It is with a heavy heart that I post this blog today! Sarah and Jandre are enjoying their last day at Ulovane and on Amakhala Game Reserve, tonight we will throw a huge farewell for them, in true Eastern Cape style – with plenty of tears and speeches and tommorrow they will head of to their new adventure! Sarah so kindly wrote a final article for us, get the tissues out!
Thank you both so much for all of your hard work and dedication to Ulovane and Amakhala over the years, it has been hugely apppreciated. All the very best for your new adventure in Swaziland, may you guys continue to go from strength to strength.
CHANGES….
Many people say a change is better than a rest. When I came to South Africa almost 6 years ago I definitely was looking for change in my life I certainly didn’t get a rest. I started and ended my South African adventure at Ulovane Environmental Training.
This is how it began…….
I arrived in South Africa July 2006. I had visited once before but only briefly and as a typical tourist. Now things were going to change
I was coming for a whole year. I had given up my pen pushing job and decided to have an early mid life crisis, so here I was.
I settled into my new abode which consisted of a tent which I shared with my tent buddy Julie. We had both decided to come and do a years Field Guide training course at Ulovane. It was all very strange for the first few weeks. There were lots of new sounds, sights, animals and accents. But as everyone who comes here knows once you arrive the thought of leaving just seems impossible.
After 6 months of training we were ready to be let lose on real guests. We were all allocated to different lodges for our 6 month practical experience. That is when I moved to Woodbury Lodge. Being a family run business as most of the lodges on the reserve were it felt a bit strange to intrude into their household. However, as anyone who has worked there knows you become part of the family. I spent 3 ½ amazing years guiding everyday and learning more about the natural world around me.
After my time at Woodbury I did full circle and came back to Ulovane. This time however it was not there as a student but as a facilitator. Being able to work for Candice and Schalk was for me a real honour. They had both guided me during my time on the reserve and I knew there would be good times ahead.
Being a facilitator has definitely a learning experience. I feel I have learnt more about human behaviour than perhaps animal behaviour.
We have had some fantastic times here at the camp and on the reserve. We have taken part in game captures, rhino, buffalo, elephant and cheetah dartings. We have seen many new arrivals and we cried buckets at the loss of two of our rhino’s to poachers.
I met my husband Jandre here on the reserve and I will always be indebted to my wedding planner Candice for helping me to organise this wonderful day which we held at Ulovane and for once everyone on the reserve didn’t wear khaki.
Many people in your life come and go, but I hope that the wonderful people I have met here at Amakhala and Ulovane will be in my life for many years to come. They have inspired me, humbled me and taught me that there really is something out there greater and more important than any of us think we are. I have never tired of seeing zebra’s, rhino’s, giraffe, tortoises and of course our beautiful elephants. I have taken in more information in these last 6 years than I ever did in my past 30 years. I have truly ‘fallen in love with nature’.
They call the Eastern Cape the friendly province. Coming from England and of course being renowned for our reserve I have been overwhelmed by the kindness, love and friendship I have received here.
As I move on from Ulovane and Amakhala to a new adventure in Swaziland I can honestly say that I would never wish to live on any other continent in the world. I will always be an English woman by heart but Africa has definitely taken my soul.
- Sarah
All the very best Sarah!
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Good day! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading through your blog posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same topics? Thanks!
Hi Sarah and Jandre,
I wish both of you a wonderful future in Swaziland and that your new endeavors will be satisfying and succesful. I wish you health, love and patience and strength. Whatever will happen. And please, let’s stay in touch via email and facebook.
I honestly hope that we will see each other some day in Africa. I am thinking of you.
Christiane
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