Easy does it.

Not much excitement this week. It's Wilma's last week, and then we have a break for a week until the masses arrive. Misty mornings, cold and frosty. Kutanga is growing by the day, finding anything he can to play with. He is now playing soccer, and runs around chasing the ball. We are wanting to find him a big beach ball to play with, so that he won't lose it. Now, when he sucks your entire hand, you can feel his teeth just beginning to peep out. Soon he will be eating.

Pog still has a few months to go until she pops out a few little babies. They should be due in August. We don't know how exactly it's all going to work out. It's all go go go, tying to sort out Chawawi for the white rhino. They will only be arriving later in the month now due to the fence. 

Otherwise, all is running smoothly. We have been seeing quite a few water monitors and python about, basking in the afternoon sun when the heat beats down on us. We will start tracking them when it is mating season.

Settling into the rhythm!

With winter here, we wake up to frosty mornings, and head off to the elephant to do handling. The sun rises over castle copje as the mist runs through the tall grass and over the dam. It is looking magnificent.

 

The new Volunteer has arrived, and Diana has left. Wilma has come from Canada and is here for three weeks. Already we have begun fixing up the place, preparing the Rhino bomas and now getting ready to fix up the elephant stands. This month is going to be full of manual labour.

 

The two white rhino are supposed to be arriving on the 15^th of this month, and hopefully we will get to go along and help dart them to bring them back to Imire. They will then be released into Chawawi and watched by guards. Unfortunately they are completely wild, and so they cannot be put into a boma at night, but will be heavily guarded at all times. Kutanga is just as naughty as ever and is now learning how to swim, and use his trunk to drink. Wilma is still getting used to working with elephant in such close proximity, but did go for her first ride the other day. Otherwise she is loving Zimbabwe. We took her to see a live performance in Harare on Saturday night, a band from South Africa, so she could get to know the Zimbabweans and learn a bit about our culture.

 

Tsotsi, the hyena, has been attacked again by the wild hyena on the farm, but he is learning fast how to survive in the wild. The vols are still very nervous about going to meet him. But Wilma will be introduced some time this week. Things on the farm are going very well, and Matt seems to be settling into the rhythm of things around here. It’s a new experience for everyone. The days are getting darker earlier, and the Msasa trees are just beginning to turn red, the grass is tall and has gone from luscious green, to a dry brown, we are going to start making fire guards soon.

 

Full moon this week, and we are going on a camp out, in this icy weather. We will be waking up to frost biting into us, carving icy knife wounds of pain. But it will be worth it in the end. Night walks, and searching for the wild hyena den. It’s all about the adventure. All in all, everything is going really well. The days are still and cool, and full. Another week is ahead of us, and a lot of work to be done.

A new Beginning

There is a change in the air. Imire Volunteer programme is undertaking a new and exciting adventure. Matt Blair, the new Volunteer co coordinator has arrived and is now running the programme. With him, he has brought his first Volunteer, and our first one of the winter season. Dianna Ward.

 

The first morning we all went for a game drive around the farm so Matt and Dianna could get acquainted with the park. It is looking beyond beautiful. The bush is thick, the grass tall and lush. We have had a perfect season. The animals are in paradise. The dams are full and exquisite.  Dianna and Matt got to know the elephant and their handlers, as well as the other animals on the farm. The one-month-old elephant, Kutanga, is causing havoc wherever he wonders. Constantly wanting to play, he brings a new light onto Imire. We came back home after the days patrol, and Dianna fed the babies, Pog, Tatenda and Shanu. Pog is now pregnant and we are expecting some babies running around in August.  We are also hoping to have two white rhino arriving on the 15^th of June.

 

Dianna has begun elephant handling and working with the guys to get to know the four ele’s. She has also begun work at the school helping with the conservation class.  After delivering manure on elephant, and then going on a game count and finding a 10ft python, so far, Dianna is enjoying.  Well, there have been a few nail biting incidents, of course. The new lion Mambo has arrived, and we thought we would take Dianna to have a look and feed him. After having taken our time to throw over the piece of meat, Mambo leapt against the fence and attempted to jump over. Adrenaline pumping, we threw in the meat, but it wasn’t enough, he came again, and charged the fence, second piece of meat was chucked over. Finally he accepted it. Still very wary of him!

After a long day on the farm, we return home to a hot cup of tea and some relaxation time on the hammock. Every evening we here the cry of the fish eagle, and although some of the birds have migrated, we still have some magnificent ones on the farm. Winter has definitely kicked in and the mornings have a chill in the air, but the sunsets are out of this world. We sit around a roasting fire in the evenings listening to the wild hyena calling. There is nothing else in this world, like winter on Imire.

The next volunteer arrives on Monday, and we all wait anxiously to see what she is like. Tomorrow we will go for a ride through the farm and settle down for the rugby, and then a chilled Sunday, fishing on the dam, climbing castle copjie and having a sundowner. Perfection!