We then returned back to base camp and had another amazing meal, where Janine created ANOTHER new rule where no one was allowed to sit next to a person they had already sat next to. We also had to learn one new fact about our new lunch buddy! After lunch, Dan took us on a nature walk where we observed some common African plant species. We saw African and bitter aloe, sweet thorn, needle bush, Guarri, Spekboom, Cabbage Tree, and Jacket Plum. Dan even made us walk through a thicket of needle bush which was very prickly and unpleasant, but was used to show us the true conditions researchers would be working in out in the wild.
We ended our walk with a visit to the Harold Trollope Museum, which consisted of many taxidermic specimens of wild African animals that were culled for conservational purposes by some very brave men. After our walk we had some down time where we did some group bonding. We looked at the pictures we took on our game drive, listened to music and reflected on our day in our field journals. Our last activity of the day was a presentation from Jen and Giles (owners of Amakhala Woodbury tented camp) on the history and development of the game reserve. We learned that the land being used today was once used for agricultural purposes however due to variable weather conditions it was not economical to continue farming. Eleven farms in the surrounding area joined together to establish Amakhala Game Reserve. We had a traditional South African Braai for dinner, which was very delicious, and a great way to end the night!!
Leave a Reply