African Wildlife & Environment Issue 80

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

carry us for thousands of kilometres on appalling roads. The crystal-clear Okavango River was a real-life fish tank where the Tigerfish,Vundu catfish and Tilapia species abounded, not to mention the hippo and crocodiles. With the exuberance of youth, we happily swam in this clear water, totally oblivious to the dangers. After matriculating it was off to the army, where I spent my first year at Infantry School in Oudtshoorn, and then the second year on the Namibia/Angola border. The semi-arid Karoo landscape was a harsh training ground at Infantry School where I also got to know the Outeniqua and Swartberg Mountains during our 'vasbyt' marches and battle exercises. The white sand in northern Namibia was a stark contrast. The time spent there was bittersweet because it was a war situation, and one did not have the liberty to go explore and enjoy the vast wilderness. After my two years of compulsory National Service was up, I got a job on a game farm in the Magaliesberg Mountains west of Hartbeespoort Dam. These towering cliffs were home to hundreds of vulture nesting sites, and it was a magnificent sight having these large vultures flying lazy circles as they caught the morning thermals to fly in search of their next meal. Their eyesight is nothing short of incredible as they can pick up a carcass from kilometres away. One of my very fond memories was spending time on top of the mountain and sitting quietly while you had the vultures flying below and above you. These awkward, ungainly birds who would wobble and hop uncomfortably on the ground became like graceful angels once they took flight. While sitting there with this birds-eye view, I also had a glimpse of a leopard walking on a steep path. Magical! Never deviating from my desire to become a 'game ranger', I realized that unless I made it happen, it would just be a pipe dream. I needed a proactive plan. I spent time working for a roofing company and saved enough with the help of my parents, to do a Nature Conservation Diploma full-time at the old Pretoria Technikon Campus, in the middle of Pretoria City. Travelling on the train through from Florida Park to Johannesburg and then to Pretoria every day only intensified my desire to get away from the city and into the bush. This three-and-a-half-hour trip with the walking to and from the stations was repeated every afternoon on the way home.

there as well as cupboards and dressing tables, a real 'home from home'! All of these were carried across the Tugela River by the locals on a path that crisscrossed through the rounded river rocks. My grandmother used a termite mound as an oven and made bread and the most succulent roasts on Sundays. My love of birds was born in and around Shu Shu, this being true bushveld, and I saw many wonderful species. In those days Ground Hornbills were also seen regularly and were referred to as 'Turkey Buzzards' and the wide diversity of bushveld species that darted in and out the bush like jewels as well as the raptors, got me twitching from a young age. The absolute fear I had for snakes, also prompted me to learn more about them. A friend of mine in primary school, Chris Moore helped me overcome this fear and we were budding herpetologists that spent every spare moment looking for these slithery friends. Once again this was a very healthy pastime where we would be out in the open air, enjoying nature and not cooped up inside. In autumn we would carefully open deserted termite mounds to find a wide variety of snake species that were going in there to hibernate for the cold Highveld winters. We had clinically clean tanks where they were kept and fed, and most we reintroduced into wilder areas where there was no construction planned or swopped species at snake parks. All this is no longer allowed, due to strict legislation now in place. This was necessary to protect the wild snake populations that play such an important part in the ecology and food chain. By the way, the Shu Shu holidays I had with this newfound interest gave my parents and grandparents many grey hairs, because of the abundance of poisonous snakes in and around the Shu Shu Island. My High School years only strengthened my resolve to have a career in nature. I was fortunate to accompany the school wildlife society on a trip to the Okavango Swamps in the Delta of Botswana. This was also where my love for Toyota off-road vehicles started after spending three weeks in a Land Rover Series 2 Station Wagon. After growing up reading Joy Adamson’s Born Free book as well as all the sequels, I thought that the Land Rover epitomized Africa. However, spending a good part of our trip under the bonnet and chassis, the novelty of this quickly wore off. In the Landy’s defence, it was an old girl that had to

28 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 80 (2021)