What? Did you think you weren’t going to hear from me so soon? Or were you disappointed that you haven’t yet heard about my exciting adventures? Well, I didn’t want to overwhelm you straight away, but didn’t want to leave you hanging, so let’s pretend I came to the party, but showed up 15 minutes late, ok?

I arrived at the sanctuary mid-afternoon on Monday, and was given a tour by the sweet and beautiful gal that I’d been in contact with over the last several months. That is when I stuck my finger in the meerkat enclosure. She also introduced me to the lions, owls, and bushbabies (OH MY GOD SO FREAKIN ‘ CUTE!!!) No, sillies, I didn’t go in the lion camp, but we DID go into the bushbaby house. (DID I MENTION HOW CUTE??) One of the little guys was pretty shy, but would watch my every move, turning his head and twisting his ears to hear every little sound. The other one took a second to warm up, but eventually licked my hand and crawled right up my arm. So fluffy and soft…and CUTE! Oh, I forgot to mention meeting the baby rhinos. THE BABY RHINOS! They are too much! The sweetest little noises…they sound like dolphins, believe it or not. They are both under 6 months old and have a very regulated diet of about 5 or 6 2 liter bottles a day.

Afterward, I had dinner with a bunch of young strangers from all over Europe and the US. How was the food? Let’s just say I’ve been eating a lot of salad. I mean, a lot of salad.

To make things easy (for me, because the truth is, I’ve been working my ass off and haven’t felt like writing), I’ll give you the schedule of each day so far.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s been a blast, but it’s not easy.

So, First Official Full Day:

  05:45 Wake up, no time for showers, but who would want one with no hot water?

  06:30 Morning meeting, break into teams (Thor, Quarantine, Cats). Since much of Thor (named after a rhino that didn’t survive), went into Kruger for the day, I was assigned to Thor.    

  07:00 Clean the stalls…by cleaning, I mean shoveling rhino poo and shoveling hay covered in rhino poo. Clean the mats covered in rhino poo. Scrub the stalls covered in rhino poo. Sweep and rake everything… literally everything. We sweep dirt. I’m going to come home and say, “You know, the yard is looking a little unkept. We need to sweep the yard.”

For Melissa, the bathroom at the barn.

  09:00 Walk up the mountain for breakfast. I’ve eaten a lot of bread. Bread and salad. Let’s talk about the coffee. Powdered coffee with boiled water. And you know what? It wasn’t terrible. No Nespresso, but not terrible either.

  10:00   Volunteer meeting where we learned that one of the animals was attacked by a jackal the night before and didn’t survive.

10:30 Bag hay. Hay itches. It really, really itches. More raking and sweeping. I think I may have been handed a couple of cans of cornflower blue spray paint to paint the tops of the rakes and brooms. You know I was in heaven. I told them, “Give me some paint and glue and I’m happy.” I had to clarify that I am NOT a huffer, I’m just crafty.

  13:00 Lunch. More salad.

  14:00 Bag more hay. Sneak pictures of rhinos. Fill water buckets. (I’m pretty good at that… just standing there.) Then the Thor leader grabs 4 of us to walk the nyala camp. Me feeding a nyala. 

Mind you, the other three that walked the camp were all about 16-20 years old. We met up with one of the men that runs the camp and helped unload a huge (and heavy) metal trap. Four of us carried up it the hill, until we came upon the carcass of the nyala that was killed over the night. I never would have guessed what type of animal she was, as the jackals ran off with the front legs. We set the trap and walked the camp looking for the front legs and shoulders (which I found). We walked the fence around the entire nyala camp looking for holes where the jackals and caracals sneak in to attack the animals. The “walk” ended up being a hike, as our leader started up a steeeeeep mountain. The kids said they would take the easy way around, but because I’m a total show off, I said, “I need the workout,” and followed up the mountain. Needless to say, I’m freaking exhausted by the time we reached the rhino camp. It may be winter here, but it’s HOT.

16:00  I fed the baby rhinos. I FED THE BABY RHINOS!!! I can’t get pictures. They finish off a 2 liter bottle in about 15 seconds. By the time someone gets their camera, it’s over. Afterward while cleaning up, leader came in the barn kitchen and closed the doors, telling us not to move. Two of the rhinos escaped their boma and were casually walking around in the larger enclosure. They were herded back in, but when I tell you that herding rhinos is like herding turtles, I’m not kidding.
Some other stuff happened before dinner, but I have no recollection of any of it.

 18:00 Dinner. More salad.

 19:00 Lukewarm shower

20:00 Bed (bottom of bunkbed to he exact.) Did I sleep like a baby? Not at all.

My cabin… with the wild dogs (of course) 

My roomie is Wynonna, a 17 year-old high school student from Johannesburg, whose mother is sending her to participate in various animal experiences before she decides on a career working with animals. She’s sweet, quiet, reserved, and I’m older than both of her parents, but we get along quite well, and kind of stick together. Most of the folks here already knew each other and, to be honest, are quite cliquey, but they’re young, and I’m really not that interested in them any more than they are interested in me. Of course, no one is being rude, just not inclusive or overly friendly. But me? I go from trying too hard because Everyone. Must. Like. Me! to really not having time or energy to give a damn.

Anyhoo, that’s enough of Day One.
I’ll post Day Two later tonight (or tomorrow). To be honest, it’s all running together and I’m afraid I am going to forget everything! I know it’s a LOT, but truth be told, I’m keeping this more as a journal for myself than anything. To write all of this out on paper would destroy my delicate man-hands. (Surprisingly, my nails have never looked this good!)
So, I’ll keep posting and you can keep reading. Honestly though, Day Two was pretty exciting. I saw some things. I did some things. Just hold your horses party people, and I’ll tell you allllll about it. Later.