In August I took up my first post-graduation job as a Teaching Assistant with the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). This company runs study-abroad courses for US students in a number of destinations worldwide, including Costa Rica, Australia, and SA. The South African semester is called ‘African Ecology and Conservation’ and over 100 days the course travels widely between various national parks and other protected areas, including Kruger, Mapungubwe, Cape Town and the Cederberg. Along with around 20 20-something American undergraduates (see what I did there?), there are also two South Africans on each course, which was how I first experienced OTS back in 2010 while doing my Honours degree at UCT. My OTS experience was life-changing in a number of ways, including igniting my passion for birds, exposing me to a variety of field-based techniques that I’ve used many times since in my own research, and through meeting new friends from all over ‘Murica. Ever since my course I’ve had an eye of making my way onto the course again as a staff member, so I was chuffed and excited when the OTS SA Director, Laurence Kruger, came asking! I found my way up to Skukuza for the pre-course planning week with the other staff, most of whom I luckily knew already through other channels. The only member of academic staff that I hadn’t met was Jess, who is the other Teaching Assistant for this semester, but she’s one of those people who it’s near-impossible not to get along with. We immediately got thrown in the deep end with curricular, logistical, administrative planning meetings and tasks that completely overwhelmed us. I was especially sorry for Jess, who hadn’t the faintest at the outset what to expect. Having done the course I had a slight advantage, but even for me it was information overload. It just goes to show how seriously the team takes the job, and what a monster mission it is to organize a 100 day-long live-in academic semester! And in a flash the planning week had flown by, and we were off to the airport in Johannesburg to pick the students up! Jess and I got creative with some welcome signs, but it was sneaky of her to withhold her penchant for fine art before letting me agree to a competition… Nevertheless, we collected the students without issue and got them back to the overnight accommodation. The next morning we bundled them and their luggage into the cars in -3°C – isn’t Africa supposed to be hot?! We headed north to visit Freedom Park, a kind of museum space exploring the complex and chequered history of South Africa. The exhibit is set up in a revisionist style, including voices and stories from the oppressed peoples rather than adopting the more Eurocentric narrative timeline style. It was very effective and moving, albeit a lot to take in on a first day for the jetlagged students who still lacked a full context for what they were being exposed to. From here we pushed east to the Pullen Farm Nature Reserve in the vicinity of Barberton. This area is known for having the oldest exposed rocks in the world, and it supports a mesic savanna habitat. This was to be the crucible for the students’ introduction to South African ecosystems. The next few days were intensive, with lectures covering a range of topics on ecology, conservation, the philosophy of science, and South African history and culture. My contributions were a lecture on human disturbance (based on my Master’s), a lecture on South African history and important figures, a bird identification workshop and practical outing, and a fun lecture on braai culture. I also helped to organize the OTS Amazing Race – an activity that pits student teams against each other in a race to complete tasks and navigate using GPS units. It’s designed to be fun and to help break the ice, and included egg-throwing (to each other), cooldrink chugging, riddle-solving, and even an adapted non-alcoholic beer pong setup. At the end it required a talent show to separate the top teams, with highlights being card tricks, an impromptu rap, and a seminar on the art of wood whittling (you had to be there…). It was also at Pullen that I had something of an oopsie. While running on some pretty poor roads I mis-stepped on a loose rock and tumbled downhill. My ankle immediately swelled up like a tennis ball. Since it was early evening I gave it the night before heading to the doctor, but by that time walking on it was out of the question. X-rays seemed to point at a snapped ligament, and I was ordered to rest which curtailed my involvement for the last few days. A follow up visit to the doctor once the swelling had subsided confirmed serious ligament damage, but it was inconclusive just how bad it was. I was ordered to visit a physio to see what function I could regain, otherwise the possibility of surgery was mentioned. Luckily rehab has been going well and it looks like I'll make a full recovery. From Pullen we moved on to Skukuza Camp within the Kruger National Park. This is the HQ for OTS SA, and the students were of course all buzzing to see some big game that the park is known for. We set ourselves up at the Skukuza Science Centre - a brand-new, green-built facility born from a joint partnership between OTS, SANParks, and the Nsasani Trust. In fact, the grand opening for the centre took place a matter of days after we arrived. I managed to land the job of event photographer, which was about as useful as I could make myself with limited mobility. The centre includes a library, laboratory and lecture theatre, and it was here that the students got their first taste of real research. First there were the Long Term Research Projects which involved three days of fieldwork on a variety of different subjects. I supervised a project collecting raptor data along road transects. Essentially this was an opportunity to do an extended game drive while birding, which suited me just fine! Then came two visiting faculty to run projects on bats and tree traits. I was less involved with these, but still enjoyed assisting with some fieldwork. After this period of activity the students were rewarded with some consolidation time, and then we were treated to some student seminars on recent conservation research which we designed as a mock conference in the lecture theatre. I had a lot of fun chairing some sessions and getting creative with their introductions. One of the students likened my efforts to a ‘roast’, which probably encapsulated the tongue-in-cheek approach I took. After a solid few weeks in Skukuza we trekked north through the park to HaMakuya in rural Venda. Here the students were to engage in cultural homestays. This involves becoming part of a homestead, doing chores like firewood collection, eating traditional food (including slaughtering your own chicken), being taught how to dance and sing, visiting traditional healers, and just generally immersing themselves in a completely foreign culture and environments. The students generally learn a few lessons in the process, including some perspective on their own privileges, the sense of community, and the meaning of possessions. Meanwhile the staff stayed at the Tshulu Camp, which is a row of luxury tents set above the Mutale River in the most magnificent surroundings. We birded the area flat, climbed baobabs for sunset (well, all those with healthy ankles), and generally enjoyed some down time. One particularly enjoyable day was spent with local guide Samson Mulaudzi, who took us to see some Soutpansberg specials. Once the students joined us after homestay we celebrated with a party, including two local musicians playing Venda music on guitar and keyboard. It turned into quite a party, with all the students joining in and showcasing their newly-learnt dance moves. I did my best sokkie moves and taught them Shosholoza, meaning they would never feel out of place at a local rugby game. Needless to say my injured ankle complained the following morning, and I spent the next 24 hours off my feet to recover. Our next location was Mapungubwe National Park. The students went from sleeping on dung floors in mud huts to air-conditioned, luxury chalets surrounded by the natural amphitheatre of red rock cliffs. Though also a savanna, Mapungubwe is different in that it is much more arid. This point was mostly lost on the students though, as our first three days were interrupted by monster thunderstorms and torrential downpour every afternoon. Here we engaged in biodiversity surveys of a number of taxa, including small mammals, birds, butterflies, and vegetation. Naturally, I gravitated towards the bird surveys, although I did jump in with small mammals and vegetation too. There was also a visit to the World Heritage Site of Mapungubwe Hill, where southern Africa’s first kingdom split by class divisions was established. The royal family dwelled on the 40 m high hill overlooking the commoners below. They had some interesting traditions and rituals, including burials which is where the iconic Mapungubwe golden rhino statuette was found. On one of the last night’s the students designed a prank on me and another staff member who I shared a cabin with, hiding a number of phones in our house set with 2 am alarms. We naturally weren’t impressed, but the students didn’t think it through as we now had their phones. We drew out the standoff until they couldn’t take it any longer, and came to beg for our forgiveness. They have been set the task of performing a play for us when we visit the Cape in return for their phones, with the challenging theme of a monkey circus. I think we came out on top in that situation… Once biodiversity surveys were concluded we again hit the road, bound for Johannesburg and then by plane to Cape Town. Here the students are having their mid-term break, enjoying the cosmopolitan Mother City and all she has to offer. While I write this I am happily enjoying some home comforts like my pets and my own bed. It has been great to spend a weekend with my girlfriend too, who had been left behind in Cape Town and had to put up with all my stories over the phone.
After the break we will be heading off to the Cape Peninsula near Kommetjie, the Cederberg, and then back to Skukuza for the final leg. But more of that in another post!
2 Comments
Jacques de Satge
18/10/2017 13:44:52
Great blog post - very jealous! Your photography is also stunning, come along way since the Zoobot days!
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19/10/2017 19:06:14
Brilliant Photos Andrew!! Very jealous of the bat hawk and the finfoots, how'd you get that shot?!
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AuthorI am a birder, biologist, and nature blogger. I post about my trips, informative tidbits, and things I think are interesting. Archives
July 2017
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