Day One - On My Way

My trip to South Africa began with a flight delay while we waited for the plane to de-ice. To tell the truth, my journey began months before this, but now the planning is all in motion and after a 4.30am alarm (much to the chagrin of the dogs who will need to get used to early morning wake-up calls while I’m away), I found myself stuck on a plane that did not depart until one hour later than planned. An extra hour in bed would have been nice. It seems once the plane got us on board, it did not want to let us off; upon arrival in Atlanta, there was a mechanical malfunction with the jetway. Since I had the entire day to spend here, I was much less upset by the delay than the remaining passengers, most of whom risked missing their connecting flight to Costa Rica. As I listened to people complain about the extra baggage charges for their 45 lb suitcases, I wondered why I had been concerned about my little 20lb backpack. Monkeying around in South Africa does not require much in the way of fancy shoes or make up. A few pairs of adventure pants, t-shirts, and a light fleece and I am good to go.

Usually, my time in Atlanta airport is limited to dashing from one gate to the next, so having some time to spend here in Terminal F, it is actually a very nice airport (and thankfully without Detroit’s psychedelic light show and welcome song!)

Preparing for Departure

With only a few days to go until I fly to Johannesburg, it seems appropriate that my blog start with news of a birth.

Just a few days ago, Nina, a 9 year old chimp at Chimp Eden, gave birth to a baby boy. For those of you who used to watch the Chimp Eden documentary on Animal Planet, Nina was one of five young chimps rescued from bushmeat hunters in South Sudan. After some time at a safe house in the Sudan, they eventually went to live at Chimp Eden. Although the sanctuary has a strict non-breeding policy, the contraceptive implant in Nina failed. Since she had a traumatic childhood herself and was very young at the time of pregnancy (the typical age is from 15 on), it was uncertain whether she would accept the baby. A live webcam was placed in her enclosure and is still available for watching at the Chimp Eden site. Fortunately, when she gave birth, her chimp instincts kicked in and mother and son seem to be doing well.

And so we come to my trip. I have been posting over at Wandering Fi about vaccinations and other preparations. While I am away, internet access will be sparse, but I am hoping that once a week I will be able to send posts and pics to Nic, who can then upload them here. I will send a broader update post for Wandering Fi, but this will be where you can read more detailed posts.

My first three weeks after I arrive will be spent with International Primate Rescue. They focus mainly on smaller primates and have a lively collection of lemurs, macaques, marmosets, and more. From there, I'll head up to Nelspruit for my final week. Due to management changes at Chimp Eden, their new volunteer program is not yet in place so I will be staying in a hostel at the edge of town, next to a rather large bird and wildlife reserve. Although not volunteering at Chimp Eden, I will be visiting there, as well as Kruger National Park, and some other nearby sanctuaries.

So there you have my plans. Four weeks of monkey fun and a dream coming true. Thank you all for helping to support my goals. And a particular thank you to Nic, my mum, and my sister Jo for putting this all in motion to begin with. An additional thank you to Brandon and Kaela and the kids at Nonington Primary School who decided to hold a tombola at their Christmas fair to contribute.

Stay tuned....