Still loving it here!

I have less than one week left at Harnas and I'm going to be so sad to leave! Yesterday, two of my favourite people left. It was surprisingly hard to say goodbye -- I've gotten much closer to people than I expected. I'll get to see some of them when I get to England, so that's something to look forward to.

We all get up at about 6:30am and have breakfast from 7 - 8. Then we get a briefing and organize our teams for the day. Some people do food prep (feeding, cleaning, etc.), some do tour (feeding and checking on the wild animals that will eventually be released), some do animal walks, and the rest usually do farmwork. We have lunch at about 1 and our day is usually finished by about 5:30 or so.

The regular day-to-day activities aren't too strenuous but the farm work can be tough. Since I've been here I've helped dig a hibernation hole for the tortoises, dig and concrete a waterhole, and set the bush on fire. There are black thorn bushes taking over, so we had to torch them all so the new grass can come in this spring. It was incredible hot and sometimes a bit scary but we all had a great day.

My favourite things to do are food prep and animal walks. Those doing feeding generally get to spend the most time with the animals, so I usually sit with the cheetahs after feeding. The walks are fun, too, although I preferred taking Cleo and Pride out. Lost is a bit of a handful and kept wandering off into the bush. It's not like walking a dog -- there's no way to control them, so you just keep an eye out and trying to keep them out of trouble.

Louise and I did attempt our sleep out with Cleo and Pride but it didn't go so well. They snuggled up to me but in the process they managed to shove her off the mattress and then refused to let her back on. They also peed on her side of the mattress. Eventually, we gave up and went back to the volunteer village. I do sleep with a meerkat now, though. Her name is Talullah and I think I mentioned her in my previous post. The dad kept attacking her and she had to be brought back to the farm. She "belongs" to me for now and I absolutely love her! She can be a bit of a handful and she peed in my sleeping bag last night but she's so sweet.

On Tuesday I finally got to do a lion walk. A small group of us went out and wandered through the bush with one of the young males, Zion. I have some incredible pictures but nothing I say will ever convey just how HUGE lions are when you're up close with no fences. Some of the lions will hopefully be released but I don't think Zion will be, as he was hand raised. Most of the animals that I interact with on a daily basis are permanent residents, usually because they have been to0 badly injured or are too tame to be released. Some, like Klippie the giraffe, will be returned to the wild eventually. The animals that will be released are the ones we feed on tour. Interaction is limited and they're still wild. Once enough game is available on the farm, they will be released into an area called the lifeline to fend for themselves.

As I mentioned before, the nights are freezing. We have bonfires every night and sit around talking. The stars are unbelievable. The other night, the volunteer coordinator took us out and showed us how to navigate using the stars. It was pretty great.

I can't post any pictures because the internet is too slow but I'll make sure I get some up when I get to Australia. Unfortunately, my camera seems to have stopped working, so I might have to buy a new one. I haven't lost any pictures, though!

Hope everything's well at home and you're getting some decent weather!

xoxo Becky

1 1/2 weeks down!

Well, I've gotten through my first week and a bit here and I absolutely love it! The animals are amazing and the people are pretty great, too. We're split into groups and assigned animals to feed and clean. When we're done our chores we can spend time with any animals we want or just hang out. My group is responsible for two cheetahs named Cleo and Pride, some baboons (eeek!!), mice (they're fed to an owl), a wildcat, six bat-eared foxes, a parrot and some domestic cats. My favourite animals so far are Cleo and Pride and a giraffe named Klippie. Klippie is still quite young. The other day I got to give her her bottle, which was quite an experience. She's about twice my height and I had to stand on a bench and reach waaaaay up. I ended up covered in giraffe slobber.

I spend a lot of my time lying around with Cleo and Pride. Pride is friendlier and likes to climb all over me and lick my face. It can be a bit of a painful experience -- her tongue is like sandpaper. Still, it's not every day I get to cuddle with a cheetah, so I can handle a bit of discomfort. I have some really great pictures but I'm not sure when I'll get to post them.

Today I went out with a couple members of my group to check on the meerkats. They're so adorable. The mom was hand raised, so she's really friendly. The dad's a bit crazy and kept trying to kill the mom, so they have to stay separated for now. The babies are very sweet and like to try to put their heads in our mouths and climb up our pants and down our shirts.

It's very dusty here and unbelievable cold at night. I use all my warm clothes plus a sleeping bag and two blankets. On Thursday I'm going to spend the night in Cleo and Pride's enclosure with a Danish volunteer, Louise.

I've seen some of the lions but I haven't gone in with any yet. I'm hoping to go on a lion walk in the next week or so. There are a number of leopards as well but the only one we can interact with is a young one named Lost. She's beautiful and very strong. Harnas also has a pack of wild dogs. As part of a Fear Factor challenge (more about that another time), we had to go through their enclosure to retrieve a shoe. They surrounded us but didn't really try anything. There were people on hand, so it was quite safe, I promise.

Anyway, I'm out of time. I'm not homesick yet but I miss everyone. I hope Daisy, Jasmine and Misty are doing well!

In Namibia -- Harnas in the morning

Well, I've arrived in Namibia with no problems. My trip was fairly uneventful on the whole, with only an old man playing a harmonica on the plane to liven things up. The Johannesburg airport is very confusing. Nothing is clearly marked and there are lots of strange hallways. Still, I managed to find my way and I met up with a girl who's going to Harnas, too. Her name is Louise and she's very nice.

On the drive to the hostel, we saw a couple of baboons. I got very excited but then I remembered that there are baboons at Harnas. Plus, baboons aren't even an animal that I'm particularly fond of. I think it was just the thrill of seeing them running around in the wild.

Louise and I went into Windhoek and had dinner and looked around. It's a really neat city -- very different from anything I've every seen. The people drive like maniacs and honk at everyone. We almost got run over a couple of times.

Anyway, I'm going to have a shower and go to bed. I haven't really slept in the last few days. I probably won't be able to write again for a while but I'll do my best!

xoxo Becky