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Field
Reports July 1 - 10, 1999 |
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Field
Reports July 1 - 10, 1999 |
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Plantation's Perfect Pine Trees |
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Came Out To Say Hello |
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On Top of A Mountain |
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What Did I Pay? |
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Clear Night Sky |
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Learning About Each Other |
Hi, All!
Today we traveled to a plantation to see the differences in land
use - the most perfect rows of pine trees I have ever seen. This is a very complex country
with the most wonderful people. Having a great time!
Hi, there!
Today we were up at the crack of dawn for a trip to Kruger
National Park. It was as if the animals knew we were here and came out to say hello.
Zebras, lions, giraffes and all their friends were out in great numbers. I hope all of you
are fine. Talk to you soon!
p.s. Tomorrow morning we will leave the "bush" and
return to Pregoria. I’ll talk to you then.
Leckie Family,
Send film! Send camcorder! Spectacular view of the animals and
the scenery. July 1, we went on top of a mountain and had lunch in the clouds. From the
mountain top, the view below is llike looking our from an airplane. Great view of the
country side and other mountains in the distance. We drove through the animal habitat.
Look up the following animals: Kudu, Wildebeest, Impalas, Warthog, Zebra, Steinbok and
Hyaena. Summer S.T.A.R., I’ll check your answers on the 20th.
I’ll keep you posted.
Leckie Family,
Still having a great time. It’s Independence Day. There are
no fire crackers blasting but we went shopping. Shopping was just like firing fire
cracker. You have to bargain. To buy a basket at 30 Rands, you had to talk him down to 20
Rands. I wanted a Nike jacket. Vendor wanted 250 Rands. Mr. Oliver and I talked him down
to 180 Rands. How much money is that equal to in American dollars? Tell me in September
the amount I paid for this jacket. It is interesting, learning can take place at any time,
any place, any where and by any one.
This morning we headed out to see the activity
brewing around the ant experiment we started the day before. In our experiment we are to
determine what type of seeds (red millet, sorghum, or manna) that ants/termites prefer.
Our group is #4. myself, Hendri, Tracy Lee, and Duan are involved in the monitoring.
There was not much happening this morning, but by 2 pm this
afternoon, black ants had begun to migrate to the manna seeds. We have set up 8 sites in
the Kalahari. At 10 am we learned how to do our first transect of vegetation. On the way
back from the site we encountered 3 running oryx (gemsbok). They were magnificent. Now we
are relaxing before dinner. Watching the night sky appear clearer than the night before.
As our party has spent more and more time together, we have begun to learn anecdotal things about one another. In London, Tracy took the lead as we pondered the London underground. Stan and Phil dominated the bid whist card games at the South Africa Wildlife College. Felicia was most wary of the wildlife which roamed freely around. Sheila Allen was so sweet and helpful as we voyaged from Mpumalonga to Pretoria. Mrs. Bell told incredibly funny stories after the traditional meal around the campfire. Ms. Younger was lucky with getting the window seats on the plane. Karensa Elzy organized the afternoon exercise routines and sunset viewing. Emma cooled ostrich sausages at the Kalahari sand dunes. Donna kept the morale up with lots of hugs and kisses. Hendri Williams sang mellow tunes late in the evening. And everybody supported one another for a groovy good time.
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