Chester Students Prepare for their African Adventure!

On 16th February 2011, myself and one of my tutors, Andy Lyon, met with this year’s prospective EDGE of AFRICA volunteers to answer any questions they may have and put their minds at ease about what to expect from their African adventure.

Andy started by introducing us both and speaking about the academic side of their trip and the sessions that the university are delivering in March to prepare them for their trip. During these sessions, the students will learn about how to behave within a new country and culture, and how to stay safe while they’re away, as well as getting information on the assessments they will be required to complete. Andy also spoke about what Knysna, and particularly areas such as The Heads and the marina, are like.

After this I was asked to tell the students about my experience with EDGE of AFRICA. I spoke about the structure of my placement (two days per week in the Knysna Tourism office, a day and a half per week on the Khayalethu eco-trail with the Rastafarians, and a two half-days per week in Judah Square edu-centre), our Cape Town orientation in the first week of our visit, and our return to Cape Town once our placements were over. I then gave the students the opportunity to ask me anything they felt they needed to know:

• How safe is Knysna? Can we take pictures openly and feel safe having our cameras out? Knysna is a relatively safe place. Remain as vigilant as you would if you were in this situation at home, and never forget that you are in a third-world country. Take pictures as you would normally but do not walk around with your camera in your hand or around your wrist. One of the most important things to remember is, don’t become complacent with the relative safety of Knysna town centre and assume that everywhere is the same, particularly if you are taking a trip to Cape Town.
  

  Cape Town
• How much money did you spend? It’s all relative to the kind of person you are. Our group went out at night quite a lot and at the time that we were there, there was no internet connection in the volunteer house, so we were also paying to use the internet cafe. I took around £700 and was sent an extra £150-200 by my parents while I was there.
• Was your presence well received in the township? Yes, the people who live in the township are so happy to have you there, and we didn’t experience any animosity at all from them.
• Was there a language barrier? The only language barrier we experienced was with some of the younger children. All the practitioners and teachers/workers etc in the township speak very good English. Every Friday afternoon, we had a Xhosa lesson with Joash, which was helpful in finding out certain words and phrases we could use around the children to keep them under control.
  

  Highest Bridge Bungee Jump in the World
• What was the weather like? Although the time of year is technically going into the African winter, their winter is nothing at all like our winter. The days are mainly warm enough to wear a t-shirt, but you should take ‘hoodies’ etc for in the evening.
• What footwear did you wear on placement? It all depends on your placement. In the preschools and on most other placements, flip flops are okay. However, if your placement involved outdoor work, such as Build Our School or the Khayalethu Eco-trail, trainers or boots would be more appropriate.
• Are there bank charges for drawing money out? There wasn’t with my bank, but I think some banks do have a small fee. An important thing to remember is to ring your bank and notify them that you intend on leaving the country and how long you’re going for, as some banks will block your account if there’s unexpected activity on your card.
  

  Plettenberg Bay Beach
• What was the general vibe you got of Knysna and of being in Africa? I personally thought that it started to feel like I lived there. The volunteer house is very homely, and Knysna itself is very welcoming. At first, working in the township is a culture shock, and nothing can really prepare you for that, but you soon fit in and start to feel like part of a team.
• What is there to do at night? The EDGE of AFRICA staff has a weekly programme of activities for in the evenings. You’ll have a braai once a week, which is like a BBQ and is more of a social event than a meal, and there’s also a quiz night, a games night, a DVD night, and a lecture night, all once a week. Knysna also has a decent variety of bars and clubs for at the weekend.
• Is there a difference between what you can wear in the town centre and what you can wear in the township? Yes, you must make sure you’re covered up when you go into the township, but you can pretty much dress how you would here in summer when you’re in the town centre.
• Other points to consider: Take an unlocked mobile phone with you to save you the time and money of buying one once you get there, as EDGE of AFRICA will provide you with a SIM card when you get there. Go on as many excursions as you can and make the most of your time there. Do as much of your assignment work as you possibly can before you go, so you have as much free time as possible when you’re there. Dress conservatively when going into the township and be respectful of the culture differences.

By Emma Hitchen - 2010 EDGE of AFRICA Volunteer and EDGE of AFRICA Rep based in the UK

My EDGE OF AFRICA Experience

My EDGE OF AFRICA Experience

By Eavanna Maloney

It has taken me at least three months since returning home to be able to write this blog.

It was too difficult for me to put in to words how I felt about my experience of South Africa. Coming home was one of the hardest things I have had to do……….

I joined EDGE of AFRICA in March 2011 expecting to spend five weeks on their HIV/AIDS Awareness project, and left October! I spent five weeks on the most amazing project where I met the most wonderful people, including the inspirational Dr. Laurel Giddy at the HARRT Clinic and Annalene who runs the mobile clinic at That’s it. I met some fabulous people at EDGE of AFRICA…….. Dayne, Roger, Jo, Joash and Kholi. I met inspirational volunteers from all over the world. I was also lucky to be there for the infamous Chester crowd who gave me numerous laughs and giggles. Mel and Sioban I haven’t forgotten you and you know I love you!! It is difficult to describe how an experience like this can make u feel it truly filled me with love and joy. I was as high as a kite on life and love.

I worked as a Medical Volunteer coordinator from April I looked after volunteers from all across the globe and placed them on various medical projects which included HIV and AIDS Awareness, the Medical Community Project and Hospital Based Internships. I had the opportunity to meet fabulous volunteers. I stayed in the volunteer house which was always a hive of activity and laughter.

Through EDGE of AFRICA I had the opportunity to experience the true beauty and spirit of South Africa and indeed its people. I saw how somebody struggling to survive could be filled with such undying love, joy, generosity and positivity, I also had wonderful opportunities to see the beauty of South Africa on the EDGE conservation projects which included the elephant sanctuary, I had the chance to get up close and personal with some very large elephants, thank you Josaphine!! I was also lucky to go to ADDO Elephant Park and the magnificent Cango Caves at Oudtshoorn.

It really was an amazing experience working with EDGE of AFRICA and I would happily recommend them to anybody wishing to open their heart and broaden their mind. Thank you to EDGE of AFRICA for giving me the opportunity to work with you.

Marissa Shevins starts her African Journey!

In my country we go to prison first and then become president. -Nelson Mandela

Almost three weeks ago, I traveled to South Africa, to a place called Knysna, or “The Garden Route. Aptly named, it is one of the more beautiful places I have ever seen. I am living in a volunteer house working in the local community in HIV/AID’s education and prevention. I work with ten other girls from all over the world in various places ranging from hospitals to home based care clinics to schools and youth centers.

Initially I came here with the intention to learn about myself, and what I want from life. In high school I had a very strong sense of direction in terms of what I wanted for a career. Yet when I entered college I found that nothing I wanted before seemed right anymore and decided that in order to get back on track I needed to figure out something new. For me, my most important self realizations have always occurred in the magic that for me is Africa. I have heard many say that if you come to Africa and see the way it is in real life, not on TV, then you will never want to leave. I see what they mean. I come to this strange and beautiful place to find myself,

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”

Life here is almost dreamlike. The otherworldly beauty that surrounds me becomes almost commonplace. There are lush forests, deserts, mountains, white sandy beaches and endless ocean. The people are friendly and lovely despite their terrible living conditions.

Being here and working with these people really makes me realize how much I take for granted. These people who have so little have much more than most will ever know. They are the happiest people I have ever seen and that in itself is truly inspiring.

EDGE of AFRICA Beach Festival sizzles

EDGE of AFRICA Beach Festival sizzles

‘Where is your organiser?’ asked the gent on the scooter. He had buzzed down the road into the Buffalo Bay parking lot as we were loading the last of the equipment onto the trailer. Directed to event manager Amanda Dixon and Roger Wynne-Dyke of EDGE of AFRICA Beach Festival, he exploded ‘Congratulations on a slick and smooth event with every attention to the tiniest detail!’ and buzzed off before Roger and the rest of the crew could respond or even ask his name. It was the cherry on the top of a wonderful day, a magnificent end to another successful summer Beach Festival of sports, music and sand sculptures.

After postponing the 16th December start of Beach Fest due to pouring rain and heavy winds, Saturday 18^th dawned to be a spectacular sunrise and, once the thick eerie mist lifted, the sunniest, hottest and windless day the Garden Route had seen in weeks. The team couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day!

By 8am a great vibe was in the air as the local kids soccer teams arrived in taxi’s at Brenton on Sea and headed down to the mist shrouded beach. After a brief introduction of the proceedings the teams set off down the beach for the 5km walk to Buffalo Bay. Their first challenge was to collect as much washed up litter en route which was to be used in a ‘creative design’ competition highlighting the danger of coastal litter on marine life. This was more of an experience than the organisers had planned; for some of the team members this was the first time they had ever experienced the beach and for most this was to be one of the longest nature walks that they had ever done in their lives- hopefully an inspiration for a lifetime of nature walks.

After collecting a staggering amount of high tide litter, all budding artists’ talents shone through challenging the judges to select a winner. It was the Cross Roads team that captured the spirit of the competition depicting a dolphin ‘littered’ with plastic trash.

The first Sand Sculpture Challenge of the day was enthusiastically entered into by a number of families on the beach who chose from the categories Animal, Fantasy, Comic or Classic castle. The judges had a hard time judging winners of the first 15 impressive sculptures but the overall winner went to a giant hippo ‘wading’ in beach sand.

By 10am, the beach was packed and the full sporting program of the festival was underway. Kids of all ages mixed and joined to form teams to compete in Touch rugby, beach soccer and volley ball. Rugby fans were treated to some fantastic displays of deceptive feints, accurate passes and bursts of speed whilst both formal and informal soccer teams delighted in the beautiful game enjoying the liberty of literally bouncing off the walls inside the giant inflatable beach pitch. The enclosure changes the dynamic of the game as there are no out of play passes and astute players could capitalise on the rebounds. And there was no shortage of talent both in the girls and boys teams with one player’s rendition of Pele’s cartwheel kick! The impact of the 2010 World Cup on the youngsters of the country was evident, especially between the matches with everyone delighting in the thrill of simply kicking a ball at goal.

Belgian volleyballer Jonas Belaen refereed the volleyball and was highly impressed by the skills shown by the local teams of Knysna. Witnessing some power serves, long dives and short quick bursts of speed to return balls, it was local team Shamwari that took first place.

Rasta band Judah Square turned the atmosphere tropical when they arrived and played their chilled set whilst looking over the calm azure blue waters of Buff Bay. This, together with the arrival of a giant motor yacht made one feel you were lazing somewhere off the Carribean islands!

Although winds weren’t quite right for them, paragliding outfit Windmaster paragliders had their ‘trike’ there to demonstrate to all who were interested exactly how the little beast worked.

Many beachgoers commented on just how much fun and what a great day they’d had and promised they’d be back again next year. So if you missed out on the 2010 summer Beach Festival of sports, music and sand sculptures, be sure to mark off December 16^th 2011 and we’ll see you next time round!

My 4th week on the Big 5 Wildlife Project

My 4th week on the Big 5 Wildlife Project

By Elise van der Heijden

Wow, a month has passed since I first arrived here on the project. It’s just amazing how fast time moves here. I guess it’s true what they say - time flies when you’re having fun!

This week started off with me paying a visit to another EDGE of AFRICA project - the Predator Sanctuary Project! Kim and Malan drove me up to project where Daleen (sanctuary employee) and Tammy (fellow EDGE of AFRICA volunteer) were awaiting my arrival. They showed me around for a bit at first, explaining what and where everything is and what the aim of the sanctuary is etc. Then Tammy took me into the enclosure of Phoenix, the 5 month old caracal and introduced me to him. He was very cute, playing with his little teddy bears, but don’t be fooled by his pretty face because his nails are already very sharp and dangerous (just check Tammy’s arms for proof)! After that we got to build a shelter for the tigers in the sanctuary, using wooden poles and nails and we had to take down a fence in the cheetah’s enclosure to provide them with more space. I also got to meet the cheetahs, as they were in the enclosure when we were taking the fence down and they licked my hand, which was a really cool experience! Last, but definitely not least, I got to join the ‘regular’ tour and feeding tour around the sanctuary, which was very informative and interesting. Thanks Predator Sanctuary!

Another exciting day was when I finally (!) got to meet Roger (EDGE of AFRICA Co-Director), who came to drop off famous French journalist, Thibault Jean-Jean, at the reserve. Thibault is currently working on a book on volunteers and their projects, so he was visiting all the EDGE of AFRICA projects and interviewing the volunteers. We took him out in the reserve and did all the things that constitute a typical day for a volunteer on the project - fence checks, cheetah feedings, checking up on the rhino’s and other animals etc - basically took him on a game drive with benefits! After Hein and I showed him the reserve, we went to sit down at the lodge, which is where he interviewed me for his book (and took way to many pictures of me haha)!

This week has been all about feeding the big cats at the reserve. On Tuesday, Patrick and I went to collect a dead donkey at the neighbouring farm, which had only died that morning. We took it back to the butchery at the reserve and removed all the legs, which are cheetah food for the following days. The rest of the carcass was meant for the lions and as such we took it into the lion enclosure. The idea was to quickly drop it off by driving in reverse and then breaking so that the carcass would fall off the car... But somehow the brakes were not as strong as they needed to be so in the end I had to pull the handbrake simultaneously with Patrick braking which was pretty funny, and we managed to get it off in the end!

The two free roaming cheetahs out on the reserve managed to get hold of a proper dinner as well, when they made their first springbok kill on the Tuesday. It was amazing to see them eating their first springbok out in the reserve again and they consumed it so quickly that they looked like they were pregnant! But that’s not all, because early Friday morning they managed to take down another springbok... Guess what springbok, Bobby and Victor are back on track!

Another big project we had going this week was the front gate. We had to make a new proper front gate out of two old gates and some scrap metal pieces. So we were in need of a plan! And as they say in South Africa “n boer maak 'n plan” – directly translated to mean ‘a farmer makes a plan’. In other words South Africans can be very resourceful! We decided to use one of the gates completely, a couple of metal poles and the middle part of the other gate. Hein and Piet taught me how to grind and weld on the spot and that’s how we got started on the project! It took us two days to put all the pieces together and we then moved it up to the front gate and put it in place, after which we painted it black. It actually looks very neat and professional!

Another thing that kept us busy during the week, was fixing all the fences at the elephant camp - thank you for that Selati (naughty reserve elephant)! He kept breaking all the wires around the milkwood tree, the wires around the boma to try and get in, and just fences in general. It was like he was doing it on purpose to keep us busy! We will be trying out a new system on the wires around the milkwood tree next week though to keep him from breaking them all the time, so here’s hoping that that’s going to work!

After a busy week on the reserve there was some time for relaxing on the weekend! On Friday afternoon Tammy and I took the BazBus all the way to Knysna, where Roger collected us from the Knysna pick up point and took us to the volunteer house. He then took us out to a bar at the waterfront for drinks. A little while later we drove downtown and that’s where we met up with the other volunteers - Alex (Germany), Carla (Netherlands), Chun (UK), Katy (UK) and Philip (USA). We spent some time at the Swing Café (local live band venue) and then returned home to chill by the fire.

On the Saturday Joash (another EDGE of AFRICA staff member) took all of us on an excursion to Oudtshoorn in the Karoo! We went to an arts & crafts market, the Cango Caves and an ostrich farm. The caves were absolutely stunning and it was very interesting to learn about the different kinds of formations that grow there. The best part of the excursion was definitely the ostrich farm - we got to feed and ride the ostriches! That was totally awesome!

That night all of us went into town again and had a great time hopping from bar to bar as they closed down one by one.

Then on the Sunday morning (way too early), Roger took me and Tammy to the Knysna heads for breakfast, which was really very nice! So, all in all a great week and a wonderful weekend up in Knysna!

Until next time…

Elise van der Heijden (from Holland in case you didn’t guess)

EDGE of AFRICA Volunteer

Big 5 Wildlife & Conservation Project

November 2010

Is an introduction of elephants to the Knysna Forest feasible? By Jo Kotze, EDGE of AFRICA

Introduction

The few remaining elephants that continue to survive in the Knysna forest are the World’s most southerly elephants, and represent just a small fraction of the estimated 10,000 elephants that resided in the Cape region prior to European settlement in 1650 (Hall-Martin 1992). The decline of the Knysna elephants has occurred over many years and their decline has been attributed largely to hunting practices.

By 1876 an estimated 400-500 elephants remained in this area and these elephants were under heavy pressure from hunters (Phillips 1925). By 1908 only 20 individuals remained and these elephants were declared Royal Game (Kinloch 1968). In 1970 the population stood at 11 individuals and the continued decline was attributed to illegal hunting (Carter 1970). However, it has also been suggested that inadequate forest forage resulting in poor reproductive success caused a population crash in the 70s (Vermeulen 2000).

Knysna elephants & Forest habitat

Seydack et al. (2000) suggest that the decline of the Knysna elephants is attributable to the low nutrient/carbon ratios in the diet available to them, having been confined to a predominantly forest environment due to residential and agricultural development in the area. The low nutrient/carbon ratios are thought to result in low metabolic turnover rates and thus reproductive rates that are too low to offset mortalities (Seydack et al. 2000).

Prior to the increase in residential and agricultural development, seven to eight decades ago, both source and sink populations of elephants existed within the Southern Cape (Seydack et al. 2000).

In terms of habitat patches, source patches can be defined as “productive sites that generate a seasonal supply of migrants to other patch locations” and sink patches can be defined as “unproductive sites that only receive migrants” (Hanski & Gaggiotti 2004).

In the case of the Knysna elephants, the source population occupied more open vegetation types, whereas the sink populations resided primarily in the forest and were sustained by immigration from source populations (Seydack et al. 2000). Based upon this model, Seydack et al. (2000) suggest that the Knysna elephants represent a remnant sink population.

The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) have a similar view on the Knysna elephants. However whereas Seydack et al. (2000) suggest that the Knysna elephants are a remnant sink population that cannot persist due to the demise of the source populations; WESSA suggest that the Knysna elephants have been forced into the forest due to human encroachment.

WESSA state that “In general, the indigenous forest, fynbos and exotic plantation areas to which the elephants are limited by human activity are nutritionally poor. Nutritionally superior areas, from which the elephants are presently excluded, exist between Mosselbay and George. It is thus most likely that the Knysna elephants are a relict population forced into unsuitable habitats by human encroachment. If this is the case, then the reintroduction of more elephants will only postpone the extinction of this subpopulation.” The statement also adds that “If, however, reintroduced elephants do manage to increase in numbers it is most likely that their impact on the largest and best-conserved indigenous evergreen forest in southern Africa could be substantial, and culling would need to be instituted” (WESSA Policy Statement 2001).

1994 introduction of elephants

In 1994 an attempt was made to supplement the Knysna elephant population by introducing 3 young female elephants from Kruger NP. The hope was that these introduced elephants would join up with what was believed to be the only remaining elephant, an elderly matriarch in the forest. However, one of the elephants died on release and the other two elephants preferred to spend the majority of their time in the more open fynbos habitat. In 1999 conservation officials decided to move the introduced elephants instead to Shamwari Game Reserve (Seydack et al. 2000, Milewki 2002).

Conclusion

Both the suggestions of Seydack et al. (2000) and those of The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA Policy Statement 2001) imply that to re-introduce elephants into the forest itself may not be feasible due to the nutritionally poor habitat resulting in low reproductive rates.

The 1994 re-introduction attempt also indicates that even if elephants were to be introduced into the forest, they wouldn’t necessarily be inclined to stay there.

However, there is one concept that could be a feasible way of re-introducing a sustainable population of elephants not to the Knysna Forest, but to the Garden Route area in general; and that is the proposal of an Eden to Addo corridor.

Eden to Addo Corridor

In simple terms a conservation corridor is a strip of land joining two protected areas. Conservationists have come to realise that simply creating isolated protected areas is not sufficient to protect the complex processes required for proper ecological functioning. A conservation corridor allows for freedom of physical movement and freedom to exchange genetic material; both of which are vital for the survival of organisms.

The dream is to create such a corridor which would start in Plettenberg Bay and radiate out until the Eden municipality is linked to Addo National Park. The corridor would comprise a zig-zagged stretch of land that unites private landowners, conservation authorities and the state. This corridor would connect the existing three mega-reserves of the area – Garden Route Mega Reserve, Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve and Addo Elephant National Park.

Most excitingly, in theory this conservation corridor could re-establish ancient elephant migration paths across the Cape....

(Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative)

References

Carter, B. (1970) ‘Knysna Elephant Survey: February 1969 – January 1970.’ Report to the Wild Life Protection and Conservation Society of South Africa, Eastern Province Branch, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative (2007). Available at:http://www.edentoaddo.co.za/about.html. Accessed: 15 November 2010.

Hall-Martin, A.J. (1992) ‘Distribution and Status of the African elephantLoxodonta africana in South Africa 1652-1992.’ Koedoe. Vol. 35, pp. 35-68.

Hanski, I., Gaggiotti, O.E. eds. (2004) ‘Ecology, genetics and evolution of metapopulations.’ Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-323448-4

Kinloch, B. (1968) ‘The elephants of Knysna.’ African Wildlife. Vol. 22, pp. 185-190.

Phillips, J.F.V. (1925) ‘The Knysna elephants: a brief note on their history and habits’ South African Journal of Science. Vol. 22, pp. 287-293.

Everything Elephant Journal - September 2010

Everything Elephant Project

By Cara Dungay & Seb Thursby from England

Week 1:

Knysna Forest

Our first week with EDGE of AFRICA started with a day exploring the wilds of the Knysna forests. We were introduced to the local forest and wildlife expert called Hynie Tredoux (a merge of Crocodile Dundee and David Attenborough). We had previously watched a documentary on the Knysna Forest elephants and hoped to be lucky in spotting one of only three officially reported elephants. Hynie identified and introduced an unbelievable amount of flora and fauna to us and after 2 hours on the trail we stopped for a drink and were informed we had only covered around 800m. The rest of the hike was completed at a slightly quicker pace but no less interesting, and by the end of our trail we were more aware of the wildlife in the forest and started to identify tree and plant life ourselves. Our less than silent travel through the forest maybe the reason we weren’t lucky enough to see the elusive forest elephant.

Addo Elephant National Park

An EDGE of AFRICA organized trip to Addo Elephant Park was next for us. The four hour trip flew by with the prospects of seeing the Big Five especially elephants. Setting up the tents took longer than expected due to the strong South African “breezes”! Because of the windy delay we unfortunately didn’t have enough daylight left to go to the for a game drive so instead Jo and Joash organized for us to go to the Reptile and Raptor centre. As we were learning about them, reptiles were continuously placed on us whether we wanted it or not! These included gecko’s, a skink, ever increasing sizes of snakes and toads. With time running out and darkness setting in we were led into an enclosure where we met Jack the friendly owl. He was enticed with treats to land on various body parts ending up sitting on a surprised Eavanna’s head! The tour finished by meeting a brand new 4 week old fluff ball baby owl (very cute!). Thanks to Darren for introducing and educating us to your animals. Our first evening at Addo ended with a delicious braai cooked by our very own Joash, Jo and Eavanna- thanks guys!

Day 2 started early for our first game drive. With our eager faces pushed up against the windows we got the hang of spotting animals, a lot of warthog, kudu and tortoises later we were wondering if any elephant existed here. Luckily Liam needed a loo break so we stopped at a game hide and spotted our first elephant around a watering hole yay! This started off our elephant survey with GPS position, sex and group size being taken down. During the next 6 hours we were lucky enough to spot many more elephants, jackals, birds of prey, red hearty beast, eland, ostriches and enough warthogs to make Lion King 4! We then headed back to stretch our legs, have a drink and for those that needed it a nicotine fix before heading out on an evening game drive. This drive brought us within touching distance of a herd of elephant that had decided to make the road their next chosen feeding ground. It was amazing to see these beautiful animals (and young babies) so close up. The evening consisted of another delicious dinner and after few beers everyone headed for there tents in hurricane Addo.

There was enough time in the morning of day 3 for a quick game drive. We were on the hunt for lions as they had been spotted earlier in the day; unfortunately we got there just too late but did get to drive through a big herd of buffalo. After saying goodbye to Addo we packed up our things and headed home a little less enthusiastically than the journey there.

Week 2

Tuesday

Our first day at the Elephant Sanctuary, we got up at 6am and made our way with Jo and Larissa to The Crags Elephant Park just past Plettenberg Bay.

When we arrived we were armed with waterproof ponchos and Jo organized us to do the Elephant tour with the trunk in hand walk. We got to meet the three ellie’s that are mostly used for the tours; Marula, Jabu and Thandi. After some other members of our tour gave the elephants their morning scrub we were invited to take one each on a trunk in hand walk. The elephant’s handler told us to stand in front of them with our right hand out facing behind us, the elephant then placed the tip of their trunk in our hand. We walked them into the forest where we had a meet and greet. This involved each handler showing us different actions of natural elephant behaviour. Thandi shook, Jabu blew and Marula knelt. We were then introduced to the ellies and were allowed to touch different parts of their body to know how it felt. After leading them back out of the forest we then got to feed them which was their favourite part!

After a quick tea break, we got down to our ellie observation task. Firstly this involved identifying who was who (which is hard to begin with but easier with Jo’s help and knowing what to look for!), choosing two each and watching for certain behaviours. For example if Marula touched Thandi’s bum we would have to note the time of the bum touching, the two ellies involved in the bum touching and who initiated/received the bum touch! Seeing as elephants eat for up to 20 hours a day there often wasn’t many interactions to note down but it was a pleasure to sit and watch these gentle giants.

After a quick lunch, we were asked to do some painting in the new handler and elephant accommodation. The painting got a bit messy and we came out looking like we had serious dandruff problems. (a few paint fights may have been involved too!)

After clearing everything away this completed our first day, so we headed home possibly snoozing along the way!

Wednesday

Up early again, today was harder than yesterday! Jo (who travels every elephant day from Plettenberg to Knysna at 5 in morning) came and picked us up and drove us back past her house to the elephant sanctuary! (good old Jo!)

Today started with us getting stuck in clearing and sweeping out the ellie stables. You become very quickly more accustomed to ellie poo when your knee deep in it! We were then asked to collect together all the sticks and twigs from the elephants night enclosure.

After lunch we continued helping by painting poison (not human or ellie poison) on the connecters of the electric fences around the elephant enclosure. The solution should prevent spider webs being made as they disrupt the electric fence current.

After all of our hard work of the morning we were rewarded with a few more hours of elephant observation study. Today we felt a lot more comfortable identifying each elephant without looking at the helpful guide sheet.

Thursday

Day three and we dragged ourselves out of bed. After sleeping our way to the sanctuary we set about our familiar task of poo clearance and remaking the elephant’s sawdust based beds.

Our next task seemed simple at first and was to rake the stick cleared elephant night enclosure to make it look snazzy for the visiting tourists. After two and a half hours of raking in the hot sun we had successfully cleared half the enclosure and it did indeed look snazzy. Exhausted yet satisfied with our work we collapsed down for lunch and a few more hours of conservation study.

Week 3

Workshops

This week as part of our everything elephant project we visited local schools and youth centres around our area and carried our workshops on elephant anatomy and social behaviour. In the week we visited pre-schools (Judah Square, Siyafunda) with kids aged from 2-5 where we did colouring in, and cutting and sticking exercises all about elephants. We taught at a local orphanage with kids aged from 3-17. A little trickier to include all ages in the lesson but we managed it by each group drawing and labelling their own elephant. Following this was an elephant based word search and a fun interactive test that included everybody. With the skills and workshops we had created we also visited local youth centres, Sinethemba and Mad about Art. Although this all sounds very teacher like, we spent most of our time playing games, messing about with the kids and being human jungle gyms! We will take many fun and happy memories away with us and loved every minute of being a kid again!

Thank you EDGE of AFRICA & Knysna! We will be back! J

Lots of Love Cara and Seb xxx

Give the EDGE | Volunteer in Africa

Give The Edge | Volunteer in Africa Slideshow: EDGE of AFRICA’s trip from Knysna, South Africa to 2 cities Cape Town and Mossel Bay was created by TripAdvisor. See another South Africa slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

EDGE of AFRICA Newsletter - August 2010

Recycling Swop shop

In association with the Biomimicry campaign being run by Sue Swain on behalf of Knysna and Eden Distict Municipalities.

One of EDGE of AFRICA’s latest ventures is initiating Knysna’s first ever ‘Recycling Swop Shop’. This exciting project serves two purposes – to clean up Knysna and to provide for the basic needs of local children.

The idea of the Swop Shop is that children collect plastic bottles, tins, and other recyclable materials and bring them to the Swop Shop. The items are then weighed and the children earn a certain amount of ‘EDGE Bucks’ (tokens) depending on how much they bring. These EDGE Bucks can then be exchanged for items in the shop (all of which have been donated). The more valuable items will require more EDGE Bucks, so the children have the option to save up their EDGE Bucks to buy the more expensive treats!

Similar Swop Shops are already running in Hermanus where the concept has proved very successful and we have every confidence that Knysna’s Swop Shop will also be a big success!!

There will also be another element to our Swop Shop whereby children can chose to complete a variety of learning modules, such as literacy, numeracy and conservation. They will then earn EDGE Bucks based on the complexity of the module.

Finally, as a reward for the children who collect the most recyclables monthly, we are looking at conducting outings and excursions into various natural areas along the Garden Route.

Siyafunda Re-build

As part of EDGE of AFRICA’s ‘build our schools’ project, EOA volunteers (and project coordinators!) have been assisting with the re-build of Siyafunda pre-school.

The previous building was in bad shape with leaking ceilings and damp carpeted floors, and was far too small to accommodate the 80 children that attend the school. Now through the Knysna Education Trust Siyafunda has secured the funding needed in order to build a brand new building in its place! The new building will be large enough to incorporate multiple classrooms and will be a safe and pleasant learning environment for children and teachers alike.

Each week the EDGE of AFRICA team has been helping with the build in anyway they can, from picking up litter from the site to building fencing; and everyone’s hard work is paying off, as the building is progressing quickly and is looking fantastic!

We are honored to be involved in this extremely worthwhile project and once the new and improved Siyafunda pre-school is complete we look forward to helping the next school in need!!

SOUNS Literacy Program

EDGE of AFRICA is working in conjuction with the Knysna Education Trust to implement the SOUNS Literacy Program in pre-schools in the Knynsa area.

This program which has already been successful in the U.S.A. involves using non-toxic, shatter proof plastic letters as a learning tool to teach children to sound out letters. Children are known to absorb more information when their senses are involved, and SOUNS provides the opportunity for better articulation and pronunciation of words as the children become aware of all the sounds and letters in words.

This project is already proving to be successful as children are discovering the sounds of letters and are able to write their names and other words using the SOUNS letters.

Currently EDGE of AFRICA is responsible for helping to implement the program at Judah Edu-Centre and so far this is going extremely well.

HAART Vegetable Garden

Recently EDGE of AFRICA volunteers initiated a vegetable garden at the HAART (Highly Active Anti – Retroviral Treatment) Clinic at Knysna Provincial Hospital.

At present the garden is small but it is growing beautifully! It comprises of cabbage , spinach beetroot and spring onions .

The idea for this vegetable garden came from Dr. Laurel Giddy; she would as we would eventually like to see all the grass area surrounding the HARRT Clinic covered in veggies.

The purpose of this garden is that people attending the HAART Clinic will eventually be able to take a selection of veggies home with them as they leave the clinic. All the veggies that will be grown and are currently growing are of high nutritional value.

With any chronic illness and when taking regular medications a good, balanced diet is imperative. We hope that by establishing this vegetable garden we can assist people who may not have the financial means to buy fresh vegetables in having a balanced diet.

The next phase of the garden is going to be a mealie garden (as in Corn on the cob!)

We have had a lot of support from the people of Knysna and we would like to take this opportunity to thank these people. Thank you to Beth Wilkinson from That’s it and also to Margaret and Bronwyn at Hedges Garden Centre.

For more information on volunteering with EDGE of AFRICA, please visit http://www.EDGEofAFRICA.com/

Written by Jo Lancaster