A Day in the Life at Gondwana Research Station

My morning hot shower is followed by coffee and cornflakes to sustain me for the morning’s activity. I stash some fruit for mid-morning snacks in my day bag alongside my camera and binoculars, sunscreen, and woolly hat (the weather is pretty interchangeable here) before jumping on the back of the bukke.

This morning we are going for a mammal transect drive, my favourite! We drive a set route stopping whenever we see a mammal and record the species, number, sex, location and body condition before proceeding. A great way to practice our identification skills as well as learning to use a compass, GPS and range finder.

After a couple of hours bouncing along the dirt roads (stopping to take a closer look at some skulls found), we return to camp midday to refill our bellies in the self-catering kitchen. This is usually followed by a lecturer in the office to build our knowledge on the fynbos region and endemic species found there. Bring a note pad there is some much to learn!

In the afternoon we are out on another game drive but this time to set up and check camera traps. Again, more skills to learn from positioning to programming. We are desperately trying to get a shot of a brown hyena we saw a track of earlier in the week!

On the way home we get a great view of the African sunset, a magical memory enjoyed by all. The interns take it in turns of small groups to prepare the evening meal for everyone.

Tonight, Spanish music plays and satay chicken simmers with veggie patties and rice. The rest of the team are sharing stories and swapping pictures of the day whilst processing the camera data, drat no hyena today! We eat and play cards before heading to our tents for an early night. I drift off listening to the gentle sound of rain on my tent and the distant calls of the wild.

Tomorrow’s a new adventure!