2024 Selati Wildlife Experience

 Well, no luck with the hyena last night; we are on call again tonight. We left this morning at 6:50, lunches packed and breakfasts eaten. We met Rita and the farmer at a reserve at 8:00 am planning to dart and move several nyala and impala. Before departing, we met the farm dog, Grey, a young shepherd breed full of enthusiasm. We divided into two bekkies (small pickups with side racks), and set off. I was with the group with Rita, so we set off in search of nyala. We drove along one of the tracks, then turned off onto a bush track, which is basically a space between trees large enough to fit a vehicle. Not too far along, an overhanging branch snatched off Carli's hat and stuck a thorn in one of her eyelids. After retrieving her hat, she asked me to remove the eyelid thorn for her. As I attempted to do so, I realized that I was not able to focus very well. Just as the realization dawned on me, several people asked me where my glasses were. Gone. They had been snatched off from my f...

 Today was a relaxed start, with breakfast together at 7:00 am: scrambled eggs, flapjacks (small thick pancakes--pancakes here are what we call crepes) and bacon (sort of like thinly slice Canadian bacon). Today's muffins were chocolate (yesterday's were bran and the day before vanilla). I'm pleased to report that every student was ready, with lunch packed and supplies loaded in the van, well before the scheduled 8:00 am departure time. These students have the makings of some really great professionals! We didn't have to drive very far, just a few miles to the airstrip on the same property we stay at. Once there, Carli gave a safety briefing, and everyone learned to handle the dart gun. She helped with the first round, then we were able to practice shooting at the target for several hours. Everyone was able to hit the target board, and it was impressive to see how well everyone improved even with this bit of practice.  After everyone was feeling fairly confident, we wen...