Mid year 2011 Trip Visit

When I arrived in South Africa back in 2005, one of the first things that struck me was the amazing range of diverse landscapes and cultures within one country. Having recently returned from visiting all of the current interns, I was reminded again of the vast size of the country and the variety of ecosystems represented by the network of National Parks. In the salty wetlands of West Coast NP, Katie and Neliswa took me for an adrenalin pumped speedboat trip to the neighbouring islands, learning about the local wildlife along the way. The coastal estuaries are home to an abundance of birds and marine life, including an island dwelling white rabbit population who have adapted to drink seawater and eat kelp! We also took a trip back in time to visit the West Coast Fossil Park, learning about the now extinct South African short necked giraffe and bear. Moving up to the hot and dusty Northern Cape, I was welcomed by a group of bat eared foxes and the wide open spaces resulted in a stunning vista of sunsets and rises. Viv and I visited the Park’s Anatolian sheep dogs who greeted us with slobbery smiles and had some amazing meals under the stars. Back down in the windy mother city of Cape Town, the sprawling urban park of Table Mountain NP showcases how nature can and should remain prominent in cities. The trip was finished up in the mountains of Golden Gate, which in my (slightly biased) opinion are reminiscent of home and the highlands of Scotland (albeit with markedly better weather and much more wildlife!) A horse ride with Andy and Danie was the perfect way to take in the sights, although Zorro (my horse) needed a fair bit of persuasion to do more walking than eating. A huge thank you to Katie, Viv, Danie, Andy and all the SANParks staff and friends of the Park for welcoming me to their Parks and sharing their work and experiences from the last few months. No two Parks are the same and no two GVI interns will have the same experience – but that is the beauty of this unique internship.



Written by: Claire Warner (GVI/SANParks Coordinator)

Date posted: 18/05/2011

Mid year 2011 Trip Visit