June 2nd. Today was
our day off again. And as we weren’t able to do our tour of Khamai last Sunday,
we rescheduled it for today. We left camp around 9am and got to Khamai at 10.
We began with an information slideshow that taught us all about snakes, the way
they operate, their venoms, and a little about spiders and scorpions. Then, we
were allowed to hold a python and get pictures, should we so desire. We then
looked around at all the snakes they had in their enclosures, including green
and black mambas, vipers, cobras, and whatnot. After that, we got a feeding
demonstration, of some large scaled lizards, chameleons, bearded dragons,
iguanas, and a cobra. We got to feed the chameleon, who I of course dubbed
“Pascal”, and the guide told us to put the mealworm on our lips. So of course,
a few brave souls and I did just that. It was so weird to feel his little
tongue come snatch the worm right off your lip with a soft and moist little
tongue! Then, after watching the snake swallow the rat whole, super cool, we
had a short time for a break, which meant the American girls got peanuts and
played with the squirrel monkeys! They were kinda shy today, compared to last
week. Then, the demonstration of snake handling started. The man who runs/owns
the place brought out to show us, and teach us about, three of the coolest
snakes. The most venomous (Boomslang), the most dangerous (puff adder), and the
one that people think is the scariest (cobra). We got to see them all up close
and watch him handle them. Stewart, Kelsie, and I even got to “handle” the puff
adder, aka, we learned how to catch them using the snake-handling hook and
safely contain them. Pretty cool, when the highly dangerous snake is
hissing/puffing away at you, just a meter from your feet. We definitely learned
a lot about snakes, in particular, venomous snakes in South Africa. Definitely
a cool outing, and the Center is really great for education and conservation.
Then, we headed to the Blue Cottages B&B for lunch. I had a yummy salad
with chicken salad on it that was made with some special curry sauce, yummm! We
didn’t get back to camp today until 5pm, because our tour at Khamai took 4
hours, until 2pm. So my day of “rest and research” was cut VERY short. We all
kinda hung out and relaxed a bit, having some quiet time to read, shower, do
some washing for the week. Then, somehow a huge picture sharing time began, and
I helped facilitate picture swapping through my computer. Luckily, that meant I
got to steal Gail’s, Kira’s, Tom’s, and Stewart’s pictures, which gave me a lot
of great shots! I didn’t get Wolfgang’s but I am hoping to get them tomorrow
morning! The whole picture shebang took much longer than I had wanted, but it
was cool to look through everyone’s photos and talk about them. The girls made
borewors and mashed potatoes for dinner, and since we had all had a late lunch
at the B&B, no one was very hungry. We didn’t even make a fire. I grabbed a
little bit of food and returned to the lounge to work on my research, and
gradually, everyone joined me. We ended all (minus the rangers) sitting in a
circle of couches, eating our dinner and chatting. It had gotten cold outside,
and with no fire, no one was going to eat at the table! Everyone was pretty
much ready to go to bed early, and slipped off every once in a while. I settled
in to work on my mapping, which was great, because I actually had a little bit
of time to focus. It was definitely a really quiet night, which was nice after
the busy day. But also, today marks the end of my third full week. That means
my trip is halfway over! And that freaks the bejeebers out of me. I can’t go
back to the US already, in just three weeks. That’s much too soon. I’m already
starting to plan my next trip. I’m trying to think of ways that I can come to
this country for 6 months or so! It can work, right? I know of some other great
reserves I would like to look into, as well as some training programs and
places I could potentially work! Lukas told me during my first or second week
here, “Once you touch the red sand, you either come back, or stay.” Now, I
completely understand!
A beautiful Gaboon viper!
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