Blog

This morning we went on a bushwalk and this time I was feeling well. Had a nurse of Dee Dee at the beginning and then headed into the bush. Jose went to get something out of her gumboot and Dee … Continued

When we were chatting to Innocent last night he mentioned he wants recent photos of all the chimps. Katie, one of the volunteers is a photography student and I have a decent camera so we made a plan that we’ll … Continued

After being locked out of the kitchen supplies last night and having no toilet paper in any of the toilets, this morning we couldn’t make breakfast as we couldn’t get the butter etc. We said goodbye to Phil this morning, … Continued

Today we all took our day off. Some South African miners the other guys had met last week were picking us up and taking us for a braae around 10 so got to sleep in a bit. Then got up … Continued

Awhile back I bought a behaviour enrichment toy for the chimps from Joe at Aussie Dog. Today we gave it to Milla. She’s a lovely chimps who stays inside because the other pick on her. We put chips and biscuits … Continued

Today it was off to the orphanage for our bushwalk with the chimps. I was feeling awful so didn’t really interact much but had fun watching the other guys playing with them. We were given food and drink to give … Continued

The Aussies were up early and made us all breakfast. Lots of eggs, sausages and toast and then they were headed to the orphanage for a bushwalk with the Chimps and take the others with them. I’m on my own … Continued

Up early this morning and hear the sounds of roosters crowing. Make myself some toast and do some quick washing before 7am. One of the girls is heading back to Ndola today and the others are heading into Chingola for … Continued

This morning I got up pretty early and made sure that people were receiving my sms’s and that they could definitely get through to my room in preparation for sorting out what happened yesterday. I patiently waited (not my strong … Continued

We were up bright and early to get me on my flight to Ndola. I’d left behind the one credit card I needed – the one I booked this flight with. Luckily John was with me and the card numbers … Continued

This morning we did our big pack to leave our nice room at The Kingdom Hotel in Victoria Falls to head to Johannesburg. It’s been a great stay and all the staff have been awesome. We flew out of Zimbabwe … Continued

Last full day in Vic Falls so we decided to chillax before John’s trip home and my onward journey to Zambia. Had planned to hang by the pool and go swimming but the temperature today had other ideas. It was … Continued

Up early this morning for a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Breakfast in the hotel started too late for us so off on an empty stomach. It was about an hour’s drive to the border and handover … Continued

We got up fairly early this morning and decided to head to the falls by ourselves. I’d read the spray this time of year is brutal so we went dressed in our togs. There’s a little path from the back … Continued

We had a relaxing morning, with a bit of a sleep in and then booked in some activities for the week: John’s helicopter ride for tomorrow, trip to Chobe Thursday and dinner at the Boma restaurant Fri night and of … Continued

Today we start our journey to Victoria Falls. As we’re leaving at 10am we get one last lion walk in with Lewa. We get her all to ourselves and take her on a decent walk finished with a bit of … Continued

Today’s our last full day at Antelope Park. So we’re trying to get our last few walks in with the different lions before we have to say goodbye. First up we took out the B’s. We tried to drive them … Continued

This morning we got to walk Lewa and took her for a pretty decent walk. She’s grown quite a bit in 2 weeks. After breakfast we headed out to the orphanage and this week was a lot less intense. We … Continued

John and I were both on data this morning so were split between MK’s for John and B’s for me. Just as we went to open up for the B’s a message came over the radio “We’re with the MK’s … Continued

We started out the morning walking the 2B’s. We tried to get them hunting and took them near the impala but they weren’t very interested as usual. We scored painting Ngamo poles in the hot sun next and broke the … Continued

Today I spent the first 3 sessions at a local school while John stayed behind to do 2Bs walk and a bunch of animal poo shovelling jobs. We drove out to the school and were given a quick tour. The … Continued

This morning we had off. I opted to jump on a walk with the MKs as we don’t get to walk them very often. It was quite cool this morning and there was mist on the river. There were a … Continued

After yesterday’s early start we decided to skip today’s 4am trip to hear the lions roar to catch up on some much needed sleep. We started our morning with an introduction to the birds around Antelope Park. There’s quite a … Continued

This morning started at 4 am with a day encounter. We took the trucks and the 3Ks out in the morning to find some game. They were hungry as their food had been withheld for a few days. We came … Continued

We started the morning with a walk with the 2B’s. They seemed quite docile this morning and were happy to pose for photos. 2nd session we headed off to the orphanage and played with the kids for an hour or … Continued

Now that we’ve done all the fun intro activities, today we have a few more duties. We start the day with a walk with the 2B’s. They decide to head left straight out of the pen and soon we can … Continued

Today we’re on research duty with Ray. The morning session we headed out and found the pride at the release site. Milo is a massive and impressive looking lion. The lionesses get a bit upset and he comes running back … Continued

Today is horse induction day – 3 sessions with the horses. First up we did horse management which entailed grooming the horses. We were lucky to get the mares and their foals to brush. The mum’s were quite friendly and … Continued

Today we had three sessions with the elephants. First up we watched the four African elephants perform a routine including some soccer skills. This was followed by a one hour long ride on the back elephants, John and I shared, … Continued

Our first real day at Antelope Park! We started the morning with information sessions on the park, the program and then a drive around the breeding program to meet the lions. I’ve never been this close to a lion before. … Continued