9th July 2024
Students from South Devon College had the trip of a lifetime when they spent two weeks in the bush in South Africa!
The Animal Science and Animal Studies students experienced all that the area had to offer, including servals and spiders, and were welcomed into a Zulu community.
In the first week the students visited the Nambiti Big Five game reserve, and luck was on their side as they saw four of the big five on the first day! They were thrilled to spot elephants, buffalo, black rhino, and lions – only the leopard eluded them at that time, although they later had the pleasure of capturing one on a camera trap.
The students completed a walking trek through the bush, and encountered giraffe and rhino, as well as lions and aardwolves.
The days started very early, due to wake up calls from nearby jackals, which meant they could pack a lot in to their days, including radio tracking predators, identifying tracks and field signs, and taking part in habitat management.
The bush can obviously be a dangerous place but, with expert guidance and common sense, it was a safe environment in which to learn more about the inhabitants. One memorable experience was finding puff adders in the camp which, thanks to the knowledgeable guides, was an educational experience rather than something to fear.
One evening the students were treated to some unusual dinner guests in the form of ostriches who joined them for supper!
In addition to the animal experiences the students were welcomed into the Zulu community and had the opportunity to dine and dance with the locals.
The group also visited a local school, where interacting with small children who clearly have a passion for the natural world was inspiring. On a separate note, trying to wrestle a football from a group of six-year-olds from the Zulu Community brought home why South Africans are so good at rugby!
After a short drive and a beautiful hike, week two started in Zingela, a privately-owned reserve that has the backing of the community. The site was originally a potato farm 30 years ago, and is also famous as being at the centre of the Anglo–Boer War from 11 October 1899 to 31 May 1902.
It is now home to one of the highest concentrations of giraffes in South Africa and the students monitored them on foot, also catching a serval cat on camera – the first wild cat caught on camera in the area.
There was also the opportunity to get hands on with some of the smaller species – snakes, spiders and scorpions. One of the Scorpions was not deadly but when asked about the pain level from the sting, the guide replied ‘it is like sticking your finger in a plug hole for three days’.
One of the students also had a probable sighting of a bush baby in their tent which led to a frantic search to find this cute primate. Despite a late-night scramble in the woods, it was never seen again.
Zingela also offered some adventurous activities and abseiling and kayaking were highlights.
The final few days of the trip were spent in the beautiful coastal town of Saint Lucia, where monkeys fulfil the role of herring gulls in Devon and hippos wander around the town at night. The trip ended with horse riding in the bush, crocodile and hippo stalking, whale watching and a chance to swim in the beautiful Indian Ocean.
Stuart Collier, Lecturer in Animal Care at South Devon College, said: “It was an amazing trip with so many memorable experiences! It is always a pleasure to take students to such a beautiful country such as South Africa, which is full of both cultural and wildlife experiences,
“Being in the bush changes people for the better and many of our students have already expressed a desire to return. Some are also applying for volunteering opportunities which will see them stay in South Africa for an extended period of time.
“Thank you to all the students who joined us, you were a credit to yourselves and the college!”
Did you know you can still apply for a degree in Animal Science starting this September? Follow the link for more: Animal Science – University Centre South Devon (ucsd.ac.uk)
