By Rebekah Karimi (Namibia Program Coordinator and Instructor)
The students have not yet arrived, but I have been in Namibia since September 1st preparing for the upcoming semester here. Vehi and I attended a rhino awareness meeting at Wereldsend and then accompanied members from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) as well as the Namibian Police (NAMPOL) on a joint wildlife patrol into Palmwag concession. It was great to interact with these partners and be able to share what Round River is doing to participate in wildlife monitoring in Namibia.
We also have been doing some preliminary fieldwork to set the tone for the program. Vehi and I joined long time Torra Conservancy game guard Ephraim, and Gail, a neighbor from Wereldsend, to do some monitoring work in Palmwag concession. It is the first time I have arrived early enough to witness the time change in September, and boy, were we surprised. Early in the morning, building a fire in the dark and driving to the start of our route, we witnessed an incredible moon-set just as the sun was rising on the opposite horizon.
Moon setting in Palmwag Concession
Following about four days of monitoring in the concession, I continued on with Ephraim to update some of Round River’s water point data in Torra Conservancy. Ephraim continued to accompany me and we were lucky enough to see a group of three black rhino: a bull, a cow, and a calf.
Wildlife has been all around us. At my campsite that evening, I thought I heard elephants, which have recently been frequenting the area. I continued to hear sounds of ripping and munching and because I was camped only 300 meters from Ephraim’s house, managed to convince myself they were cows. Soon, however, my curiosity got the best of me and I sat up in my tent. I was surprised to see giraffe legs about 1 meter from my tent! I have never been kept company by giraffe in any campsite, but here was an entire herd just munching on the trees that had offered me shade earlier in the day.
In one week’s time, my companions will also include five excited university students. I cannot wait to meet everyone and show them all Namibia has to offer. It will be a thrilling adventure and a wonderful bonding experience for this group. See you soon Fall 2014 Namibia students!