We can always expect an interesting mix of people on our Nature Guide Courses. A mix of people from vastly different backgrounds, ages and experience all meeting in the wild Okavango Delta. Kwapa Camp becomes this heterogenous mixing pot of ingredients all slowly coming together to find the flavour for the month.
AGA has also had a wide variety of people from different areas of the world in the past, but this time we had students from Peru and even one of French-Algerian descent, both new to our list of explorers.
Stories around the campfire were rich and deep. Tales from people living vastly different lives all coming together under the African stars.
Highlights:
From a trainer’s perspective, it is always a humbling experience to show someone their first elephant. Their first leopard. Even their first grey go-away bird.
But day one, straight out the gates, they were unwelcomed by a grumpy mother elephant who wasn’t too happy with their presence at our wonderful Hidden Lagoon. After a charge and everyone being covered in dust, JC one of our top instructors, diffused the situation with expert experience and skill, so that the students could keep this story in their back pockets for the loved ones and friends back home.
Luckily this didn’t set a tone for the rest of the time here and we were blessed with some incredible elephant and leopard sightings and even some lions sprinkled towards the end of their time here. But without a doubt, there is always a highlight linked with the wild dogs.
A picture speaks a thousand words, they say, but what about a video?
The story behind the video goes a little something like this:
We got a tip off from Sevara earlier that day about the wild dogs taking up residence near North Forest and that maybe it would be a good place to camp out. There was also a pack kill on an impala that day with a little bit of leftovers for a snack at some stage. This seemed like the ideal place to set up camp – a secluded forest, an open grassy area and a full moon. The perfect recipe for a night to remember.
But later in the evening, way after dinner, the conversation around the campfire becomes slower as eyes become weary.
But one of the students lifts his finger and whispers “Look! Wild dogs.” We all turn and we’re surrounded by the pack. Completely safe. But surrounded.
This was the start of about a 45 minute encounter with these inquisitive creatures. Edging closer to inspect our presence.
Things took a comical turn when a few of them grabbed our big blue tarp and ran off with it where they started ripping it up. At some stage Raf, our volunteer, thought it was enough and tried to chase them off to get it back. Which worked out in the end but involved an intermittent game of tug-of-war resulting in a pretty ripped up blue tarp.
Another highlight is always watching the growth of the students.
In this case, during some conservation work on our boreholes, one of the more tentative students at the start, took it upon himself to be completely in charge of elephant-traffic control while the rest of us hammered, and dug away. It was so inspiring to see that confidence that he built up in such a short time. Standing down boisterous elephants and redirecting them through his calm and confident presence.
Some of the rarer sightings included an aardvark, one of the first official sightings on the concession, as well as a mating pair of aardwolf which was taken by one of our students
Then, naturally, things slowly start coming to an end and the time here at Kwapa shortens – soon to become a life-changing memory, one of incredible stories and experience.
We look forward to the students in this particular group coming back in August this year and for the Trails Guide Course next year. There are more stories to share and be made.
And to sign off in a phrase that started making the rounds in this group:
“THIS IS KWAPA!”
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