Hey all! First update on what I’ve been up to – internet is very limited at the reserve as is mobile signal so in general I am cut off from the outside world, but we will be going into town once a week so I can get access to emails etc then.

Anyway what a first week! Can’t believe how quickly it has gone and very quickly I have settled into life on Pidwa reserve. I arrived Monday afternoon after a smooth journey over, was picked up from the airport and transported back to the house here. There are two other volunteers besides me and then Joe and Katie who run the volunteer programme and therefore are with us most of the time. The house is fantastic – the garden overlooks the breeding camps so you can have a cup of tea whilst watching the antelope and baboons go by! The whole reserve is 25,000 hectares so absolutely huge, and in Pidwa no commercial activities go on – i.e. no game drives or people paying to see the wildlife so you drive for miles and come across no-one.

This week has been ‘orientation week’ so learning the basics and what we will be doing – involving 4x4 driving, rifle shooting, anti-poaching patrols, first aid and general monitoring and recording of the wildlife we see. Up and ready to go at 7am every morning, then usually not done until 6pm so it is a long day!! However have seen some amazing wildlife so far (see pictures) and the next few weeks hold some exciting activities including brown hyena, cheetah and lion monitoring, daily watches of a hyena den we discovered last week with babies in it and a night-time sleep out! Pretty exciting stuff 

Already London life seems a million miles away… although one depressing factor is when you leave the UK to arrive in a country that is actually colder – it is freezing!! After such careful packing to ensure my rucksack was safely within weight limits it turns out I should definitely have thrown in an extra jumper (or two) – thankfully they sell fleeces here in preparation for idiots like me who assumes my Topshop hoodie will be sufficient in SA winter temperatures! This week has been fairly cloudy so little sun, which apparently is quite rare for this time of year, so hopefully it will clear over the next few days and dare I say it, I might be able to break in a pair of shorts.

Anyway I’ll try and add some pictures of what I’ve been up to and seen next week – some of them will probably give you a good laugh! Love to you all and fingers crossed I’ll be able to give you another update next week.