My National Park

(Cheesy tourist pic alert -->)

The people who work and live here know it as the edge of the world, those who merely visit the place as Augrabies Falls National Park. It is the final oasis before an endless stretch of barren, semi-arid desert in which all but the hardiest of life can survive. As you stand on the terrace of the park’s restaurant, the view that greets you is truly impressive. The first thing one notices is the rumbling of the main “attraction” of this area, the Orange River gorge and waterfall. For those residents with a healthy dose of imagination the intimidating sound of the cascading water combined with the fact that the origin of this noise can’t be seen from the safety of the terrace, makes the sense that there is an incredibly powerful yet invisible force very close by only stronger. After further inspection this feeling of awe is only enhanced when the waterfall and gorge through which the river flows are seen from the safety of one of the (sturdy) viewing platforms. At its average size, the waterfall is impressive, but observe it when the waterlevel is much higher and suddenly it becomes quite clear how the river has been able to cut through nearly 100 meters of solid rock over a length of 18 kilometers – few things, if any, could resist such a force.

The second characteristic of Augrabies Falls is the temperature. Slightly more difficult to take a picture of then the waterfalls or the animals and therefore not mentioned as a “must-see” in the brochures, it is nonetheless very interesting. Few inhabited places on earth experience such temperature fluctuations as do the poor residents of the so-called Green Kalahari (not to mention the Kalahari proper!). The summer highs usually reach 40 degrees and over, with temperatures on sun scorched rocks reaching 50 to 60 degrees – and thus even making the short distance to the falls an unpleasant experience at best. To make up for this incredible heat, winter nights can get as cold as –5 degrees – this means that you can actually experience severe heatstroke and frostbite if you stand on the same rock long enough! Truly an amazing place.

Now to get a little bit more specific. The time I have spent here so far has been very interesting – and I do not mean interesting as in “that’s great, can we go yet?”, but interesting as in the true meaning of the word. Although a very remote place, all the basics (and a touch of luxury) are present to make even a year-long stay a definite possibility for a spoiled European. First of all the accomodation: it’s sweet. A little ground-floor appartment with all the basics and large enough so you don’t get that “boarding school feeling”of being trapped in a closet. It is a comfortable 5-minute walk from the office, lying on the edge of the park’s campgrounds – removed enough so you don’t have to deal with the tourists the second you walk out the door (and no worries about turning up the music), but close enough to the restcamp area to make social interaction with visitors (or baboons) a sure thing if desired.

What about the bugs? Good question. Even though I consider South Africa as "Africa For Beginners" when it comes to the whole outdoor/jungle-experience (go to the Congo instead for that), we do have our share of creepy-crawlies making daily-life miserable. Number one suspect around here are the black flies or "muggies": minuscule flying terrors which will buzz around your face (and often IN your face) continuously the moment you step outside. These buggers aside, there are legions of ants (all shapes, sizes and colours), armies of termites and numerous unidentifiable things which haunt your accomodation. Yes there are spiders, but personally I do not consider these to be pests. Luckily there is relief - and not in the form of a can of "Doom" spray: gekko's. The bug-busters of southern Africa are the most efficient reptiles when it comes to keeping your house creepy-crawlie-free. I am lucky to host several in my appartment alone, hiding behind the curtains or fridge during the day but coming out at night to kill kill kill...

Moving on: there’s a shop, take-away, restaurant…blablabla. (One word though: milkshakes)

Working here is certainly not a dull proposition either. There’s quite a lot of staff, present which makes for intriguing watercooler gossip (which I never indulge in, obviously, but it’s certainly present), but there’s plenty to do nonetheless. We’re getting Kids in Parks this year, which I am looking forward to with an equal amount of excitement and apprehension – for somebody who has never worked with or taught kids, getting over 500 of the little rascals in a six week period is daunting to say the least. Another big thing we have started is the formation of an Eco-Club. The idea is to involve young people and making them aware of their environment and how they can help improve and sustain it. It is early days yet, but some of the activities that they could be doing are: community clean-up days, environmental education classes, national park visits and cultural heritage awareness, to name a few. Interest is high so hopefully this will be a successful project.

A pet project I am working on is an information brochure and presentation about the creepy-crawlies of Augrabies Falls. Obviously not a lecture on the technical specs of those swimmingpool-cleaners, but (hopefully) a clear and fun introduction to some of the lesser seen animals of the park. I am still stunned every time somebody recoils in fear at the mere mention of snakes and scorpions. Yes they are predators, yes they are poisonous, no they are not out to get you. Simple, but very difficult to get into people’s heads. While I’m not out to cure a phobia, most people simply see these animals as pests and will kill them at any opportune moment – that attitude is what I hope to change by doing this project.

And as will probably be the case in most of the other parks as well, there are several students here either working for tourism or nature conservation. Augrabies is home to three, one of whom (the Victoria’s Secret model, remember guys??) lives next door to me. As far as good company goes I could not have done much better I think, as all three of them are great to hang out with (Note: they’ll probably read this newsletter so what else am I going to write?). To emphasize this point, read the foam party story below.

Last but definitely not least: the baboons. Oh, have we got baboons baby! Big ones too. Little fact: a full-grown male’s teeth are as large as (and sometimes larger than) a lion’s. And they love to party – especially with any objects (chairs, glasses, garbage cans, electricity boxes…) that might break with the application of enough blunt force. The monkey-proof trashcans which have been placed in most national parks – with much success, it has to be said – are unfortunately not proof to the violent tactics of our local gangsta’s. They have a hard time with them sure, but several bins have already had their lids smashed in. Quite a feat because those bins are pretty sturdy. But have no fear: the GVI Augrabies is on the case! Due to a rather fatal encounter between rangers and baboons several weeks ago, the primates – unafraid of anything or anybody – now have a healthy dose of respect for the green uniforms. The same green uniform yours truly has been issued with at Skukuza, hence (yes, hence!) it is up to me to keep encounters between monkey and man to a bare minimum around the campsite. More exciting monkey business is sure to follow!!