Wild... Life

Finally, an album of some of the wildlife I encountered when in South Africa!
After going through my photos over and over, I have put up some of my favorite pictures. If you'd like to see more of a particular organism or landscape, I probably have tons more shots, so just ask me! This is only a small taste of the diversity that I encountered there. I hope you enjoy these pictures, and don't hesitate to ask me any questions about the animals, their behaviors, how I encountered them, etc. I learned so much in my time in Kruger and the surrounding areas, and I'd love to pass on the knowledge I've absorbed.

Just click the picture of the elephant to see my whole Picasa Web Album: Wild...Life!

<3

Maybe some videos too...

Here's a video taken at Nsikazi Camp in Kruger National Park. This is at the end of Week 2 when we were taking down some of our invertebrate traps that we set up around camp for our invert identification study with Elme. It gives you a look at the place I called home for a month.


<3 B

The First Installment of Pictures!

Ok everyone! Here is my first album... I call it "A How-to Guide: Living in the South African Bush!" I hope you like it. I took about 1100 pictures on my expedition, so I will definitely be posting more albums (wildlife, people, etc). So keep on the lookout!

<3 B

Click the picture of my tent and tentmate, Marley, to see the whole album!

HomeHomeHome

So I am home and safe. Still really really out of it after a 5 hour transfer to OR Tambo Airport, a 17 hour flight to JFK with a 1 hour stop in Senegal, and a 3 hour drive home. But once I regain consciousness, I will be posting a plethora of pictures and posts that I've been saving.
Coming home was really bittersweet. The morning before I left Nsikazi was pretty sad. Saying goodbye is always sad. One of the worst goodbyes was to Big Boy... and he told me to promise I'd see him again, but I didn't want to promise in case it didn't happen. I know I can stay in touch with pretty much everyone else... the students and the guides... through facebook and e-mail, but the only contact I can really have with Big Boy is through a phone number that he wrote down for me. I tried it yesterday and it didn't go through, so I'm not sure if it will work. *sigh* But I learned a lot from him, like how to start a fire from scratch and from embers, how to light lanterns with paraffin, how to speak a little bit of Swazi...
In fact, I learned so so much from this whole expedition. I know more about the wildlife in South Africa, how to track game, how to ID any bird (by sight or sound) or any tree, than I know about any wildlife in my own backyard. I've learned survival skills... like how to orient yourself in the bush, find water, build solar stills and vegetation stills, what snakes and spiders to watch out for, how to react when confronting a dangerous animal. I've learned some Swazi and some Shangaan and some Zulu and some Afrikaans. I've learned how to walk loudly at night, so you don't surprise an unsuspecting leopard. I've learned about conservation management and how it isn't always as nice as it sounds (like with the elephant culling problem). I've learned how to pin insects for ID purposes, and I've learned how to interpret some major constellations in the Southern hemisphere, how to let the moon be my flashlight. I've learned how to assess habitats, how to determine the extent of fire and elephant damage to individual trees, how to use a GPS and a compass, how to use the sun to your advantage, how to lure out a mongoose, or how to attract predators. I'm beginning to see that in the month I lived at Nsikazi, I absorbed more information than I ever thought I would.
Despite the sickness, and the early on wide-awake nights of terror, the hard work, and the spiders... the knowledge and experience made it worth every minute. I can't wait to share my stories with you guys.
<3 B

The Bane of My Existence

July 5, 2010

Spiders! Just when I'm finally feeling brave around them, they prove me wrong. Didn't check the bathroom too thoroughly the other night, and so I closed the canvas flap to greet a Rain Spider right next to my face. It was probably the size of my hand. I screamed and then I didn't have to go to the bathroom anymore.

Last night I was washing my face outside of my tent and stumbled over to my towel with my eyes closed. When I went to wipe my face, of course, there was a spider there waiting for me.

We found Brown Button Spider eggs in the lecture tent. The Brown Button Spider has neurotoxic venom, but it's only one-third as powerful as the Black Button (Black Widow). That's a relief (not!). But wait....guess what spider was in the shower with me today...a Black Button! One of the deadliest spiders known to man. I noticed a little black blob in the corner underneath a web and went to take a closer look. When I saw a beautiful red hourglass on its abdomen, I decided that I really wasn't that dirty after all. So much for conquering my fears. I'm going to come home a paranoid arachnophobe. But on the plus side, I'm no longer afraid of the resident Mozambique Spitting Cobra under tent 7.

Love,
B

Happy Independence Day!

July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July everyone, although it isn't much of a celebration over here. There are only 7 Americans at Nsikabi Camp out of may 40 total people. So, unfortunately, we won't be acknowledging the date as a group (although several of us lone Americans have been plotting how to make home-made fireworks). But, we are all going to watch The Lion King tonight. We've been trying to organizing getting the generator on after dinner. We can use the projector and the whole camp can have a movie night. Tonight is the night. It's going to be epic!

Speaking of epic, I am soooooo excited for Thursday because we all get to venture into Kruger. Kruger proper, that is, for the whole day. Kruger proper is like the big leagues. Nothing is fenced and it is a hotspot for the big five for diverse flora and fauna and for bush excitement. And, the visibility there is apparently stellar whereas here tall grasses make it impossible to see any action. It should be a pretty wild day. It'll be a great way to go out with a bang because Friday morning we pack up and head home. Alright, I'm going to go bundle up to prepare for what should be a cold night. A cold but fun night. Happy 4th to everyone back home.

Love,
B

Three Weeks Down - Random Updates

July 1, 2010

Sitting outside with a bunch of peeps...we just gave our presentations during lecture today. I presented on differences in attitudes on fencing here and in the U.S. (putting up fences, not the sport). I think it was pretty interesting. Everything is fenced here and nothing is fenced in the U.S. pretty much. The reasons for fencing are also limited in the U.S. I won't bore you with details, but I will throw you some random things:
. Burned myself yesterday...poured hot water right onto my hand. Really not intelligent. But treated the burn really fast and wrapped it up, so no blisters. Yay!
. Just took a glorious shower. I've never appreciated showers so much. The water was actually warm. The showers are just wrapped in canvas, so the sun was streaming in as I watched the reddish dirt colored water flow down the drain. (The water here is really clean, I was just really dirty from habitat assessment.)
. My favorite bird surprised me outside of my tent this morning...Little Bee Eater. Check them out, they're pretty sweet.
. Big Boy has been teaching me some Swazi words. He's on staff here and does everything from starting fires to lifting entire trees to fixing tents. And, I've been trying to explain some things to him in English. But there's something really cool about just sitting next to a person from a completely different world and communicating without many words. Just hand motions and face making and pointing and laughing. Big Boy is one of my favorite people here. I fixed one of his jackets last week...it had a huge hole in it. And he just makes me laugh all the time. He told me he'd chop my hand off it it wasn't better by today. Tough Love! Robert is also very awesome. He understands English pretty well. But he's also been teaching me some Swazi words. He really was wonderful to me when I was sick. Making me porridge and making sure I was well-fed. He left today.
. Going on a bird driving transect this afternoon. I've gotten pretty good at bird ID's so I'm excited.
. Oh guess what? I had ice cream two days ago! We stopped at Numbi Gate because we finished research early. Ice cream has never tasted so heavenly. I got something like a Dove Bar with vanilla ice cream, chocolate coating, with white chocolate pieces inside. It was SO GOOD! I'm going to put up a blog with just food I've eaten since I've been here. I've been keeping a list. South African food is very good and they feed us very well. But, it's really funny that half of our conversations end up being about pizza or Chinese food or chocolate cake. In fact, all of us researchers had an hour long convo about our favorite take-out Chinese food last night. It was quite entertaining, but painful. Who would have thought I would miss Chinese food!? About a week ago I thought I'd never eat food again. All of this food talk is making my stomach growl and what a coincidence, brunch is ready. Talk to you later.

Love,
Bianca

How's the Weather

June 27, 2010

Do you know that with the exception of the doctor's office I haven't seen walls in over two weeks now? Well, I was reminded of that fact today...when living outside you never need to ask about the weather, because you KNOW the weather. You can sense even the smallest change in wind direction or temperature. So far, the weather has been pretty consistent. Frigid when the sun goes down, and hot when it's up. But today when I woke up I knew it was going to be different. It was just a little bit too breezy on our morning habitat assessment. And now, sitting up at the main tent, I know (and the animals here know) that something is up. The wind is really picking up now and some ominous clouds are drifting overhead. It smells like rain.

Normally winters in South Africa are dry, but this might be an exception. Why am I so worried? Well, at home, rain means very little. You just go inside or bring an umbrella. But here, there really isn't anywhere to go besides your tent. Mine happens to be at one of the lowest points in camp (perfect for flooding). Also, Caz told us some pretty intense stories about lightning storms, which Kruger Park is famous for...look it up! So I'm gonna hope that this is just a false alarm. But I'm going to go grab a rain jacket and search for massive quantities of rubber to cover myself in, just in case.

Love,
Bianca

Two Weeks Down

June 25, 2010

So two weeks have flown by. The first was tough and busy and full of learning. The second was full of sickness. Two of my favorite people left for Mozambique this morning. Jenny (mom) and Chris (Captain Crunch). And about half of the group left for home. A bunch more should be arriving this evening to start their bushcraft training. I really have no idea what is in store for this week. We have to close 8 pitlines this afternoon and open a couple more for small group research. There will be only about 8 of us going out to work every day. I feel so much better and I'm actually starving now that my body realizes it has been running on empty for about four days. Robert made me porridge this morning and yesterday morning and it really does the trick. On a funny note, I woke up with a hugely swollen right eye. I must have gotten a bite in the night. But I took some Benadryl and it went down. I think Africa just hates me.

Love,
Bianca

Buffalo Fever

June 23, 2010

Well, it wasn't a 24 hour bug. I thought I felt better the next day and dumbly went out to do research with very little food or water in my stomach. But yesterday, I woke up feeling really nauseous and weak. I went to class. When everyone got up to leave, I couldn't. I laid down on a little couch and felt my body go from bad to worse very very quickly. Within an hour I spiked another fever and became quite disoriented. When my hands and feet began to grow numb, it became a serious matter. I was scared, really scared. But Hannah and Caz phoned up the research coordinator, Tom, who sped here from town, and Paul carried me to the truck. Both of them tried very hard to keep me laughing. I could barely lift my head. One of the doctor's offices in town took me in right away. The doctor was so nice to me. He knew I was really scared (and probably thought I was 12). He first tested me for malaria, which, luckily I didn't have. And he decided that I had some kind of infection (which Tom has dubbed Buffalo Fever) and put me on iv antibiotics right away. He put some sugar and antispasmodic in the iv too. Soon enough, I could feel my hands and feet again, and my fever was subsiding. It was like magic. And the doctor sent me back to camp with tons of goodies...fever/pain pills with codeine, nausea pills, probiotics to restore my happy bacteria and electrolyte packets for my drinking water. So I went back to camp quite dazed and exhausted, but 1000 times better. Everyone here was quite nice to me and very concerned. Robert, the camp chef, said he'd make me anything I wanted, but I could only stomach a slice of bread, the first real food that I had had in the last couple of days. And Jenny, one of the students here, has just been a wonderful mom. But I don't know where I would be if it wasn't for Paul. He stuck with me through the whole thing.

I'm taking it slow and easy today, drinking some soda and eating some cornflakes. No field work for me today. I've learned not to push it. I want to let you all know that I'm just fine and I'm in good hands. I really don't know if I've ever been more scared in my life, but the worst is over. Now I've got two more weeks to make up for it.

Love,
Bianca

SICK

June 22, 2010

Woke up at 1 am with a burning fever and stayed awake the rest of the night trying to find a happy medium between freezing my butt off and cooling my head down. I have never been happier to see the sun peeking through the zipper of my tent, bringing promises of warmth and human activity. I proceeded to spend the entire day confined to this tiny abode, covered in blankets, not covered in blankets, and munching on some rice krispies every now and again. So much for habitat assessment. I'm dreading the sun going down again, and hope this was just some 24 hour bug. I don't even know if I can make it up the hill to the fire tonight. *Crosses fingers* for a speedy recovery, otherwise this blog is going to be pretty boring. On a brighter note, I discovered that the outside of my tent is a super-sweet hangout for side-striped skinks. I watch them scurry around all day. Ah, here's one right now, coming to look at me through the mesh window. That's as exciting as this post is going to get.
Bianca
P.S. If you're excited for pictures (so am I) you'll have to be patient. There is no way I can get them up in the near future, as I don't have access to any computers. In fact, these posts have either been put up by Paul or my mom. There are really good pics so far though, and I can't wait to put them up.

Nighttime Visitors

June 19, 2010

So we were all sitting around the fire last night, wrapped up in thick wool blankets and full of delicious cottage pie when our ears perked up to the sound of falling trees. And when you hear the crackle of bark snapping and twigs breaking and whole trunks falling to the ground, that can only mean one thing...ELEPHANTS. And, sure enough, as the whole lot of us hustled over to the thin electric fence, there they were. Several eles had surrounded the camp looking for a late-night snack. And some of these eles were obviously in musth, which is when they are quite ready to mate, and thus quite irritable. We all shone our torches just to the side of where they were. There were a couple of big guys down at the bottom of camp and several out by the gate and we just stood there watching these huge animals munching and silently moving through the brush. And every now and then, we would hear loud cracks and watch a whole tree topple over. They were certainly aware of us, and began to get agitated the longer we watched, so we went back to the fire. Soon it was time for bed, and of course the eles had found their way to the fence, right next to MY tent. Try sleeping to the sound of trees crashing to the ground about 20 meters away with some flimsy wires separating you from a seven ton bull elephant in musth!
And those were not the only visitors to Nsikaze Camp last night. At dawn, when we all groggily trudged to our trucks for bird surveys and pitlines, we noticed leopard tracks right at the gate fresh from the night. And they were massive for a leopard. All morning people noticed leopard tracks around the perimeter of the camp. And, if that's not enough, two guides went off this afternoon to inspect lion tracks nearby and when we were out on our surveys, we found tracks from an entire pack of hyenas. I guess our camp was a hot spot last night...I haven't heard the hippos in a couple of nights though.
So, I was quite nervous last night and a little more uneasy when I found evidence of other nighttime visitors, but remarkably, I've become a little more at ease about sleeping in the bush. I'm beginning to sense a kind of mutual respect between myself and some of the larger, more dangerous creatures here. We each are curious of the other, cautious and alert when in each other's presence, but neither enters the territory of the other with malicious or selfish intent. And so, we all continue to live quite peacefully with one another as neighbors in this vast, exciting and untamed wilderness...even if we all do lose some sleep.
Love,
Bianca

First Week in Kruger!

So one week in Kruger has definitely flown by (although some parts were longer than others). It has been a whole incredibly different, exciting, and sometimes terrifying experience so far. I have adapted to so many things: Living in the bush where the temperature changes are drastic- below freezing at night when it is painfully cold, frigid when we have to get up with the sun, and scorching hot once the sun is overhead. Learning to be friendly with giant man-eating spiders (look up the Baboon Spider, the White Lady, and the Rain Spider if you’d like a better idea)… they live in our bathroom and like to pop out of toilet paper rolls or hang on the door flap that closes behind you. I’ve also learned how to sleep in a tent, where only a thin piece of canvas separates me from the rest of the world. And believe me, it’s hard to get to sleep when you hear hippos grunting and lions growling. I’ve also learned how to survive in the bush, what to do on walks and drives… and the guides here are wonderful. On our bush walks, we always have 3 guides, 2 with rifles and 1 without. Yesterday was the most exciting/terrifying walk I’ve been on so far. We encountered 2 breeding herds of elephants while on foot… and breeding herds are pretty dangerous because the mothers are quite nervous. We had to be sure to keep our distance and make sure the wind was in our direction and check for escape routes. But once my heart slowed down and the elephants didn’t mind our presence, I got to take a really good look at them. And they were magnificent, especially the curious little baby that kept wandering near us.

Let’s see, I’ve also learned so so much about the wildlife here, the vegetation, and research techniques. I’ve gotten quite close with the Sicklebush (which loves to smack me in the face when we’re walking through the bush… not fun). And I’ve developed an interesting relationship with the Arrow Marked Babblers which like to babble outside of my tent ALL of the time, and a Dark-Capped Bulbul which is my new alarm. We took our bush craft training exam yesterday which was all on survival, trees, birds, tracking, dangerous organisms, etc. and I got 100%! I’ve been studying a lot, and it has paid off.

We have to go off on a drive in a bit in order to get our pitlines in order for tomorrow (tomorrow is when we begin our research: bird surveys, microhabitat assessment). Today we’ve been getting all of our materials together, and it’s been kind of a sad day because some really cool people left at 6am this morning to go to different locations after their training here. Anyway, I’ve gotta go get my stuff together for the drive, and prepare for another really cold night (the sun goes down really really fast, so you have to be prepared for the cold just as soon as it starts setting). Hopefully we can light a fire tonight.

Anyway, I hope that all is well with everyone, and I will try to get another blog up next week!
Love, Bianca

Off to Kruger Tomorrow

Good evening everyone (or perhaps afternoon for you all),

Tomorrow I will be off to Kruger, leaving from Joburg. It's about a six hour drive on a big bus with a bunch of people that I will be working with for the next several weeks. I'm getting very excited. Paul, Steph, Carys (all are field guides with OpWall), and I have been really enjoying ourselves these past couple of days. We just recently got back from Zebula, which is a fabulous 5 star lodge! Paul's aunt and uncle are partial owners of a beautiful place at Zebula, and we were so lucky to be able to stay there for a bit. We took the opportunity to go on several game drives (daytime, sunrise, and sunset), as well as some walks, where we were able to see quite a few spectacular animals and sights. We also got a chance to brush up on our animal and plant identification, study up, and relax. The coolest thing I did at Zebula was that I got a chance to PLAY with a little lion cub and a little tiger cub, both 12 months old (and you're right, tigers are not an African animal, they just had one at Zebula). The four of us went right into their pens with the handlers and we got to play with them... they were basically like big puppies!
Today we went to a beautiful Botanical Garden where we got to see a Black Eagle and its baby up on a tall tall cliff. That was quite cool as well! And don't worry, I got loads of pictures! I just won't really be able to post them for a while. And tonight at dinner, I was practicing eating British. Steph is British and Carys is Welsh and they have informed me that I don't eat properly with knife and fork. So I've been copying them (holding the fork upside down in the left hand, knife in the right, and using the knife to push food onto the back of the fork). It's quite difficult actually, but I'm getting the hang of it and they're trying my way too!
Anyway, I have to finish getting everything ready for tomorrow. This will be my last night in a real bed, in a place with walls for the next 4 weeks. Then I'll be living in the bush, with only a thin cloth tent and a flimsy electric fence to separate me from the wild. As nerve-wracking as that sounds, I am looking forward to it. I've grown fond of South Africa in the time I've been here, and the amazing wildlife that it is home to... so I can't wait to get a little bit closer with it.

Hopefully, I'll talk to you all soon. I'm hoping to get onto the internet about once a week during a break. Bafana Bafana!! (The FIFA World Cup opening concert is playing in the background, and everyone has been shouting Bafana Bafana all day... it's the name of the South African Soccer team here. Anyone following it??)

<3 Bianca

I'm in AFRICA!

Hello everyone! As of yesterday at 2:30am your time, I arrived in South Africa! And there is so much to tell you already, I don't know where to start!
I suppose I'll start with the plane ride... So I was incredibly nervous getting on that plane, and quite sad saying goodbye to my family, but I took my Dramamine (thanks :-) Dan), made a friend with my seat neighbor, Eric, and held on tight as our giant plane loaded with tons of cargo took off of the ground. Very soon after we were served dinner (which I have pictures of, that I will post when I can upload them somewhere), I watched Ratatouille, watched many TV shows about wildlife, listened to Acoustic Africa, and slept on and off. It really wasn't long after that we were all awoken by scrambled eggs and told we would land in the next 2 hours. Really, it went by in a flash. And then we descended... And boy, as we cleared the cover of clouds that I had seen for the past 14 hours, did my eyes open wide as I caught my first glimpse of Africa. It was simply breathtaking, and quite unlike anything I had ever seen. Below me lay mountains and valleys dappled with tawny browns and bright greens, rivers and streams snaked through vast plains, and the sun created beautiful effects as it had just begun to rise. Then I began to see a few houses, here and there, but as I looked into the distance I saw Johannesburg on the horizon, with the sun glinting off of its buildings. We began to pass over large communities with beautiful, terracotta roofed houses all in neatly organized rows and patches. The beauty of the scene almost made me forget what I was doing... and that's when it hit me... I had arrived in Africa.
So we landed, and everyone took off in every which way, and I departed without a hitch, finding Paul, who will be a field guide at Kruger this year, waiting right at the exit for me. Then we were off! As I left the airport, I entered Joburg and we went right to a rooftop flea market where I got to see so many things all at once. We saw tons of crafts and vendors with beautiful sculptures, beaded artwork, and paintings for sale. We saw people dancing and playing music, and the atmosphere was simply incredible. Even the smell and feel of the breeze was enough to make me realize what a different place I was in, and what an exciting place too!
I am writing here now from Paul's Grandpa's house, which is positively stunning! I will have to show you soon. And today I got my first taste of wildlife... we went to a park called the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve where I got to see many of the animals that I will encounter and perhaps study at Kruger. And I even got to go down into the Wondercave (it's in the link if you want to look) where there used to be a limestone mine. It was such an incredible day!
I have to run now to dinner, but I wanted to let you all know that I was here and safe and that I am having such a wonderful time so far! This is a truly amazing place, and I can't wait to share more about it with you.
Until then...
-Bianca

Tomorrow

Alright. I'm sitting in my hotel room in JFK trying to muster up the courage to sleep, because once I fall asleep it will be tomorrow, and once it's tomorrow it is going to be the big day. I am really getting scared about this flight. It's such an extreme flight for me that it hasn't really hit me that it's really going to happen... until now. I will be flying over the OCEAN, for a huge chunk of the flight that will take 14 1/2 ish hours (give or take). I have NEVER done something like this before. I mean NEVER. But there's always a first time for everything. There will be second time on the way back... except the way back is 17 hours.
So this is my plan of attack for the plane: I think I'm going to go the Dramamine route just to prevent any feeling of motion sickness, and to help me sleep. Also, as soon as I get on the plane, I'm going to set my watch to South Africa time, just to try to orient myself early on. It's 6 hours ahead! Hopefully I brought enough things to entertain myself on the plane, and I know that there are TVs on the back of every seat to watch movies on, etc. I'm definitely going to try to make some friends... this flight would be a lot better if I knew someone on it.
Anyway, I will arrive in Johannesburg early morning their time, get situated... and BREATHE. Then I'm spending the week exploring Joburg before people from all over the world (WORLD!) meet up back at the airport in Joburg to head to Kruger National Park where I will be spending the following 4 weeks learning and exploring and researching! I still have some more studying to do before I start the research part, but I think looking at the actual organisms in real life will be much more effective than looking at them in a book.

So, I'm going to try to post as often as I can, but I really have no idea what the internet situation is going to be. The first week might be better than the last four, since I'll be in Joburg, so hopefully I'll be able to get on then. But I'll try my best during this whole expedition. Thank you so much for following me!

Here's to adventure!

~Bianca

Almost there!

Hey everyone!

So tomorrow is a really big day. After I teach at dance, I'm driving to JFK with my family and staying in a hotel there over night since my flight is in the morning on Saturday. I'm going to be double checking my luggage and making sure everything is packed, finish writing up notes, do some last minute things around the house, visit my nana, go to work, and then I'll be on my way. I was really productive today... I went over a bunch of common bird species in Kruger, took notes on them, and reviewed their bird calls (my sister thought I was crazy listening to all of their calls). I also wrote instructions for my recital pieces... I'm missing my students' recital! I'm really bummed about it, but I'm glad I get to be there for their last class tomorrow. Today was basically a tying up of loose ends day, and it was a success. Oh, and tomorrow I'm starting my malaria meds, which I'm nervous about (I always have problems with overanalyzing medications).
I actually think that everything is in order! Hopefully! I will try to get on my sister's laptop either tomorrow night or Saturday morning before I leave because I won't be bringing one with me (there really isn't any internet access where I'm going to be). But if I can get into the office in our camp, or something like that, I will be posting some short blogs with maybe some pictures if I'm lucky. If not, I will have loads of things to put up when I get back. We shall see how it goes.
Alright, goodnight for now!

~Bianca

A Week Away!

Hey everybody!

So, in exactly 1 week, I will be on a plane to South Africa! I'm getting very excited, but also very nervous. I have never flown for more than 2ish hours before, or been out of my timezone. So this is going to be a huge deal for me. In the past week or so since my graduation from Siena College, I've been focusing on getting ready for my expedition. I've scouted out things I'll need, like a 3-season sleeping bag, hiking boots, safari hat, lightweight cargo pants, a head torch, and first aid materials. And I've also been studying up on my Bush Craft Training Manual, which teaches us how to survive in certain situations, such as if needing to find water, or if confronted by a dangerous animal such as a lion, a rhino, or a hippo. I've also been acquainting myself with the animals and organisms that I will be encountering and studying while at Kruger. I think it's important to be able to identify all of the organisms by common and scientific name, and be able to recognize them by appearance, unique characteristics, calls or behaviors, typical locations, and tracks (if applicable). The organisms in Kruger are quite distinct from the organisms we encounter every day here in the Northeast United States... but there are some commonalities amongst lots of organisms, which has helped me in my studies.
One of the scariest parts of my preparation for my expedition, is the health preparation. I'm currently 3/4 of the way finished with my typhoid vaccination! It was really scary for me to start the vaccination because it is a live oral virus, and I had heard of some really bad side effects, like hallucinations, or small bouts of typhoid fever. But thankfully, it has been smooth sailing! *knock on wood* I'm finished with the rest of my vaccinations, and the last thing I have to do is start my malaria medication. It was a lot to deal with, and a lot to take, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.
Also, I wanted to tell you guys that one of my graduation presents was a ridiculously beautiful, professional camera... a Nikon D-5000! I have been experimenting with it for the past couple of weeks because I'm going to bring it with me to South Africa. I cannot guarantee that I can take pictures all of the time, because I will be working, and I also have to be certain not to startle animals (although it's one of the quietest cameras out there), but I promise that I will get a bunch when on breaks, or on safari, or when I'm in Johannesburg the week before my work begins!

I'm going to see if I can post a slide show on here from previous expeditions so you can get an idea of what I'm going to be doing/seeing. But in the meantime, feel free to ask me any questions!

Talk to you all soon! 1 week!!!

~Bianca

Welcome to my blog!

Hi Everyone,

So I've created a blogging page to put down anything and everything relating to my conservation expedition trip with Operation Wallacea in South Africa this summer.
For now, I will be posting info about my trip, progress about my fundraising, and maybe putting up some pictures from past expeditions.
Once the summer kicks off, I will have very little access to the internet, but I will make sure to post if I get the chance while in South Africa. I will also post selections from the daily journal I will be keeping once I arrive back in the states!

For those of you that have so generously contributed to funding this expedition... I thank you sincerely! It really means a lot to me.

Keep an eye out for more blogs! I'll be posting a lot in the coming weeks.

~Bianca