Zebula Part 2, Sad Times & Cake...

Greetings, greetings one and all. I shall continue this blog post on directly from the one previous as I promised! 

Me with Tarzan!

So we're at Zebula, eating, then comes time for our cheetah interaction! We were eating for longer than planned though so our time was shorter with the cheetahs but OH MY GOODNESS, what a time that was. There are two cheetahs at Zebula called Tarzan and Jane ( I love those names! ). They were kept as pets by a woman who thought it was fine to raise 2 cheetahs as pets in her house so they're completely at ease with people. When we walked into their enclosure the first thing I noticed was 1) they are much more slender than I thought they would be and 2) even HD television does nothing in comparison to seeing these animals up close in person. Absolutely magnificent. They're so soft to touch and when they lick your hand their tongue is just as rough as a cat's! But the purring. The purring. Oh my god it's almost indescribable. Their purrs sound like the rumbling engine of a car, it's so cool! I took a video of Tarzan to try catch him purring but for whatever reason blogger won't let me upload the video to the blog, but seriously, youtube it or something. Although even videos won't do it justice, just fly your ass over here and listen for yourself! We learned a few basic facts about them when we were in there and got to take photographs with them. I don't think I'll ever forget that encounter!

Afterwards it was time to head to the part of the reserve where the elephants live. We were slightly late for this too but the staff waited for us before they began their talk which was nice. :] We were told about the elephants and how they came to be a part of Zebula. They were rescued from a culling operation (I'll depress myself writing a description of that, if anyone who doesn't already but would like to know what it is, look it up). They are now a part of this game reserve and have been trained to do some tricks as part of a show people come and pay for. As they all stand in a row in front of you, you can't help but notice each one has a chain around their back left ankle. After being questioned about the purpose of this, we were told it's simply because they are wild animals after all and can be unpredictable. If anything was to startle them, the chains prevent them from trampling anyone to death. It was interesting hearing them justify this. Personally though, I'd prefer if they just let them roam free all day and night and have people come and watch them from a distance. This they said they can't do either as they destroy so many trees and vegetation which other animals in the reserve also depend on. So at night, the elephants are herded into a big barn where they eat and sleep until the morning when they are let out again to roam the land until people arrive for their 2 shows a day. 
After each elephant performed their own personal trick ( such as kicking a ball, giving us a kiss with their trunk, talking food from our hands so we could feel the suction of their trunk, spraying us all with water etc), it was time for a 30 minute back ride through the bush. Me and Leona decided to go together and Benedikt went with Adrian. Each elephant had 3 people on it's back, one of them being a staff member that led the elephant. There was no saddle with stirrups or anything as such, just a light, flat cushion-type thing strapped to it's back. We just sat on it holding onto two straps and our feet dangling over the side of the elephant! This didn't feel like much when the elephants begin walking and you start swaying side to side on them! And when they speed up or walk uphill you're convinced you could fall off any second. O.o No one did though! It was genuinely enjoyable. :D  

It also isn't a lie when people say elephants are extremely quiet when they walk; it's true! About 10 elephants walking together in a line and all you can here is the people walking with them. Riding through the bush on an elephant's back and seeing wild antelope, giraffe and warthogs at the same time is certainly something I won't forget.
  After the journey we quickly got some food while meerkats tried to get into our bags and look for food. It was interesting seeing this as you could pet them and they wouldn't show aggression, they just wanted food. But they would go to lengths to get food from you and this is when they can be seen as pests. The meerkats at Bambelela are totally different, they're treated properly and behave like wild animals, not pests. So humans really need to stop feeding wild animals because they come back for more, and they could come back with a whole troop or family or whatever. Then they will never leave you alone and you'll want someone to come and exterminate them. Then all of a sudden a whole troop of baboons is killed because tourists kept feeding them and then they got comfortable enough around people to steal their bags and raid them for food. I could go on about this forever but I'll only be ranting aimlessly. Just don't feed wild animals unless you're prepared to give them food every time they come before they start rooting for it themselves.
  This was practically the end of the day then. We stopped in town for the others to have KFC while I stocked up on ice-cream from the local Spar (yeah, they have Spar here! ). Then we got lost on our way back as Benedikt was driving and we were busy talking about how people can't name their kids whatever they wan't in Germany and we missed the turn. But we got back eventually! And Katie got her GCSE results back and turns out she's a GENIUS so I brought back cake for us all to eat which was well nice. ^_^
  The days since Zebula (it's been almost 3 weeks since then as I write this now, I really need to start documenting my days better...) have all kind of blended together but I'll relay my adventures as best I can for you!

Beli and her baby, sweet dreams. xx

  Friday we had our first tragedy on the farm since I’ve been here. Beli, one of the pregnant wild monkeys in the area was taken in a while ago when it was noticed she was in bad health. Now, I’m not entirely sure of all the details as I don’t partake in the medical side of things, that all happens in the main house. But as far as I know she had a problem with her lungs. Friday, she stopped breathing. Everyone who could help was called into the house and tried to help resuscitate her but sadly, they couldn't get her back. They cut her open then to try save her baby but he was too premature and couldn't survive either. This was really sad but Silke and the others did the best that they could. Sometimes nature just goes against you. Beli and her baby boy were buried together out where the zebra roam. Silke makes sure any animal that dies on the farm, wild or captive gets buried. There really is a whole lot of love for the animals here, it keeps everyone going! 

  Regardless of course, we had to continue on working. In between feeding and shifts, our project over the weekend involved painting cage panels and wiring them. The hospital cage was also taken apart at one point and this had to be scrubbed clean along with all the poles and surfaces that were inside it. So we were kept nice and busy throughout the days!

  Myself, Katie and RJ decided to sleep outside seeing as the nights were getting slightly warmer and it won't rain on us. The first night we slept outside, the moon was full and extremely bright and considering there is rarely a cloud in the sky here (I swear, apart from one overcast morning, I've seen about 7 clouds since being here...), the brightness made it hard to sleep so I just buried myself into my sleeping bag. I was slightly worried that baboons or monkeys might attack us in the morning but they didn't. :] 

  We slept out again on Friday night because it wasn't too cold outside and seeing as Leona was leaving the following morning with her dad and brother, she wanted to sleep out too so she joined us! An extremely hyper episode followed the 12 year old which was pursued by a viscous pillow fight involving a dislocated jaw, several splinters and some pretty funny pictures. Eventually we slept and no one was mauled by leopards during the night either. Bonus!

Missing you guys!

  Saturday morning was quite sad as we had to say goodbye to Benedikt, Leona and Adrian. It was extremely quiet after they left! We soldiered on throughout the day though, scrubbing and raking and washing and feeding and doing projects. Spare time was filled with card games and intense rounds of the 30 Seconds charades-like game they have here. We slept outside the next two nights again, myself, Katie and RJ talking each other to sleep (I was always the first to go, no surprise there!). The whole weekend we couldn't keep our minds from the fact that Katie was leaving Monday afternoon, even though I only got to spend two weeks with her, we bonded! Right Katie? =P

  Then Monday the 26th arrived and this was by far the hardest day for me so far. The 3 of us emerged from our outdoor sleeping area. We woke up to the whole farm being covered in mist, which was very strange considering the non-stop good weather we were having, so South Africa seemed to also be dreading Katie’s departure! We worked and tried to put the fact she was leaving to the back of our minds. This worked relatively well until RJ interrupted our dish cleaning to tell us the car was here to take everyone to the airport. It was practically 2 hours early! And so the tears began flowing and we had to say goodbye and it sucked. Then after her, Bonnie and Matthew all left, it was very quiet and I moped around for the day really. I’m not my usual self without loads of people around to buzz off. And I think I was also extra sad because I was reminded of the fact that I’ll have to leave Bambelela in two weeks.

  However, with goodbyes come hellos though, as two new volunteers arrived that day too. Terre and Jackie, 2 lovely American ladies! We said goodbye to Deborah and Lauren on Tuesday morning then went straight to work with Terre and Jackie to show them the ropes! Terre was in the handicap cage with me. Janina (who’s in charge of the cage and taught me how to maintain it) has been sick the past few days so I was left to show Terre the routine of things in the cage, which I didn’t mind at all! I’m here two weeks at this point so I feel properly settled in and trust myself enough to show other people what to do. Terre took to the cage like a trooper, she was instantly comfortable with the monkeys and was a natural dealing with them when they were jumping on her or nibbling at her or when the neighbouring Golden Oldies grumpy monkeys grabbed her hair through the fence – they tend to do this a lot. I think a small wig could be made from all the hair they’ve pulled from my head when I’m not thinking and get too close to their side of the cage. Myself and Terre also did monkey dishes (washing all the bowls from feeding) and then we were on volunteer house dishes and cleaning together, we’re a great oul’ duo!

  By now I have finally spent some hours alone in the pink face room, and I genuinely believe the monkeys are getting used to me now! With Katie’s absence, I basically have to take over her shifts in there, and I’m much more confident in handling them, even if they do start to make eyes at me (they raise their eyebrows when they’re upset with you!). Emily had said to me before that she loved the pink face room, but I just couldn’t understand how, as I nursed the wounds I got in there… But now it’s growing on me! Even Mango, we’re becoming friends despite the rocky start we had when we first met. On the other hand though Heleentjie is a monkey that, despite being lovely to me when I first met her, now HATES me. I do believe this is because she thinks I hurt Claas the baboon baby (who has now been brought to C.A.R.E. Baboon Sanctuary a few hours away :[ ). She was very protective over him and both times I was bitten badly in there, her and Claas were there so I think she thought I was making him scream or upsetting/hurting him. Basically she just won’t go near me and always looks at me as if I’m about to steal her food and she screams if I go near her. O_o Some monkeys just dislike certain people though, I just hope we can maybe sort out our differences before I leave!

  Project work for the week mostly consisted of sorting fruit into crates. Any fruit that was mouldy or slightly gone off went into crates that will be fed the soonest. There’s many a fruit here I’ve never seen before like tomato-looking things called persimmons and fruit that are about the same size as big grapes but just like oranges in colour and texture but are LIMES. Crazy shiznit I tells ya.

  Tuesday night we celebrated Sue’s birthday with a bonfire and cake and presented her with a present we all chipped in on – a day at the spa at Zebula! Having cake was good. There were also these twisty dough things that were deep-fried and filled with syrup and tasted so fattening I felt my hips expanding as I chewed. They’re called sister-somethings. . . They tasted nice! But they also tasted of extreme unhealthy guilt, so I only managed one that night. =P

I'm a week and a half behind on blogging right now but I don't just want to summarise everything that happened. I sincerely apologize on my lack of ability to keep up with happenings, but I’m still going to document everything and blog it even though I’m just after getting back to Ireland! So, like the way you sometimes read about soaps in magazines and find out what is going to happen at the end of the programme/series but you still watch it to find out HOW it happens, I’m letting you know I’m back in Ireland now. But I’m not going to tell you all the shenanigans that happened before coming home (involving ESCAPED monkeys!!), or how I feel about being home or why I'm bedbound at the moment, yet. For that, you must stay tuned.

Ceara (: