Field Rangers

Field Rangers

These guys and girls are our last defense against the rampant poaching that is taking place in South Africa and other parts of Africa. We are currently losing a rhino every 11 hours!

Most of the rhino horn and ivory goes to Asia and especially China. 

Why is Africa selling it's soul for yen? We do more business with China than any other country. Once we have no more coal, copper, gold, diamonds, timber what are we going to trade? How many Asian tourists visit our national parks?

How many tourists will visit a war zone? Which is what our parks are, make no mistake. How many tourists will come to see parks with no rhino, elephant or lion?

Why is it ok to sanction countries for human rights abuses but it is ok for them to rape our country! Were are the sanctions now?

Wooden Fork's

Wooden Fork's

I have been known to raid the rubbish skip's in town. Now before anyone thinks I am really down on my luck! let me explain. There is a carpentry shop in town that throws a lot of offcuts into a skip. There is often some very good wood amongst all the rubbish. The size is also just right for knife handles and a few other pieces.

Before Christmas I was looking for an idea to compliment the pickled onions I had made as presents. As kids we always had a sharp knife with a thin blade that we had used to retrieve pickles from the jar. Much like a kingfisher darting into the water to catch fish. We speared pickles!

Mothers tend to frown on this sort of behaviour at the lunch table. So the pickle fork has come into being in the Pattrick household.

Little Swift

Little Swift

We have a colony of Little Swifts nesting under the eve's of our roof, there are literally hundreds of them. They seem to decrease in the winter months as some move away and some remain. 

The thing that has us stumped is why we find so many young falling out of the nests. There are the tiny pink helpless ones right up to the almost fully grown adult looking birds. We have managed to raise one ! so far !!

Everything I have read does not mention any form of cainism? My only other thought is that the parasite load gets to much and they vacate the nest to try and get away from mites etc??

Knives at last!!

I have been promising to start making knives again for a very long time, and finally I have started!! I had some stainless and some carbon steel lying in the workshop. So made some knives out of each steel. I much prefer the carbon steels for their edge holding and the wonderful way they age. The steel takes on a patina all it's own.

The knife below is for my son Ben. It is a carbon steel 01 i think?  a Micarta handle with white liners.  I am hoping to help him make his own in the next holiday. He will have to help with the sheath of his own design.

This knife below was made for a mate of mine Bruce Lawson. I had promised him a knife years ago and just never got round to it. I bumped into Bruce in the Kruger and he reminded me of this fact! Thanks Bruce I hope you enjoy the knife.

If there are any guides out there who are looking for a hand made knife that will give a life times service give me a shout to discuss design ideas.

Labrador Retriever Kennel Club Field Trial 2012

Bailey.

Keen as can be, only to break and knock us out on the very first bird! This is a team sport so I have learn't to be more vocal. Especially in those highly charged moments. Also to keep my eyes on the dog, you can always expect the dog to watch the bird or ask the judge were it fell. Training in the quiet Balule Game Reserve does not really prepare you well for all the dog, excitement, guns and birds that you get at a trial.

A big thank you to Francois and Angelique from Eagertrieve Labradors for all their help and advice.

http://www.eagertrievelabs.co.za/index.htm

Brodie.

This was a tough retrieve with very narrow angles between birds and some water. Lab's can't resist water but throw a bird in it and it's like a magnet. You can almost see the dogs trying to convince the handlers that they know what they are doing. Why are you sending me past that bird in the water, I saw the fall!!?

Choc.

One of the most photogenic dogs at the trial.

Choc also did very well. I can't remember what he won, but everyone holds the guns choice as a very prestigious title to have for any of the stakes in a trial. 

Cougar.

A top open stake dog doing what he loves. He has already retrieved a blind ( a placed bird that the dog has not see being placed) across a dam. Then swum back across the dam thru a fence to retrieve a pigeon in a field. He still has two more retrieves before the series is over! Open stake normally has some very demanding retrieves for the dogs. It is amazing to see their enthusiasm, concentration and the team work with their handlers.

What it's all about. Top dogs and people getting together for some quality time outside.

All trials are run under K.U.S.A rules and regulations.

http://www.kusa.co.za/

Anyone interested in getting involved in trials have a look at the Lab Clubs website.

www.labclub.org.za

There's a lion in my garden!

Ok, so we live in a game reserve, so you would expect to have animals in your garden.

We have hungry Elephants, Hippo grazing at night on the lawn, Impala, Waterbuck, loads of Warthogs and many others that I have not mentioned.

But when the lions start taking them off our lawn at night it is rather surreal. This lioness and her two sub-adult cubs managed to take down two young waterbuck. One on either side of the garden. They came up one of the tracks to the back of the house, the cubs split off to the right and the lioness to the left. The small herd of waterbuck bomb shelled, for two of them it was too late. 

I was amazed that between the three Lions they finished off both sub-adult Waterbuck in little over three hours. The remains can be seen just to the right of the Land Rover.

The Jackals and Vultures finished off the little that remained during the day.

I was able to piece this all together having only seen part of the story unfold, thanks to the recent tracking course I did with Colin Patrick, I have taken to tracking everything. The course is fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone interested in broadening their wildlife knowledge.

http://www.moholoholo.co.za/tracking-course

Vultures arriving!

A White Backed Vulture giving us a wary look as they circle the house.

There must have been at least a hundred Vultures - quite a spectacle when you are sitting below. 

Taking off with full crops.

Moz Trail Recce

Good to go!

At the Giriyondo border post with our PNL Ranger Manulito.

Marius

Joris

Manulito

Trying to find the first nights waypoint. We seemed to be close but no cigar! Ended up sleeping in a very damp, mosquito ridden path next to a stream. Not ideal but we enjoyed it.

Marius about to say something about the geology. Nothing I can repeat here!

With all the rain the streams were in full spuite and we had wonderful drinking water.

One of the waterfalls we passed.

Constantly crossing streams, as we tried to find a suitable route.

My tent on the second night. Very cool and comfortable spot, with great swimming in the stream below.

We found a poachers camp right here on the bank of this beautiful section of river. The sign was about two days old! So not a lot we could do about it. We also saw their tracks on the first day very close to the Kruger boundry. No doubt after S.A.'s rhino !!

I had to have a picture of me wearing these Hi Tec boots. I normally walk in takkies but for some reason decided to wear boots. It proved to be a wise choice with all the loose rock. I must say these are the lightest boots I have ever owned.

This little package was waiting for Marius in his shorts! Could have been a very nasty surprise for both parties!

Some elephant tracks. This guy just stuck to the path even if he sank in up to his knees! You can just imagine a dinosaur doing the same thing millions of years ago.

Parque Nacional Do Limpopo.

Breakfast stop.

An amazing plant growing in all the water filled rock pools on the rhyolite koptjies.

Looking east towards the Shingwedzi River flowing into Mozambique.

My favorite stop on the whole walk. Even with the two large crocs in the pool below. We managed to have a swim in the stream as it dropped over the rocks into the pool below. Luckily there was no space for crocs.

Weary but satisfied.