Just Another Days Work

A couple of weeks ago, we had some guys here doing a research project for their Masters Degree. It involved putting bracelets on some of the rhino legs for a couple of days to collect data. Well it was time to take the bracelet off Pemba, who weighs one and a half ton, yes, that is 3000 lbs. Pemba was the little cutie I got to see come in and take care of last year. now he's soon on his way to be released.  The day before this particular day, we had successfully put the bracelet on him without any issue.  Regardless, I cautiously put food out to distract and occupy him and slowly made my way in. He noticed me but just looked at me and then continued eating. As I eased in closer I talked to him calmly, with confidence, but still keeping my distance being aware and careful as he is a very big wild animal. He watched me but carried on eating. Then without warning he came at me...like a freight train. Running I turned my back to try to reach for the concrete trough that was not far from me. It seemed liked miles away but when I was finally just about to reach it, his horn went between my legs and lifted me into the air. I landed on the trough and he kept charging and hitting me. I was bleeding from hitting the trough so hard when I came back down. When I was able to get back up I also noticed my thigh was scratched and instantly bruised from his horn. He came back again and I dodged him a bit. About that time, one of the researchers made a racket to get his attention. They got the bag full of food to distract him and I was able to get away. Unfortunately, I didn't get the ankle monitor on this try. I was a bit scratched, jarred, and spooked but fortunately I was ok. (For several days after I was pretty sore, however). See, this rhino doesn't get much human contact anymore. He must have thought I was a danger to his food and reacted. Surprisingly I am very happy he acted that way...he will do SO well out in the wild. He's one tough guy. All apart of the job!! I think the guys were more freaked out than I was. I expected something like that...they weren't. They were in shock. What's amazing to me is that they were recording, but unfortunately when it all happened they put the camera down. In the video you can see when he ran at me and then you hear nothing but a commotion.  The time was literally 10 seconds, it happened so fast but felt like it took forever.

Ten minutes later it was time to make milk. As I was putting the teet on, the bottles slipped and milk spilt everywhere, on the floor and on me. Angie and I just laughed. Typical really. Then as I was feeding the rhinos, the teets kept coming off. Once. Twice. Then a third time where the bottle flipped spilling more milk on me and the ground...at this point I could have either laughed or cried. Luckily, I chose to laugh and Angie and I did just that. Following that we were giving the rhinos some dry food and I went around to get the hose to fill their water bowls....I hear a noise. It was just about dark and I thought it was a rat since we see those a lot. I yell out "go away rat." I see something move and I take a better look....and...it wasn't a rat...it...SLITHERED! Ok so before I tell you the rest of my story, let me give you some background. This, by far, was the worst part of the night. Some of you may or may not know I have a disgust and a phobia of snakes. I appreciate our coexistence and what they do for our ecosystem...but I would appreciate it much more if I never had to see them. I went through a phase where it wasn't as bad but once I got here during the summer, the terror came back full force. The snakes here in Africa are unlike those in Lakeland, Florida....they are bigger, faster, more venomous and just plain more horrifying. They are the snakes of all snakes. There are two kinds I dread the most.  First are cobras...specifically the spitting cobra which reaches about 4 feet long and never misses it's target when it spits it's venom, normally at their target's eyes, blinding them. If bitten you must seek aid immediately. But then there is the worst of the worst. The one that literally sends chills up my spin..ok all of them do but this one...well this one is...The Black Mamba. They are not black...they are grayish/brown and can reach up to 15 feet long with a face of pure evil. They are one of the most dangerous snakes in the world and can reach speeds up to 12.5 mph.  A bit from them is generally a 100% fatality rate, usually within 20 minutes. Every time I walk through thick bush I am stomping my feet as hard as I can to give any snake a warning and to slither away. (which to my somewhat comfort is the normal behavior of any snake). I look like a plain fool but I don't care. Rather be a fool than see a snake. Well my worst nightmare had to occur on this not so perfect day...of all days. I see it slither away and of course I scream...ok maybe it was more on the squeal side...and run all the way to Angie. I wouldn't walk past there without her...of course that was the only way out. I freaked out so hard I got a kink in my neck and couldn't move it for a while...yeah I know pathetic but it was horrible. The next day, Dan, Simone's boyfriend came to look for it and of course couldn't find it. So now obviously I call out..."go away snake" every time I have to pass that area. And so what did I see today...2 snake tracks. Awesome. Ok so literally there are some not so good days but the rest of them sure make up for the bad ones!!

Just a photo of  Faith and I that I wanted to share

The Day of Learning

Before I start to tell you about my other day that wasn’t particularly the best I should tell you about a good day that happened in between. There is a grade school outside of Pretoria called Reddam House Waterfal School. They have taken it upon themselves to donate money to the orphanage. So now they are the official sponsors and are the first to be accorded as official partner status. It is quite an honor, and they scheduled a whole day of celebration. They sold bubbles and the money that they earned came to us!! The reason for the bubbles is because they are sponsoring Nyani, one of the "teenagers." She's the sweet girl that thinks she's a human and when she was a baby she really enjoyed to blow bubbles in the water. They really liked that story about Nyani and decided that's the rhino they will sponsor. So in their day of celebration they asked if we could send some people from the Orphanage to the school to talk to the kids about what we do and a share some facts about Nyani. So Jamie and I met Camilla, who was a volunteer who lives in Pretoria, and we went. Jamie and I left for the school at 4:00 am. It takes about 2 hours to get there but we were going to have to go through an area that has massive delays in traffic. So to be there before 8 we left at 4. Well, we still ended up being late. We were caught in traffic and then we followed bad directions sending us 30 minutes out of the way. We had to stop and ask directions twice. We even remember seeing a school and saying "hey I bets that's it and we are almost there." But the GPS took us on a road past it...well that school ended up being the school we needed and the GPS deterred us. Once we got there our stomachs were in knots. The school was immaculate. It was new, “ginormous” and unlike any grade school I have ever seen. It seemed like it was the Yale of grade schools. (That was for you Uncle Blake). Once we stepped through the gates we saw kids....everywhere. Running around blowing bubbles and having a blast. They surrounded 2 huge beaded rhinos in the center of the grass. My instant thought "oh my what have we gotten ourselves into!" Once they had gotten the kids settled, they took them to an auditorium. They started off singing their school song and instantly I thought " wow I want to come here".  One class did a presentation that was super cute and then it was our turn to talk. It was short, but we enjoyed it and the kids seemed interested too! Afterwards they called out everyone who had a birthday that month to come down and get a cupcake and then gave out awards to those students who were exemplary. It was such a fun, hip and well-behaved school. We took pictures with the class that was called "The Rhino Class" and then went to the Headmasters office. There we talked with her, a reporter from 2 newspapers, a councilor of Johannesburg and other dignitaries. They were all very easy to talk to. We really enjoyed our time there and it made the long journey worthwhile. They are planning on sponsoring another rhino and doing another cool event where they would like us to join and of course we are looking forward to it. It was really inspiring to see a school, whose motto is "We must give back," that is helping build our future to aid our planet and all that inhabits it. Sister schools are now starting to pick up charities and programs to donate to as well.

The "Rhino" class

After the school we decided to take up the opportunity to go to the city since we live in the bush....in the middle if “no where”. We went to a Mug and Bean, which is a restaurant with coffee that I would but in a category below Starbucks but here, without Starbucks, it's perfect. We then shopped around and went to the movies. I've never been to the movies here and it was a real treat. For those of you who are wondering...their theaters are just like ours!! We then of course missed our exit on the way back and got a little lost but eventually we found our way back to our quaint place in the bush.

Since the Rhino orphanage is a non-profit organization, it is very much appreciated when donations come in and this school is making a difference. If you're wondering if you can too...well you can. There is a wish list on amazon of things that we really need but also The Rhino Orphanage has opened up a Paypal, making it easier for people around the world to help. People can give a flat donation or they can now sponsor a rhino. So if you are interested in donating or even following more on what's happening at the orphanage go to http:// therhinoorphanage.co.za/ and like us on Facebook!!!