VISA - signed, sealed, delivered....or rather collected!

Ok so the big news of today (at least in my world!) is that I finally have my hands on my South African VISA study permit!!!

Up until now all of the preparations, organisation and saving MIGHT have been in vain if for some reason I hadn't been successful in my VISA application - but never fear all is good. :D

I have actually had a very production day today - up at 5:30am to catch an early train to London. Upon arriving I was slightly bereft without my friend Paul who is usually there to guide me around the big'ol city, nevertheless I made it (somehow?) to Whitehall using only my nose to guide me - which I reckon is pretty good going in a place the size of London - it may only be across the bridge and along Northumberland Avenue as I soon learnt but I was still pretty sure I'd get lost on my own!

I had time to spare so I set about doing a few other important jobs like getting a statement proving I had paid for my course which I need to send across to the guys at Ulovane. On this point I now know that there are 9 of us enrolled on the one year course and that I am the only British person in a group comprised mainly of South Africans with Germans thrown in for good measure - I am really excited about meeting my fellow students!

My next job was to sort out an International Driving Permit. Just a little tip for anyone looking to get one of these - you can only get the form from a Post Office, only certain Post Offices have the forms, even fewer Post Offices can process the forms and for me this meant a round-robin trip to three separate places on three separate days just to get one bit of paper! Anyway I eventually got that all sorted out today in London and am now in possession of an IDP - another thing ticked on the list.

I suppose this is a good chance to explain a little about the driving side of things in South Africa and the implications for me on the course I'm enrolled on. As a British citizen holding a full U.K. licence with no endorsements I am entitled to drive for up to a year in South Africa without any special dispensation. So I could hire a vehicle, be insured on someone else's car, buy my own vehicle even - this wouldn't be a problem and in the eyes of the law I would be fine.

HOWEVER, in order to drive a game-viewer (safari truck) with up to 12 paying guests on board in a commercial establishment I require a PDP - Professional Driver's Permit. Now guess what? Yep you guessed it, you can't apply for a PDP unless you have a SA driving licence. So for me this means that sometime in the first 6 months of my course (when the only driving I'd be doing is with other people on the course or volunteers, staff etc for which I don't require a PDP because they aren't paying guests) I need to get myself to Grahamstown, take a theory test, take a practical car test, get a SA photo-card driving licence after passing a medical and eye exam, get a provisional Cat D licence, take 6 lessons in a 7.5 tonne lorry, take another practical test in said lorry, then, FINALLY, I can apply for a PDP which is simply a case of filling in a form and making a payment. PHEW! All that just so that I can drive a Jeep or Land Rover on a reserve with paying guests on board.

Mike's Driving School in Grahamstown have actually been incredibly helpful and have emailed across all this information and despite sounding like a long list of things all this should only cost me another £250 - £300 - not a bad investment in the grand scheme of things. It certainly makes sense in my mind as if I weren't to gain my PDP I would only ever be able to assist as a tracker in the passenger seat when on my placement and where's the fun in that (or more importantly the consolidating of the previous 6 months of training and preparation)?!

http://www.mikesdrivingschool.co.za/

Okay so things are really coming together and with only 26 days until I fly out I'm quite glad as the sooner I have everything sorted the sooner I can relax and enjoy it all!

And of course before all this we have Christmas - this will probably be my last post until after Christmas now so have a merry one peeps!!!

Don't we all dream of a stocking full of meat for Christmas?  :D

Why Ulovane Environmental Training?

Okay so it was suggested to me that I write a blog detailing how and why I've ended up enrolling on such a specific course in South Africa.

Well since university I have known about FGASA - the Field Guides Association of South Africa, the only internationally recognised qualification for those wishing to work as field guides and game rangers in dangerous wildlife areas.

Photographs are the property of their respective owners.

I had read up about the short courses offered by many gap year companies - usually consisting of a 6 - 10 week placement in which you cover the basic requirements to become a FGASA Level one nature guide.

Since visiting Shamwari Game Reserve in my first year of uni I always thought I'd end up going back there to do such a course. So why have I settled on Ulovane Environmental Training?

My first trip to South Africa saw me visit Shamwari Game Reserve for a two week volunteer programme organised through Sparsholt College where I completed my degree in Animal Management.

The answer - because they are quite simply the BEST! Not my own words but those of the countless field guides, wildlife vets and reserve managers I have spoken to in the last year who have all echoed the sentiment that UET offer the most substantial and thorough training out there. Once I had started looking into their courses I quickly saw that they did indeed have more to offer than many of the other FGASA training providers spread throughout SA.

The lecture room at Ulovane Environmental Training.

Photos are the property of their respective owners.

I was lucky enough on my most recent trip to South Africa in August of this year to meet Schalk Pretorius, the co-owner and lead trainer at UET one day when he was visiting Kariega Game Reserve with a group of students on a birding field trip. The chance to meet and speak with Schalk was fantastic (thanks Azel!) and it helped to cement in my mind that a FGASA training course was what I wanted to do. Moreover since returning to the UK and analysing all the available options I have settled on Ulovane because, like so many had told me, they look like the best on offer!

Photos are the property of their respective owners.

Photographs are the property of their respective owners.

The most apparent thing that sets UET apart is their location, quite unlike the majority of companies which operate in the Northern reserves or the Kruger National Park and the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumulanga, UET are based in the Eastern Cape (an area I have visited twice before, firstly at Shamwari Game Reserve on a uni trip and most recently in August of this year on a conservation volunteer programme at Kariega Game Reserve) and are ideally situated to offer a range of courses both on land (nature guiding and trails guiding) as well as at sea and on the shore (marine guiding and birding courses). The really special thing about their delivery is the way they combine major courses into one extended one year or two year course, coupled with an extended work placement.

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I have opted for the one year FGASA nature, marine and back-up trails guide course. This means that in the space of a 6 month training period I will complete the following courses;

FGASA level one nature guiding - the minimum requirement to operate a game-viewer (safari truck) in big 5 areas with guest.

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FGASA level one marine guiding - assisting on whale watching, deep-sea fishing, birding and river-boat tours.

Photographs are the property of their respective owners.

FGASA back-up trails guiding - the minimum requirement to walk with guests on foot in dangerous game areas as a second ranger assisting the lead trails guide. This is the bit I'm really looking forward to as it brings together all the skills and experience of dealing with wildlife, firearms and tracking and places you in a situation which requires the utmost concentration and skill to ensure good sightings with no detriment to the wildlife and no danger to your guests!

Photographs are the property of their respective owners.

Accompanying these three FGASA courses are a number of short courses required before you can pass the FGASA exams;

4x4 off-road driving skills course - Anyone who knows me even a little should know I LOVE trucks so the chance to drive Land Rovers and Land Cruisers off-road was always going to make me happy!

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Me driving the Land Cruiser at Kariega Game Reserve - so happy!!!

CATHSSETA Advanced Rifle Handling course - A week long firearms course in which you train to become proficient in the use of high calibre rifles, pump action shotguns and .375 Magnum side-arms. These are the three most widely used firearms in South Africa for a variety of purposes. When I was at Shamwari we had the chance to spend a day on the firing range shooting high calibre rifles and pump-action shotguns and were told that when guiding the rifle is there to protect against wildlife and when on APP (Anti-poaching patrols) the shotgun is there to ward off poachers!

Photographs are the property of their respective owners.

Wilderness emergency first aid course - Again another course I'm really looking forward to. I don't know the entire syllabus for this yet but I know it has elements of dealing with major trauma, snakebite / scorpion envenomation, broken limbs etc etc.

Photographs are the property of their respective owners.

Tracking skills specialisation - Looking at the various methods and ways to interpret animal tracks and signs and being able to differentiate between fresh and old spoor / scat etc. I imagine this is one of the hardest elements of the course and something that takes real time and patience to hone your skills in.

Photographs are the property of their respective owners.

That makes up the formal qualifications you come away with on successful completion of the course. The second major part of the year is gaining experience in a variety of different places. Due to this you spend a minimum of 4 weeks walking through different reserves, camping out under the stars and practising trails guiding skills all under the watchful eyes of some of the most experienced Lead guides in Africa.

I know from previous years some of the places visited and trails walked on include;

Greater Kruger National Park

Shamwari Game Reserve - 4 day trail

Kariega Game Reserve

Kwande Predator Camp

Addo National Elephant Park

Amakhala Game Reserve - this is the reserve where UET are based, their camp is within the reserve and the day-to-day training occurs on this magnificent reserve. Amakhala is a Big 5 reserve, meaning that is holds African elephant, black rhinoceros, lion, leopard and Cape buffalo. It is also home to many other predators and herbivores such as cheetah, brown hyena, caracal, black-backed jackal, serval, genet, hippopotamus, giraffe, zebra, white rhinoceros etc etc. From the research I've done Amakhala seems to offer all of the species to be found at neighbouring Shamwari (the largest reserve in the Eastern Cape) as well as some others unique to this special place such as the cheetah.

Photographs are the property of their respective owners.

I think it's fair to say there are enough animals with big teeth and big hooves to keep me entertained for the year! Those who know me well know I have a passion for larger predators and large hoof-stock however in recent years I have become fascinated by many of the smaller mammals along with reptiles and amphibians and I am especially looking forward to looking beyond the obvious and seeing the smaller more elusive creatures. I know as well that the trainers are especially good birders and so, whilst I cannot claim to have much knowledge on birds, I am hoping this is an area which will grow in interest on me and am looking forward to learning more about the vast wealth of birds living in Southern Africa.

The second 6 months of the year take place at an institution of our choice (in conjunction with our trainers) and can consist of an internship at a private reserve as a field guide, assisting as a reserve manager, helping out a research team, working with an anti-poaching unit, working in game capture etc etc. The choice appears limitless and whilst I would love to do all of the above I haven't decided yet and nor do I intend to until later on in the year - I'm hoping that a natural choice will emerge whilst on the course and I find something that I take a real liking to. The exciting, and also slightly daunting, prospect is that this placement can occur anywhere in Africa - previous students have ended up in Kenya on the Masai Mara, Namibia in the Kalahari desert, in Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia - the choices abound.Whilst I think at the moment I will be happy to stay put in South Africa we will have to wait and see!

Photographs are the property of their respective owners.

So that explains a little more about the course I am enrolled on and how it all came about - I urge you all to check out Ulovane Environmental Training (you never know, it could be the career change or adventure you are looking for!).

http://www.ulovane.co.za/

Back to sorting and preparations I go.

33 days and counting!

:D

VISA applications!

Okay so I've just got back from an eventful few days in London and thought it worthy of a new blog.

The main purpose of my trip was to hand in the dreaded VISA application - having never completed one of these before I wanted to ensure it all went smoothly.

Well that was out the pan before it had even started - I arrived at Weymouth train station on the Thursday evening to catch the 7pm train to London Waterloo - CANCELLED! Due to delays at Waterloo and some issue on the tracks near Winchester all trains were cancelled or delayed until gone 9pm. I was promptly plonked into a taxi to Bournemouth with two other passengers and spent the next hour discussing with the taxi driver all my plans for the coming year - he had some interesting stories himself having been born in China and working there until 10 years ago when he moved to the U.K. By the time we arrived at Bournemouth trains were running again and because we had made some distance in the cab we ended up arriving in London not much later than intended.

So one hurdle overcome now it was all sure to be plain sailing, right? Well it was destined to be, until I chose the day after South Africa's most revered public figure died to travel to the South African embassy. I cannot claim to have a thorough understanding of Nelson Mandela's life and history, although it doesn't take an expert to realise the immense good he did for South Africa and the world in ripping down barriers and preaching forgiveness and acceptance between all people - a sentiment we can all relate to.

Having learned of Mandela's death travelling up to London on the Thursday evening I wasn't sure where this would leave my plans for the weekend given that I knew there would likely be some upheaval at this sad time.

Nevertheless I set out on Friday morning with my resident tour guide-come-friend Paul who escorts me everywhere when I'm in London (being a country bumbkin the city is all a bit daunting for me and much quicker for everyone else if I'm being led rather than left to my own devices!). So we arrived at the embassy in Trafalgar square amidst a maelstrom of news teams and vans and a heck of a lot of paparazzi outside the front doors to the embassy.

It was very moving seeing the turnout of people of all ages, races and creeds coming to pay tribute to such a great man and asides from the incessant hassling from the journalists the majority of people were stood in silent contemplation.

Whilst I would have liked to continue watching these tributes being made I had a job to do and so after walking around the embassy a couple of times we spied a goods entrance door open which I made a bee-line for and was promptly escorted away from - in the few seconds whilst I was being brusquely asked to leave I managed to get in that I merely wanted to hand in my VISA application and was met with the gruff reply of "15 Whitehall, now get out!". In context this is all perfectly understandable and thank God we got a few helpful words out of  the bloke! We may have spent a long day waiting outside the embassy had we not.

With a new destination on the agenda I turned to Paul to ask if he knew where Whitehall was - showing how much of a London-a-phobe I really am he replied that it was a mere two minute walk away (luckily for us!) and so we headed off to 15 Whitehall which turned out to be the South African consulate and the destination for any and all VISA enquiries - had the high commission's website stated this address we would have had a much more efficient morning but ce la vie!

So we've made it to the consulate, I've explained why I'm there, given a number and told to wait. So we waited. And waited. And whilst I dreaded that we might be waiting for hours, in actual fact in a relatively short space of time I was called up to the desk and was handing everything over.

And what a lot you have to hand over! Passport, birth certificate, insurance details, medical report, radiology report, letter of acceptance, flight details, passport photos, VISA application, vaccination certificate, ACRO police clearance certificate you get the gist! Oh and to top it off a £600 security deposit which is, from my research, held in the eventuality that should you outstay your VISA and miss your return flight home they can extradite you using your own money - how clever! I am hoping this won't happen in my case and so at least in a year when I return to the U.K. I shall have something to fall back on.

Anyway everything seemed in order, it was all photocopied, stamped and receipted. I was told to report back to the consulate on Friday 20th December to collect my VISA and that if anything was found to be missing they would contact me before then - this was 6 days ago now so fingers crossed all is fine.

As far as planning for my trip goes that was the last major hurdle. I ordered a year's supply of contact lenses the other day
. I've got pretty much everything else. Having had a trial pack today I have come to the firm conclusion that I will NOT be fitting everything into one bag so will have to suck it up and pay the excess for a second piece of hold baggage - oh well, I am packing for a year after all!

The rest of my weekend in London revolved mainly around eating and drinking - from Whitehall we proceeded to walk to Covent Garden, then the South Bank Christmas food festival, then onto the Tate Modern to look at some "art" (call me old-fashioned but my kind of art revolves around paintings and pictures of things rather than abstract conjurings of the mind accompanied by a description of what exactly the blank canvas in front of me is supposed to portray - much to Paul's dismay). Anyway from here we ventured to the Borough Market and enjoyed the delights of Portuguese egg custard tarts and spicy Italian smoked sausages. Then it was a quick train journey to South Kensington and the British Museum where we ogled at a few mummies before returning to Paul's house in New Cross.

Friday evening we ventured out to the O2 arena (formerly the Millennium dome) somewhere I had never been. Well WOW! What a feat of engineering - it is HUGE! We went to the cinema and saw a really bad remake of the film Carrie - really slow to pick up and the finale revolved around lots of blood and then it was over - naff!

Onto the weekend proper then and Saturday morning saw myself and Paul travelling to London Waterloo to meet up with my uni friend Zoe. All three of us were heading to the Natural History Museum to catch up with even more friends (and friends of friends) before going to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards. 

These were as usual very visually appealing with a lot of shots that, as an animal lover, I could appreciate purely for the photographer's perseverance in capturing that perfect shot - such as the guy who spent almost three months camped out in -30 degree C to capture one shot of an Amur leopard! That's dedication!

Saturday evening saw our group reduced to four - myself, Paul, Zoe and another Paul. Off to Chinatown for some food and drinks. After gorging ourselves on aromatic crispy duck and egg fried rice we headed off to an underground bar called Smollensky's - very good cocktails but also with a very steep price of £9 a drink! I was once more reminded of my country bumbkin-ness and the fact that a drink for less than a tenner in London is good going.

Sunday morning came about quite slowly after the late night before and so by midday we didn't have too much time before I needed to be catching my train home. We decided to walk off the effects of the night before and headed to one of a few green places in London - Nunhead cemetery. Despite my initial reservations about spending my afternoon walking around a cemetery it turned out to be an informative afternoon as we tagged along on a free tour of the cemetery looking at all the ancient trees (nerdy or what?!).

By the time this was over it was back to the house, pack my bag and head off home. I got back to Dorset having had a very eventful and fun few days in London.

Now it's just a waiting game until the VISA arrives.

The countdown is officially on - 34 days until I fly out!

More to come folks.

Preparations!

Okay so the time is getting closer now - my flights are booked for Wednesday 15th January when I will fly out from London Heathrow to Johannesburg.

At the moment I am in the process of ensuring I have everything sorted for my Visa Study Permit application which I will be handing in to the South African High Commission this coming Friday.

Fingers crossed I have everything I need!

My budgeting seems to be going well and I think I'm just about there now having sold my car only a week ago.

It is difficult thinking about what to take for an entire year in a place like South Africa! Obviously I will need clothes (and quite a lot as it is a country in which you may be in shorts and t-shirt in 35 deg C in the summer then multiple layers and waterproofs in the winter mornings which hover around 0 deg C), more so than this I am having to think of all the little things and also trying to work out if it will all fit into my two bags!

Anyway I hope to have a trial run at packing my gear sometime in the next fortnight and that will tell me how much I need to pare down my kit!

I am starting to get very excited now - watching lots of You-tube videos of african game reserves and reading up on lots of different subjects! I am also reading the blog from the training provider I will be studying with with much excitement - it doesn't seem real that I will be doing the cool things they talk about.

Anyway I had best get on with things!

Take it easy peeps.