Report and photographs by Megan Griffiths
The weekend of 30 September to 2 October was the much anticipated “Wilderness weekend”.
Arriving on Friday was less complicated than usual, considering no tents needed to be set up. Still, it did include a rundown on the toilet procedure for the weekend, which included a bush of your own choosing and a spade named Dugg. It quickly set in that the weekend would be a unique experience.
That evening we got our first experience of soaking in the wilderness by spending an hour “on duty” keeping the fire going, the kettle boiled and staying on the lookout for any dangers. After discussing the experience over the weekend, it became clear that this was also an opportunity to relax, spend time with your thoughts and listen to the bushveld nightlife, including Nightjars, Thick-knees and others.
The following morning we were up and ready to find the tracks of what had passed by us during the night. Bennet de Klerk led our walk, a name anyone interested in tracking would have already become very familiar with.
Bennet is a trails specialist guide and has been training guides since 1996. You would struggle to find someone more passionate and willing to share their vast knowledge in this field. We started with a set of Hyena tracks where Bennet demonstrated their unique gait. As we had become accustomed to by now, we spent many hours in the bush but covered very short distances because there was just so much to see and discuss. We also, sadly, found tracks and signs of poachers and their dogs that were evidently active in the area.
A few students opted for a siesta under a tree in the hot afternoon. After that, we went out for another interesting afternoon bushwalk interpreting the bushveld and its stories.
The cooking competition then began, and the two teams combined their efforts making one long table and working together to serve our meals simultaneously. Due to some challenges the Grasslands team experienced with their pap, both teams were delayed, and dinner was served slightly behind schedule. The hungry judges were consoled with a bottle of “Wetlands red blend”. I think we can all agree by the number of times the judges returned for seconds that we all served up a fantastic feast, and the jovial laughter around the dinner table supported that all enjoyed it.
We went to sleep and let the night shifts commence. Having pulled the 3 am shift, I thought it would be a quiet shift, but, as it turns out, there were already a few people awake and we got to boiling plenty of water for coffee. We had an early departure into the bush and found an outcrop of rocks where we spread out and found a perch to watch the sunrise. We spent some time in solitude, reflecting on all the discussions we had participated in over the weekend.
Although this was a wilderness weekend, the burnt bushveld caused by a man-made fire, the sound of cattle bells in the distance and the evidence of poachers and their dogs was a stark reminder that true wilderness is disappearing and we need to do what we can to preserve what we have left.
This was a good precursor to the discussion that followed regarding Honorary Officers and how we could get involved in North-West Parks.
After taking turns to “lead” our own bushwalk, we returned to camp and made sure to leave nothing behind but our footprints. The weekend was a special one and an experience we will surely treasure for life.