A new observation point (Anne, UK)
It is a key objective of Harnas to release animals into the wild whenever possible but this obviously needs careful consideration and management.
It is hoped that it will soon be possible to release some of the smaller animals such as the caracals but a suitable site needs to be selected.
As part of this project volunteers over the coming weeks will be observing and recording activity at a series of waterholes around the farm. Volunteers will record the number, type and timing of all animals visiting the waterholes and based on these findings a site will be selected. It is crucial that there will be enough food available for the animals when released and again volunteers will be utilized to observe the animals once released and monitor their feeding patterns so Harnas can intervene and supplement the diet in the early stages if required.
On the 21st and 22nd June a team of us drove to a watering hole where previous volunteers had already cleared the site and we together selected a suitable position for this new observation point.
We were equipped with spades, a lump hammer, asbestos sheets, metal posts and open minds. Nothing is ever easy and true to form the tractor and trailer got stuck in the sand meaning all the equipment had to be carried the last 600 meters to the site.
To build the structure we had to dig trenches for the asbestos sheets and also for the metal posts that would hold the structure together. After a couple of days of hard work and a few minor planning errors the structure was standing.
It was then camouflaged with branches meaning it was not obvious from the watering hole. Game counting will start in the next day or two to watch this space.
An uninvited guest (Abi & Haley, UK)
We were told to “expect the unexpected” when we came to Harnas and this morning at around 6am a large male baboon by the name of Thomas broke into our Wendy House and began to cause havoc. He ate my friend’s toiletries, ripped her bag and casually sat by my bed drinking the rest of my precious bottle of coke.
He finally left of his own accord but returned 10 minutes later with a friend who promptly jumped all over our roof.
At last two of the guys from the next Wendy House realized what was happening and sounded the alarm. The baboons were returned to their enclosure and the electrical fence was repaired. It remains to be seen whether they try to attack again tonight – at least this time we will be prepared!
Making friends with Hanalee (Kate, USA)
On day two of my stay at Harnas I met the 3 baby cheetahs, Pride, Cleo and Hanalee. Now these babies didn’t look too small to me – in fact they looked like they could eat me in a heartbeat – that was until I saw how sweet they were. I was told which two were people friendly, Pride and Cleo, and which one was a little less so, Hanalee (the youngest).
From that day I decided I wanted to make her mine and allow her to enjoy people as much as the other two do. I began to feed her daily (luckily she was in my groups feeding program). The first few days she wouldn’t let me get near her. I sat with her in my own time until I inched my way close enough to set the bowl in front of her. She still hissed as I got close but didn’t walk away. Now after 2 weeks she will let me dangle the food as she grabs to eat it. Once she even ate it out of my hands. She still watches me intently as she eats making sure I don’t make any false moves.
| I like to believe she recognizes me and my voice when I walk into her enclosure. I sit and play with her when I can but I have one week left here at Harnas. I hope it is enough for her to let me stroke her at least once (maybe even a lick with her course tongue but that is probably asking too much). I am praying, wishing and crossing my fingers. |  |
2. Juli 2007 – A new cheetah platform
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A few days ago Frikkie told all of the volunteers that Pride the cheetah had been climbing on the roof of his house in the cheetah enclosure. Apparently pride also jumped to the tall tin roof of the barn behind the house and almost escaped. So, this Sunday some of the volunteers began making a 3-4 meter tall platform for the cheetahs to climb on, an alternative to Frikkie’s roof. |
Eric and Jean-Francois, both from Switzerland, headed the operation, they made a rough blue print of the structure and with the help of heavy duty power-tools and many volunteers work began. They delegated tasks as the day progressed and we worked all day on Sunday until sundown digging holes for the main posts and cementing the large frame together. |
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Monday was spent measuring and placing cross beams on the frame to make a large flat wooden platform. The last beam was screwed into place at around 5:30pm. Although everyone was very pleased with their work there is still more to be done in constructing a suitable ramp for the three cheetahs. By Wednesday they should have a wonderful view overlooking Harnas! |
2. Juli 2007 – Boertjie’s Enclosure Makeover (Emily, New Zealand)
We all know that it is in a baboons nature to cause havoc to the point of destruction.
On my first day at Harnas I witnessed the most impressive temper tantrum I have ever seen performed by an epileptic baboon named Boertjie (all over a piece of dropped orange). He then came up to me lips smacking demanding a scratch. I thought to myself “this monkey’s got spunk”. Since that day I have spent mornings and evenings with him (I slept outside his cage at one point … insane I know) and noticed more and more the boredom and loneliness in his eyes.
Soooo I took it upon myself to vamp up his enclosure. Myself and others brainstormed and the final outcome was … branches with bark and leaves, lots of pipe to bite, some rope to play with as well as lots of rocks of different sizes and textures.
I attempted to sew a pillow / teddy bear (it looks like neither really) and finally he was given a mattress to sleep on. It was fit for a jungle king.
And then the moment came to introduce him to his new palace.. WHAT AN EVENT!
He sniffed once, twice and then chaos. Leaves were getting tugged and thrown, rocks got strategically hiffed around, his pillow was relocated to the opposite corner (bless him), the palace now looking to me like a demolition site. At least now Boertjie has had the chance to destroy and create his own environment the natural baboon way.
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3. Juli 2007– The First Day at Harnas School (Bridget, USA)
Harnas added some new editions to its population. The local bush children attended their first day of school. With the help of many volunteers students were greeted in their native language. Half of their time was spent learning about basic colours and shapes. They also learned the proper way to sit in the classroom. The other half of their time was spent learning basic hygiene. Students were taken to the volunteer house showers where each child was given a warm bath. Volunteer teachers modeled basic cleaning strategies.
Each student left with clean underwear and clean ears! They were then treated to a feast created by the Lapa’s chef, Andreas. School will run on Tuesday and Thursday each week in future.
8. Juli 2007- Bushwalking I (Simi-Switzerland)
Yesterday, Frikkie took us on a bushwalk. Well it was nearly a “bush-jogging”, as he was walking really fast. He stopped from time to time and explained to us the footprints in the sand. “A leopard has been here just a while ago, this track is from a female Kudu, this was a springbuck”- this mans knowledge is truly fascinating. Frikkie showed us bushes and trees and explained us, what they may be used for. He was digging out a root, cut off a small piece and I could try and taste it- and as I’m still alive today, I guess it must have been eatable... We were zigzagging through the bush until we arrived at the tree-house. Unfortunately we chased away the herd of Elands, who was close to the waterhole, I just managed to get to see one from far. We could enjoy the “typical” African sunset there at the tree-house, I could have sat there for hours, just admiring the sky. Later when we sat around the fire, we got the chance to talk to the many new volunteers. The cheetah-game was about repeating a given sentence in the right way, who did wrong got a black “cheetah-dot” on his face- a funny game that needed quite a bit of concentration. When it was really dark, we walked back on the street, without torches. You get used to the darkness pretty well. Frikkie stopped some times and philosophized about the stars and life as such. An indescribable feeling was arising inside me, as I was sitting there, small as I am, in total silence under the eternity of the African sky, making me feel small and nearly forgetting about the upcoming cold and everything that was around me.
Bushwalking II- (Tina& Jenny, UK)
When we agreed to go on survival walk, we really became one with nature. We first shimmied under a fence, as if in the army, getting sand in every imaginable place. We trekked through thickets of thorny bushes, led by Frikkie, at the age of 63, and we struggled to keep up! It’s not often you can say you have had a spitting competition with Eland-poo or put explosive seeds under your tongue! We sucked twigs like the true nature lovers to prevent thirst and were shown all the survival tricks like digging up bulbs and spotting clued from nearby water holes. We were shown the art of animal tracking and navigating through the bush without using a compass as we were told the skills would soon be put to the test. Our efforts were rewarded with a sunset campfire and starry Namibian skies.
10. Juli 2007- Visit to the mission (Andrea, Vita, Eleanor, Dan, Becky aus South- Africa, Hong Kong, UK and USA)
10am after foodprep the bell rings and all 31 volunteers were herded onto a cattle truck. After 45 minutes of bumpy drive sitting on the sleep out matresses we arrived at the Harnas Lifeline Clinic. Frikkie and the nurse gave us a short tour of the clinic, we were all surprised at how modern it was. We then climbed aboard the truck to visit a mission community and school. We had an hour of the church, school, bakery and new housing and the younger children sung us songs that made many of us emotional. We were then given a song and dance performance in traditional dresses, the dancing area now has two traditional huts built. Visitors can now come and visit the mission and stay at the huts. On our way back to Harnas we visited a San village where we handed out sweets, food and gifts to the children and bought some of the handmade jewelry before heading home.
12. Juli 2007 The Waterhole (Tina, UK)
The working guests were in for a beat today as we constructed a new sunken water hole in the wild dog enclosure. The aim is to produce a more natural watering hole to replace the current concrete one. It involved lots of true manual labor, testing those unused muscles that have lain dormant for a while. With a large group of us, we could adopt shifts, so not to over exert ourselves in the hot sunshine. I love swinging a pick-axe and shoveling dirt. With Frikkie often putting the “male to female” differences to play, we took great enjoyment in watching the males of our group breaking into sweat and waving a sledgehammer about. Having been in the afternoon group, I couldn’t help but feeling relieved that our job was slightly easier. The concrete was removed manually through brute force this morning, meaning we simply had to dig the hole. Leveling and concreting now remain, which is to be continued on Monday…(just enough time to give our muscles a rest)
13. Juli 2007- Came count and lion walk (Alyssa, USA)
I have been here for a week now and I can definitely say that Harnas has truly showed “expect the unexpected” as Frikkie told us. As I write this I am currently sitting in a metal rectangular “hut” that is about 6 feet by 3 feet. Alone with 3 members from my team we are sitting on our knees using binoculars to find animals and then recording various information about them. It is still early, we have been here for about two hours now and have nearly three more hours to go. Sitting cramped while hearing odd sounds coming from various parts of the body now and then. So far I have spotted a helmed bird that looks like a turkey and a Kudu that scared me. I was using the binoculars to look up at another volunteer, Katie’s book, and once I looked up a huge Kudu was staring directly at me. We still have time to see other animals but I’d rather not be here when it is dark, because the desert in the winter is frigidly cold at night.
Earlier today we took the lions Zion & Trust along with their “mother” Tara for a walk. The lions were rather lazy but we were able to take pictures with them while they were walking and resting. When I posed to have a picture taken with Trust, Frikkie was telling him to go for me and do what he does best- but of course he did not. Or I wouldn’t be writing this. For the most part today was a normal day. That is, if you consider hand feeding cheetahs, taking a walk with lions and sitting in a metal container while looking for animals normal…After all, this is Harnas.
14. Juli 2007- Fear factor challenge (Olivia & Amanda, UK/ Rosie, Ireland / Reggy, Norway)
Today was the fear factor challenge. We had had been dreading it for days but looking forward to the prize of a “Lapa-breakfast”. So as 2 o’clock arrived we were divided into 2 groups by Frikkie, the blue and the red team. The first challenge was to eat baboon and dog food with some refreshing sour horse milk on the side. The blue team ate the most at the allowed time, although there were green faces all around. There were many other tasks including running through the wild dogs, digging in the baboon enclosure and being electrocuted. We all worked really well in our teams and had a great time and although the blue team won overall, everyone was feeling sick and tired and ready for the Braai.
16. Juli 2007 (Ingerid C.J., Norway)
The day started with our daily routine: Food preparation. There was a lot of food for the animals, so it all went smoothly. The baby baboons got all sorts of different food, which they all enjoyed. After the feeding we went for a cheetah run. Our group and three guests went with Frikkie in the car to put up Duma and Joanie. But Joanie wasn’t really playful, so we only took Duma with us in the car. Duma gave us all a memory for life, because it is not every day that you get to see a cheetah running at high speed. It is very fascinating to see the cheetah excellerate and watch his excellent body move. After a while we lay down with Duma and took many nice pictures. We then drove back to the volunteer house and were served a marvelous lunch by Andreas. After lunch half of us went to game count. Emily and me went to the dam house. It is really a nice house with an excellent view. We saw porcupines, helmed guinea fowl, a jackal and some kudus. Though we didn’t see many different species, I really enjoyed the ones we saw. It’s lovely just laying on a porch watching some of Africas beautiful animals. It has been an interesting day and I love Africa even more.
17. Juli 2007 (Kate P., UK)
Today I voted to travel with Schalk and another volunteer, Emily, to Gobabis for supplies. The people here at Harnas travel out twice a month for stock and supplies. We sorted through all the food and drinks for the shop and the bar, which was very hard work. Then we travelled around to find the missing items such as 50 loaves of bread and 180 liters of milk. There was so much to get and as a result it took us all day. It was also enlightening as we handed out loaves of bread to homeless children and gave them gifts, which further showed me the generosity of the people here. All in all I had a fantastic day which was topped by a treat of Omelete and Chips for lunch on Schalks behalf!
