Here you can read a report of the working guests of April 2006
Life at Harnas
Cuddling baby animals is only one part of a volunteer’s job at Harnas (the nicest!). Actually, some (really hard!) work awaits those who joins the volunteer team. First of all, don’t expect lions, leopards and cheetahs to be vegetarians or to be just as neat and tidy as your housecat. Big and even smaller predators, such as mongooses or meerkats, are fond of horse meat which needs to be prepared daily. Care and comfort of the animals is a priority here. Daily tasks include cleaning the animals’ enclosures, feeding, removing bones after the animal has digested his nice menu and checking each animal is in good health – not all sugar and spice but it makes a world of difference to the animals and completes the experience for the volunteers. Don’t be surprised if nobody comes close to you: it’s time for a good shower!
Overcoming your squeamishness and your own fears in front of big and small predators is as much a part of the job as being able to face to the unexpected (always expect the unexpected!). A couple of days ago, for example, we had pack up and embark on our on adventure in the African bush. This was prompted by the arrival of two very special guests, Angelina Jolie (patron of Harnas) and Brad Pitt. They had asked for a quiet stay away from the paparazzi and the outside world. Our team leader Frikkie, (who knows the bush and the animals like the back of his hand and is something of a legend amongst Namibian youngsters,) decided this was the right moment for some exciting bush camping. Some were more excited than others at the prospect of being out in the wilderness with only their sleeping bag, spiders, bugs and snakes to keep them company. But when life gives you lemons, make lemonade – and you will learn to conquer your fears!
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We did what people usually do when faced with a challenge: we prayed for positive omens but the Gods had something different in store for us. The evening before we left, it started to rain heavily. In the morning, one of the volunteers was accidentally scratched on her head by a cheetah. On our way to the campsite we blew a tyre and the spare was flat! This delayed our journey for a couple of hours. Nonetheless the team spirit was still high. When we finally reached the campsite a big brown antelope with two huge horns was waiting for us right in the middle of the campsite: an Eland, which is Namibia’s largest and most dangerous antelope. |
The only desire of this tame Eland was to join our group – a unique opportunity for the photographers amongst us.
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While we were still debating whether the Eland should become part of the group, bedtime crept closer. And what a night awaited us! Can you imagine what it’s like to wake up at three o’clock in the morning because an eland is kissing your head? Well, this is precisely what happened to some of the girls. This bizarre experience even made us forget all about the cheetahs, leopard and jackals potentially circling our camp! |
This unforgettable night, was followed by an unforgettable breakfast, consisting of maize meal porridge (you can add as much sugar as you like, it’s won’t ever have a taste – but it fills your stomach!). After that we confronted our next challenge: finding survival food in the bush. Team leader Frikkie demonstrated how to dig, peal and taste the roots of edible plants. To be honest, we still wonder why these plants aren’t part of our daily menu!
The next challenge caused some confusion within the group. Frikkie asked us to find the way back to the campsite on our own!
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Well, in Europe this might be only a matter of minutes. But in the African bush land, every bush looks alike and therefore finding your way back can be a real problem! We barely remembered if we were walking towards or away from the sun on our outward journey – the sun rose in various places that day!! Making twenty people agree on which direction we should take also is hard work, as everyone thinks they know best! As we finally reached some sort of agreement (with a few stragglers trailing behind us), and then we realized that we had no water and wouldn’t be able to walk around for a long time. We made it! And we had taken a direct route which reinforced group morale. |
And now let us tell you: if after having read this story, you don’t want to come to Harnas you must be crazy! Here, you will feel a range of emotions, search your soul and have the experience of a lifetime. You may feel exhausted at times but will feel proud of your contribution and achievements. You will meet many people from many countries who share the love for animals. It is a privilege that will beat any National Geographic documentary you can see from your own living room.
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By the way: we forgot to tell you about the country itself. At night, the Namibian sky is just gorgeous, especially if you’re camping. You can see the Milky Way and more stars than you will ever see in the Northern Hemisphere. The native San Bushman of Namibia has a world of knowledge and a culture developed over thousands of years. Alongside this the diversity of wildlife and natural features are incredible. The Eland we met at the campsite was just the sweetest creature we had ever met. We took so many photos of him! |
This really has been an experience of a lifetime!
The Volunteers
Here at the Harnas Wildlife Foundation there are so many new experiences, some of them fantastic – some hilariously funny, and others where a volunteer may have to carry out a difficult task. There are so many of these – each volunteer recalls their most challenging experience during their time here so far – and of course their best!
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Animals are unpredictable and sometimes completely unstoppable when they decide they want to do something. Zeba (the tame zebra who wanders freely around the Harnas gardens) has a slight attitude problem – he’s usually in a foul mood and is liable to give a kick or a nip here and there When he wandered into the volunteer house and started eating the cat food (as if it was the most normal thing in the world), he led us on a merry chase round and round the kitchen table – armed with wooden chairs. He eventually left – but not with good grace! |
Mimi and Kevin are the baby baboons who must be bottle fed every day and love to play with the people here – but they can be very naughty and like things their own way (especially Mimi).
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One of the volunteers, Stephanie, recalls having to make friends with the lively pair – and receiving a couple of bites and being peed on mercilessly by Mimi. Becky H., another volunteer, was also treated to some bad behaviour from the baby baboons but now loves playing with them, and grooming the cheetahs – who purr like housecats with megaphones! |
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Stephanie also enjoys having a close relationship with the animals allocated to her and loves Bubbles the dog, whose idea of heaven is lying in someone’s arms with his legs in the air. Stephanie has a great time playing with the four month old lion cub Zion, who we all love to pieces. Zion has a mischievous streak and has been known to pounce on people from behind a bush – and bite their bottom! |
This happened to Charlotte (who wasn’t seriously injured!). When not being bitten by lions, she says that she loves to wake up in the morning to the sound of the male lions roaring – and the wonderful hands on experience that makes Harnas just the magical place it is.
Charlotte thought sleeping in the bush (cold, damp and Eland-ridden) may be pretty tough, but was pleasantly surprised. Another lover of big cats (Duma in particular whose sweet nature is better than a domesticated cat) is Sophie. She loves being so close to the animals, although going into a cage with two fully grown lions was maybe a little close for comfort!
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Someone who loves cats but not their fur (due to allergies) is Alison, who seems to have been targeted by the many cats living in the volunteer house – they love to sleep on her bed. Alison has very much enjoyed experiencing a different way of life and culture, and like Sophie, Layla and Becky C. adores the cheetahs. Layla has experienced standing in the wild cheetah enclosure and feeding them meat (no fences involved!) whilst Becky C. enjoys playing with the cheetahs she cares for – Aisha, Aiko and Kiki. |
Becky C. found the bush camp a bit of a challenge because of the mosquitoes! She finds the bush children far more appealing but just as persistent! They have a lot of fun but as all young children
Also a feature of bush camping but far more enjoyable was huge male Eland who has been hand raised on Harnas and therefore loves human company. Susie received more than one lick on the cheek by the placid bull, and thought it was wonderful that he followed the volunteers on the bush walk. He also decided to pull the hose, using his horns from our water tank, to have a cold drink! A challenge for Susie was riding a slightly boney horse with no saddle – pretty painful when trotting and galloping!
Ellie, a future jockey, loves the horses on the farm and has been put in charge of their welfare, as well as on orphaned steenbok Tiffany. As a long term volunteer, Ellie is always available to answer questions and give advice. Anne also adores riding the horses in the bush and finds it a welcome retreat from the busy outside world. Cutting up the food for the predators (in the form of horses) is not her idea of fun, but she does it anyway when required – a challenge all the volunteers must face either that or teach the big cats to eat grass!
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Mette and Annerikke both have the enviable job of sleeping at night with the four month old baboon Mimi, who considers the girls to be mother figures, but wakes them up sucking noisily on her bottle. Annerikke wasn’t very happy about sleeping out at the bush, surrounded by big spiders of which she is phobic! But she conquered the fear and slept under the stars with the other volunteers. |
The bugs also bothered Perrin the night of the bush camp – she much prefers larger animals and revels in her work with the many species living at the Harnas farm.
Claudia has decided she prefers mongoose babies to the human kind, and is a massive fan of the meerkats. She’s a little older than most members of the group and although she was worried to start with, has had a great time – and is considered the joker of the pack.
There are two Jenny’s at Harnas, Jen S and Jenny. Jen S spends hours grooming and playing with Duma the female cheetah – but is a little bit more shy of Mimi – who has bitten her more than once!
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Jenny (nicknamed Springbok because of her endless energy) has a lot of affection for both the animals and the local people, and has been given the responsibility of running the Bushman School at Harnas. She’s not so keen on the ticks which she had to force herself to remove by hand from the resident tortoises, but she was quite happy to crawl head first down an aardvark’s hole during a walk in the bush!! |
Eric and Roland are simply very happy to be at the farm, and enjoy their “manly” work with the animals which can be strenuous and therefore exhausting. You can often hear the voice of Eric pretending to be the warthogs “oink oink!!!” Roland is a little more hesitant about going into the wild dog cage – as the animals consider him as edible as the meat he brings to them everyday!
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nd last but not least, there is Antje, who just adores being here at the Harnas Farm, and can often be found petting the blind vervet monkey, Audrey. |
All of these experiences become snapshots of a time that we will all remember and treasure for the rest of our lives.
