Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary :) Two Weeks in the Bush.

The elephant sanctuary, i think, is my idea of heaven.

We were so spoilt, and had everything we needed and more. Working toilets, bamboo showers which were roofless so you could look out into the sky (and get dive bombed by passing bugs...). The tents were huge, and could have easily fit in 6 to a tent, but nono, we had 2 to a tent and mattresses and plenty of sheets! and the food. Mum, your cooking will always be my favourite, don't get me wrong, but the food we have been having here is amazing. We've had sausage and mash, curry type things, spag bol, we even had banana fritters and chocolate custard one night... a very excitable night, i can assure you ! The camp is based on top of a hill, looking down onto the hills, rivers, bush land and elephants roaming the place. The most amazing view i have ever seen, one i could never tire of. We were completely isolated, no signal, no internet access, absolute bliss.

At the elephant sanctuary we had a group leader, called Stevie. King Stevie! This man is so dedicated to the elephants, and also to the groups who volunteer there, we had no trouble at all making ourselves feel at home. He was so funny, so lovely and so very cheeky! and we will never forget him.

The projects we got up to were so good, some very challenging, others very rewarding, but all amazing.
This elephant sanctuary wasnt one that you can touch and interact with the elephants, it was one that offers the animals a free life, a better life and a safe one. None of us knew what to expect, but this was just perfect. There's nothing like waking up to see a heard of elephants walking past by the river down the bottom of the hill. This also made the game drives so special. Each and every elephant we saw was an exciting experience, and each time never got dull. These animals are perfect and i love them so much.
The main focus of the elephant sanctuary and the work we were doing, was focusing on the Human-Elephant conflict. This involved all sorts of different work, some with the sanctuary, some with the local villages.

Inside the sanctuary, we got up to things such as road maintenance, in order to encourage other road users and support in the sanctuary, game drives, which allowed us to learn more about the elephants which helped us understand them more. We also worked with the elephant dung paper factory. What a giggle that was. They use the elephant dung and turn it into paper, which they can then use to make other things, note books, photo albums, cards, book marks etc. They make the paper with a wooden frame and a net type sieve,  to even out the dung and water and glue mixture, which is them laid out flat on a table. The water is then sponged out of the frame, then the frame is removed and a flat piece of paper is left to dry for about 6 hours. This is a good source of income for the sanctuary, and so much fun to make!

The road maintenance was a group favourite task i think. It's hard work, but very rewarding to see something you have done, and to know you have made a difference. We did this only twice. The first time, we had to smooth out a massive pile of dirt over a large area of a road to make it flat, reduce bumps and holes, and make it longer lasting and better to drive over. We were then the first ones to drive over our work, and even though it may sounds stupid, it was one of the best moments of the trip.
On the other occasion, there were trenches that had been made from over use and rain etc, which we had to dig out and smooth back over the surface of the road. For some reason whenever we do manual labour and hard work, it always seemed to be the hottest, sunniest day. But this did not discourage us, and we got the job done faster than Stevie thought we would! He later told us we were the most hard working group he had had. I actually felt so proud of us all, we are so lucky to have such an amazing group.

Outside the sanctuary we had to do other projects, with the school and also with local villages and a local women's group!
At the school, are main project was starting the construction of a new kitchen, as the other one was very poor in standards and the children deserved so much better. Most days here, we were making cement, ( a very tiring job) and making bricks, something i have found to love and enjoy more than i would have ever thought!!  we would all sit in a line shouting MUCHANGA, which (if spelt properly) means SOIL, for our wooden brick moulds, which would then make perfect bricks :)
we also started the foundations for the kitchen, which involved digging and hoeing a waste (or in my case, practically a shoulder length) ditch. Another day half the group finished the foundations by layering the bottom with large rocks and things, but the other half, including me, decided we would teach a lesson, an experience i will never forget.
6 of us sat in the staff room one afternoon, and the deputy head came and told us we would be teaching 12-16/17 year olds. Oh. My. God. here i am, expecting to be teaching kids songs and words in english, but ohhhhhh i couldnt have been more wrong. He went through the subject choices, and before i know it i've announced i'd love to teach maths! oh but of course. Me and maths. WHAT A MIX! so 3 of us taught maths, and 3 taught science. And not just any maths, ALGEBRA! the best kind of maths!!!! we were all up late that night (us not as late as the ones who taught science, god bless you girls, you had such a treat) doing our lesson plans (trying to remember how the hell to work out an equation) and the others were learning, to all our amusement, about the human body and the sexual reproductive system. I've never heard the word Vagina or menstruation so much in my life.
When it came to teaching, we were all so nervous. we sat in the staff room waiting for about half an hour in the morning, drinking VERY suspicious tea which we would all regret drinking later, and some triangle doughnut tasting things. we then went into our first class, class 6, kids who were only a few years younger than me and i was about to teach them ALGEBRA. At first I just thought to myself, what a joke, why did i ever kid myself to think i could do this!?!? But as the lesson went on it went so well, they were a little bit difficult, some just laughed, which was really quite scary, but it was a really good feeling. then we did the other class, class 7. OLDER kids. up to 17. thats a year younger than me. AHHHHHHHH!!!!
They were so different. they sat and stared. there was no laughter. just silence. i could have cried, i really could have. and we were doing more complex sums, some i didnt even understand the night before. so we began. still, silence. We battled through, and this turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of the first two weeks. They got more into it, seemed to actually learn something! from me!!!!! i had to correct work in books, explain it, mark their work! it was amazing! and i am so happy i jumped into something new, i really suggest it. Never say no to a new experience.
We also worked with a tree nursery which was part of the schools project. This involved replanting seeded trees, filling sacks of soil and seeds, making beds for new trees, all sorts. this was quite a chilled out project, and i think anyone will agree the best part of it was Nadia accidently killing a tree. I will never get Stevies cries of "MURDERED! my poor tree!!!!! ohhhh she has slaughtered my tree!" out of my head. It only made it better when he did the exact same thing, and tried to blame Sarah. Oh Stevie.
We also had a farewell netball match! what a game. There were no rules, just two teams fighting for their lives!!! We had bruises, cut lips, infected eyes, body slams (mostly on my behalf) and all sorts of shocking behaviour!! these kids did not want to play nicely! so we did not either! and guess what, WE ONE! only after did it occur to me that we had just played dirty to a bunch of 13-17 year olds. Oh dear...

We also went to a women's group a few times, which was a really interesting experience! The people in the group were full of smiles and laughter, and were a pleasure to be around. Walking through the bush to get to them on the first day, we could hear them singing, welcoming us already. It was amazing. Their singing is unique and every time i heard them i couldnt get over how amazing they were! And they also made us join in with the dancing! which mostly consisted of shoulder shaking! Worked out the knots in my back a treat!
The first time we went there, they showed us around their small village, and showed us how they lived, and how they did every day activities, such as farming crops. We hoed a section that was to be used for vegetables, then we made a raised bed out of sticks which was going to be used for tomato plants! which we planted, then the next time we went we could already see them growing! We also picked beans, pealed them for the peas inside the pods, and then they showed us how they prepare them for eating. this involved drying, mashing and then a grinding process, which then leads to various outcomes, flour, beans, etc. They also taught us how to weave! I found this so much fun! the woman i think ended up just giving up on me and walking off.... oops...
We also had to dig these big trenches for them. This was bloody hard work, especially in the heat. we had 3 of us to a pit and then 2 or so of the locals helping. The pits were used for compost and keeping soil fresh so that it could be used for growing food etc. For some ridiculous reason, my three people had the biggest pit to dig, and im sure we were the three weakest! this took a while, but when we all finished everyone jumped in and just went all silly, taking photos and running away from praying mantis's!

We also did livestock deworming!! we walked around the local villages, and basically dewormed loads of goats with syringes of medicine! this was VERY amusing as goats make some very entertaining noises! bless em!

Then on the last night, we secretly arranged a big farewell party, partly as a sad farewell to the elephant sanctuary, which we had all grown to love, but also as a thankyou and goodbye to stevie, who we all love and  will miss so much! That was such a fun night. We all dressed up in our cangas that we had bought at the womans group, in different styles, put some makeup on, quite a strange feeling! and decorated the dining area with bedsheets in the form of bunting, the table with a big leafy display, and a thrown for KING STEVIE which we later filmed him in answering some questions about himself and about the past two weeks, which proved to be hilarious!

Leaving the Elephant Sanctuary was really hard as we had all become so familiar with the people, the scenery and the staff. Every project was amazing, we enjoyed every second, and it was hard to believe that we would feel so at home in another place. We left the next morning and set off for Makongeni, where we were to be spending the next 5 weeks in a completely different environment altogether. From wildlife, to community! Hello civilisation!