 lions stay away from the human entering their space. Not the easiest task in the world. We started with 21 volunteers calling the lions and getting the motorbike and quadbike out to get them to move (they chase those because they sound like a lion). This wasn't really working, and so everyone except 4 of us had to go inside. They then drove a car right up to the other side of the fence and literally called for the wild lions to come. 5 of these lions were saved from canned hunting (has been mentioned but there will be a post on this coming up once I'm home) and so are used to people, but the younger ones are not, and are also some of the naughtiest. They were also hungry. It was hectic.
Eventually Nicol saw his chance, and so Sandra and I opened the first gate, and watched as he slowly moved to the second gate and shut it. It actually got jammed for a second which was terrifying, but no lions noticed, and those that did didn't care enough to move.
Once that was done he could fix the fence quickly. Unfortunately, the hardest part was not over. We had to do it all again, to re-open the second gate. This was not easy because the lions had noticed Nicol in their feeding area, and so were inquisitive. It didn't take as long as the first time, but I feel like it was more tense.
I was SO impressed with all the Burger family during this. They were amazing. It was amazing to watch, and help. No one can ever question their commitment and hard work every single day.
After this some of the new people were a little confused but there wasn't time to dwell; the tour was coming.
I was taking the tour today which was great. I really enjoy taking them because I basically just have to walk around the farm talking about animals - it's a dream come true really.
The tour wasn't too big; it was quite a good size. It was an awesome tour. All the animals, except the foxes who just didn't want to be fed for some reason, were great. The lions cane very close to be fed and we had a great view, Jack was cuddly and so was Mia, Zena was great and the caracals were also. All in all it was a good tour.
The best tours are always the ones where the public are interested and ask questions, because it means we can tell them more. These people were just like that. They were interested in the animals, the volunteer programme, they asked me about myself and why I was here.
Afterwards we took them to the grand opening of the curio shop. Sandra and I were so excited to have people in there buying things.
As people were leaving, a lot of them came up and thanked me. This was lovely! They said how passionate I was and how they could see how much I loved it here, and that they'd had a great time. This really was heartwarming, particularly as one family had been so suspect about coming in the phone, and to change their minds was awesome.


The afternoon was a lot more calm and we went out for dinner too which was lovely. It was a good day.

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Wednesday 8th July
Today was a GREAT day. We went on a safari to Mokala National Park. I was so so so excited. Especially because they have rhinos there and I really wanted to see one! They also have buffalo, giraffe and many antelope. They're biggest predator is a caracal.
We left around 8 in the van - only 12 of the volunteers went (out of 15) because one had been before and 2 had been on a safari before coming to the farm. This meant we could take the van. I rode in the front seat, which turned out to be great because there was lots of dust in the back. I was also with Chriszanne who was driving and we talked all about rhino poaching, canned hunting and other unethical practises in Africa, as well as solutions to the growing problems, including legalising the rhino horn trade. It was really interesting talking to someone from South Africa about it. When I'm home I plan to write about everything I've learnt (so stay tuned).

As you can tell, it's currently winter in SA (opposite of UK but still just as warm as our summer!)

When we arrived we changed into an open safari vehicle for a 2-3 hour drive. We were so lucky! We saw kudu, Impala, gemsbok, springbok, hartebeest, blesbok and even more! We also saw giraffe. This was really exciting because that was a few peoples favourite animals, and zebra.



We also saw a really big male rhino. I cried. Tears of joy! I was so happy, and everyone was so happy for me, and I was so glad everyone got to see one. He was beautiful. It was amazing to see him so calm, in his natural habitat. Rhinos in national parks aren't allowed to be de-horned. It was beautiful, but part of me couldn't help being scared that his horn could cost him his life. I can't describe how much I love the animal, and it kills me that anyone would want anything other than to protect them.
Towards the end of the drive we also saw a buffalo lying in the grass. It wasn't the best sighting but we felt so lucky to see one. Lunch was amazing. Leslie was happy to be in the warm, and the food was really good.




After lunch we went for a drive in the van for a couple hours before leaving. We saw more giraffes and antelope, including some great kudu sightings! We drove past a bird watching sight which had a viewing platform over a water hole. We decided on a whim to stop and go see it, just because we thought the water hole would be pretty. Thank god we did!! It was amazing; we stayed there for about an hour. Soon after we got there, an entire herd of Cape Buffalo arrived! We were so happy because they came so close and we got to see them properly. They were amazing to watch. When they left, waterbuck arrived and after than hartebeest. It was amazing and the water hole was beautiful. We all just sat quietly watching them. This is why I love Africa. It's unpredictable, unexpected and indescribable; it's beautiful and will always have a special place in my heart.


On the drive home Chriszanne and I discussed good places for seeing different animals. She told me of some of her amazing experiences, and stories of the animals on the farms. She recommended some places for me. I told her about my two other trips to South Africa volunteering, and my trip to Kenya. She was very jealous that I had seen the wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara.
I had a great day. Seeing the rhino, the buffalo, spending the day with the other volunteers and Chriszanne; it was great.




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