FEBRUARY 2010

-- EExxppeecctt tthhee uunneexxppeecctteedd &

& tthheenn eexxppeecctt ssoom mee mmoorree;; bbuutt w
weeaarr aa ssm miillee eevveenn tthhrroouugghh tthhee
pprroobblleem
mss && sseettbbaacckkss,, aanndd yyoouu w
wiillll ccoom
mee oouutt oonn ttoopp N
NO OM MAATTTTEERR W WHHAATT --

Magical RAIN, Scary fires, Field Trips, Hectic exams, Overnight camping trips, Game drives ~ just some of the
happenings over the past month. As always we are busy, happy and enjoying molding our new recruits into the
best guides that they can be.

With temperatures at an all time high of upto 48 degrees, it was inevitable that we would have fires out in the
bush. One of the nearby reserves caught fire a few weeks back and every single person in the area jumped in
to assist – it always amazing to watch how people join ranks in
an emergency! More on the fire below and a photo, to show
you just how hectic it was. Incredible that once the fires were
over after about two days – the rain came down! Not as much
as we have hoped for, but any rain at this stage is GOOD rain.
The reserve has green grass again, the animals have come out
of hiding and sightings on Amakhala are magical.

The students are doing so well and are really a good team,
most of them are the same age (22) and they therefore have
much in common. When you have a team that works well
together, study hard together and enjoy the course together it
makes huge difference. There are quiet a few positions open on Amakhala at the moment and we are hoping
to slot them into the positions and keep them on Amakhala for a while longer.

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STUDENT space

N
NOOTT LLO
ONNG
GNNO
OWW&
&WWEE W
WIILLLL BBEE G
GUUIID
DEESS ~~

Time is flying by in this place that we can now all call home.
We have all experienced tiring and challenging weeks with
mostly 20 hour days. On some days we woke up at 5am and
studied until midnight, on other days we walked at 45-48°C
and had to fight a bushfire. The life of a ranger is exhausting
and adventurous, however all this hard work that we put into
the last 7 weeks has been finally rewarded with an awesome
trip to the beach at Kenton on sea, compliments of Candice
and Schalk, where we could relax and clear our minds.

We were divided into four groups, the girls slept in the

house, and the general (Will) slept in the living room (the poor guy hardly got any sleep, so during the day he
used every opportunity to have a quick powernap, such as in the middle of a conversation ... such a general).
The boys slept in tents, and we were divided into the impala studs and the studs gangs. At first there was a
battle between these two groups, who could put up their tent first. While the impala studs put theirs up
within 2 minutes, my group – the studs – needed about an hour ... but therefore our tent looked like a palace,
while theirs looked like an eskimo iglo.
We then had a stroll on the beach, played some cricket and body surfed in the sea. We were divided into
groups, whereby one group would go on a walk and another
handful would go fishing on Schalks boat. I went walking first
and it was an amazing 12km stroll along the coast and through
the dunes. We found a lot of marine life stranded on the
beach, such as two shysharks, jellyfish and bluebottles. When
we arrived at our destination at lunchtime, Candice and Sarah
were waiting for us with a couple of ice cold beers, which
seriously brought tears of joy to our eyes. After our walk we
went to the local pub, watched some rugby and ate pizza, only
to find out that the group on the boat got stuck and stranded
in the middle of the lagoon due to the tide. They were stuck
from 7pm to 1am in the cold, while we were in our cozy pub
eating those beautiful pizzas. People were also very confused
of the way I ordered my pizza...I had a hawaien pizza without
pineapple, but with bacon and onions. My normal diet consists
of 2 pizzas a day, so I have been heavily deprived of my
natural diet during my stay in the bush. I was astonished to see the passion that others shared with me for
pizza, so I guess it is right to say – pizza brought us all a lot closer – but also a couple of drinks during a vicious
2 and a half hour game of uno back at the house. In the end, Kobus won the round, but with half of his cards
sneakily tucked into his back pocket. The fishing group arrived half frozen and especially our German/Dutch
friend Paul was starving and almost devoured his crew to survive.

The next day Matt, Bruce, Joshua (aka. Schalk’s mini me) and I were on the boat with Schalk and had an
awesome morning of fishing. We caught a couple of Rock cods, Kabeljou and I also proved my fishing skills by

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2
 catching a bird in mid-air. The afternoon was spent mostly on the
beach or with fishing or in the sleep-deprived generals case,
powernapping while standing. In the evening, we went for another
round of hawaien pizza without pineapple and got to enjoy some
more super 14 rugby.

On our last day we had a game of touch rugby and jukskei (a

traditional South African game) on the beach. Our team
unfortunately lost, but it was mostly due to unfair gameplay - the
jukskei pitch seemed to be awefully small for the lethal power of
the general’s arms. As we came back to the house, Candice, Sarah
and Hailey spoilt us with an awesome brunch with scrabmled eggs,
bacon, vienas, chips...the list goes on and on. We left Kenton on
sea fully relaxed and with a weekend full
of unforgettable memories heading
towards our home, the Ulovane base,
where we will be tackling the last few
hectic weeks of studying and final exams.
A big thanks goes to the Ulovane crew for
organising such a fantastic relaxing trip
and making this a truly unforgettable
experience in the bush.

-- NNiicc DDiivviisscchheekk
-- AA ttrruullyy w
wiissee m
maann w
wiilll vvaalluuee hhuum
miilliittyy aanndd tthhee ccoouunnsseell ooff ootthheerrss.. --

The top picture of the boat and sunrise, I took, yes I was up at 06:00am and I loved it – watching that sunrise was
one of my most magical experiences ever.

AD space

*2
2001100 THREE MONTH FGASA Level One Trails Guide Course
05 April – 26 June 2010 – APPLICATIONS OPEN – LIMTED SPACE so get your applications in
ASAP!
28 June – 18 September 2010
20 September – 11 Dec 2010
* OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY GROUPS
* Please contact us for FGASA assessments our facilitators are qualified to assess Level 1, 2, 3, VPDA
& ARH.
* Any lodges looking for Freelance Guides on weekends in the Eastern Cape area please
contact me.

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3
OUT & about
The students have enjoyed a trip to Grahamstown, where the visited the Albany Museum and the SA Institute for Aquatic
Biodiversity center – for feedback on the trip go to http://www.ulovane.co.za/updates_view.asp?ID=23.

AAnn eexxppeerriieennccee ttoo rreem

meem
mbbeerr ~~~~
The week 8/02/2010 the students were going
through the subject of conservation management.
This deals, amongst other things, with managing
erosion and dealing with fires. Little did we know
how soon they could practice their newly
acquired skills. After a week of extreme dry and
hot weather we got a desperate phone call from
one of our neighboring reserves for help because
a massive bushfire broke out. We all rushed to the
scene, armed with our little fire-fighter and
branches of common guarry, renowned for their
ability to beat out fires. At the scene we split up
in groups, one handling the fire-fighter and one
group of beaters, and we managed to stop the
flames from spreading to the lodge only a few
hundred meters away. As you stand close to these fires you realize how little we humans can do against these
huge forces of nature. Roaring flames up to 10 meters high and thick, blinding smoke everywhere. At 11 at
night most of the fire was under control and we were treated on a nice meal prepared by the lodge staff. This
experience will linger in our memory for a long time.

- Ben Bremer

TThhee aam
maazziinngg ssccoorrppiioonn
This rather fierce some looking creature can often be found
around our camp. It is a scorpion of the family of Ischnuridae and
the species name is Opistacanthus capensis. That is all you need
to know for now about the taxonomy of this animal, in the course
we teach you a lot more about that. Although this scorpion can
deliver a painful sting it is of no medical importance at all.
Compared on a scale from 1 – 10 this ranks only as a 2 (whereas
beestings ranks as 4) and the venom it delivers is harmless to
humans. This particular scorpion rather hunts with his massive
claws, designed to overpower and crush his victims, mainly
millipedes, which he than sucks empty. The white circular
remnants of his victims can often be found on the ground. The
local Xhosa people use the dried and powdered exoskeletons of
the millipedes to speed up the healing after circumcision. A trivial
fact, but useful if you are guiding and cannot find the elephants that your guest so desperately want to see, to

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tell them.
Scorpions are one of the most successful predators in nature, and one of the facts that lead to this is that the
mother actively protects and cares for the young till they have had their first moult and are prepared for the
harsh world on their own. After she gives birth to live young they climb on her back and stay there until they
are ready to feed and fend for themselves.
One of the very few arthropods that show this kind of behavior; insects, spiders, ticks, mites, millipedes,
centipedes and molluscs show no or hardly any parental care and the young are usually left to themselves

- Ben Bremer

LAST BUT NOT least

WOW what an awesome month! So
enjoyed everything, the people, the
places, the experiences, the moments☺

As always a huge thank you goes to

everyone that contributes to the
newsletter and that means everyone who
makes Ulovane the wonderful place that it
is. Nic your pictures are stunning and your
article great! Thanks Ben for your input,
fantastic.

We are in the process of adding the below links to the webiste, but here they are for the meantime. A
reminder as well to please have a look at our awesome promo DVD -
http://www.youtube.com/user/Ulovane#p/u/0/aFtcPETaLXo or you can find it on the home page of our
website www.ulovane.co.za
Other internet hot spots ~
Candice’s adventures at Ulovane
Facebook Fan page
Flickr
Ulovane Updates

Your positive feedback and comments are always

welcome – Thank You!

U
UNNTTIILL N
NEEXXTT ttiim
mee,,

C an di ce
-- W
Wee w
woouulldd aaccccoom
mpplliisshh m
maannyy m moorree tthhiinnggss iiff w
wee ddiidd
nnoott tthhiinnkk ooff tthheem
m aass iimmppoossssiibbllee ––

CC M
Maalleesshheerrbbss

Ulovane Mail 2010