Learning the routine and going grocery shopping

The day started really early today, with the whole group of us gathering near the work shed at 7 am. The schedule was such that each morning we would gather in a circle for a co-ord, to hear of the plans for the day as well as any updates on the previous day. It was nice that work commenced with a short prayer each day. We also got to know the rangers today and would be spending lots of time with them. After a short introduction session and hearing everyone speak, I learnt that 2 of us would be going for a game drive through the park.

Volunteers are allowed to sign up for one game drive per week and it is basically a ride through the park on a game vehicle, essentially a guided tour for about 2 hours or so. Depending on luck as well as weather, we could see many of the animals present in the park.

View from the game vehicle

We had to sign in at the game drive reception and it was located at the interpretive centre, where we can get a good understanding of the park as well as see various exhibits. The centre actually covers a great deal of the park's history and planning and I could only get a quick glimpse of the place for now as we had to head to the game vehicle. It was my first time on a game drive and the vehicle immediately caught my attention. The seating area was higher so that we could get a view of the animals and would not be blocked by the grass. One of the most common animals was the warthog or ' Pumbaa" as more frequently remembered and they were running all over the place.

View from my hammock 

As our guide CJ mentioned, there would be another 400 or so coming up and we moved on further up to 3 lone cape buffaloes. The highlight was of course the elephants and as we neared the Hapoor watering hole, we were amazed by the number of elephants gathered there. One of the elephants just nonchalantly walked between the cars and just beside our game vehicle. It was rather amazing that it had no fear of humans or the vehicles. The temperature was reaching 45 degrees and I was glad when we drove back to the shelter of the main camp after about 2 hours or so of driving. I would get many chances to move about the park again.

A fully filled bakkie of groceries

A short rest at the hut over lunch and we were updated by Selomia that we would be going grocery shopping in the evening. I took the opportunity to set up my hammock and it was great to sleep on since the weather was so hot but windy outside. The ride to the supermarket took about 30 minutes using the bakkie and we had to buy groceries for 2 weeks. The groceries are covered by the park with a budget allocated for each of us and was more then sufficient even to buy bottled water for 2 weeks.

The ride back was cold and a good reminder to bring a wind breaker for such trips. Evenings could get pretty cold. Selomia told us that tomorrow would be an exciting day as we were going for the game capture of cape buffaloes.I spent some time staring at the milky way and the southern cross, completely lost in the astoundingly beautiful sky before calling it a night.

A few hours rest to a new day ahead.