It was a very rudimentary shooting range. Even the access road was remarkably inconspicuous. No sign, no indication. There is not even a real road leading from the main road. You had to look very closely to see the small sandy path that led from the paved road over a sand hill into a kind of sand pit. Without knowing this, you would probably just drive past this access road. But if you turned off correctly and followed the small, inconspicuous sandy path, a large metal sign about 600 metres along gave the decisive clue: the area fenced in with barbed wire is a shooting range! Bullet holes in the sign seemed to want to make it clear once again: live ammunition is really fired here!
The whole set-up somehow gave a makeshift impression. Old, almost non-profiled tyres, piled up in round stacks, served as target mounts. The sandbank of a dry river bed served as a backstop. The targets themselves were simply attached to the ‘target writing boards’ using transparent film and adhesive tape. All of this was not particularly remarkable in itself. I had already shot at similar, private facilities and, in principle, everything served its purpose here. What was remarkable for me, however, was that the local police were also supposed to shoot here. I was used to different facilities for authorities. However, I immediately liked this simple, rustic facility. I have a soft spot for ‘strengthening’ training facilities of this kind, whether it’s a muscle building gym or a shooting range – simple and rustic was more authentic for me than gloss and sterility.
Today’s programme included a clamping unit under live fire with a .308 calibre. All the other exercises had so far only been dry runs – without the significant ‘boom’, the recoil and the ‘piercing’ effect. With the .308 calibre, we should get used to the shooting behaviour of the bolt action rifle and slowly work our way up to the large .375 Magnum calibre. This calibre, which was also used during the walks in the wilderness, was suitable for perforating an elephant’s skull in an emergency.
The shy young South African Inga was also there. She did not have the bolt-action rifle on her agenda, but wanted to take her acceptance test in the pistol, pump-action shotgun and semi-automatic rifle categories for her South African firearms licence. Once we had both completed our mandatory programme, Dylan handed me a shotgun and told me to shoot the remaining sand-filled shells at a paper target and a paper target about ten metres away. ‘Let’s make confetti,’ Dylan shouted, giving the command to start shooting.
Well, that escalated quickly
The shooting had been really fun and it was nice to be back at the shooting range. But that was the fun for the week already over, because Olga had opened the ‘Pandorean Box’ of learning on Monday morning. While the first few weeks at camp had been relatively relaxed, we were now overloaded with tasks. For example, we had been given a list of 27 species that we were supposed to learn by Thursday of the same week, i.e. within two days. This exam was called ‘Slides and Sound’, but 27 species are not just 27 animals or plants. The owls alone had 16 subspecies. On top of that, we had to learn the chapter ‘Ecology’ from the Nature-guide Workbook by Wednesday and create four animal profiles by Friday, while the daily business, i.e. the morning ‘walks’, lessons and the (really great) excursions, continued happily.
Time to study? In between!
We groaned and when Olga cheerfully threw the ‘wisdom’ at our heads that ‘stress’ only arises in our heads and we were here voluntarily after all, my mood was completely in the basement for the time being. ‘If you weren’t a super brain, how on earth were we supposed to manage all of this by Thursday and Friday?’ I lamented to myself. Of course I had come here voluntarily to study, but this level of escalation was a bit too steep for me and my now slow brain.
But already on Tuesday I realised: Here was a pattern that I was familiar with: First, a lot of pressure and completely overloaded, but then everything was not as bad as it seemed and it didn’t really have to be delivered by the big announced deadline. In the end, the exam was rescheduled during the week to the following week and of the four profiles, ‘it would be nice if at least one were submitted…’.
So I had worried unnecessarily – I should have known better. But now the tasks seemed manageable to me and I was motivated again and made good progress.
After spending the whole of Tuesday gathering information about the species and entering it into my card index app, the intensive learning phase began on Wednesday. As a ‘walking learner’, my daily steps shot up again. Apart from ‘Guinea Grass’, ‘Pel’s Fishing Owl’ or ‘Black Bottom Spider’, we are dealing with taxonomy, ecology, tree identification and many birds in the lessons. It was exciting to learn all this new stuff and to understand the connections more and more, and it was really fun. Except for the birds.
Birds
Birds were a topic in themselves here. I like the small and large feathered, often colourful and lively animals. I enjoy watching the small animals going about their often hectic daily business or listening to their – mostly – cheerful singing. I also recognise the practical value of recognising some species. For example, the Oxpecker indicates that an animal from the ‘Big Five’, such as a buffalo, is nearby. But that’s enough for me. However, the 800 or so birds here in this region, and in particular the identification of those in the teaching material, are surprisingly important to me.
I was already impressed by the identification skills of the long-term students. But I was all the more surprised by the rapidly developing abilities of my new fellow students. Cameron, in particular, turned out to be a true ‘birding talent’ and Jona and Mak also quickly had a remarkable repertoire. Yes, I too was now able to recognise one or two birds by their song, but there was still a world of difference between me and the others. Secretly, I was looking forward to the moment when the ‘birds’ chapter would finally be over, but I had a subliminal suspicion that ‘birds’ would be with me a little longer at Bhejane Nature Training.
What I did enjoy more and more, though, was tree identification. Yes, the first units had also been very tedious and often very frustrating. Based on certain characteristics such as leaf shape and texture, needles, plant juices and smell, we were to learn to identify a tree beyond doubt. It took some time to learn the underlying system and often I failed simply because of my lack of specialised English vocabulary. But by the end of the week, the process was much easier for me and I realised that I was much better at identifying trees than birds.
Most of the others, however, were not so lucky. Birds were clearly their favourite, while trees were simply a chore. So once again I was ‘different from the other children’.
However, on Thursday, my instructor Mike gave me a little insight into birds. Another ‘game drive’ in the Bonamanzi Game Reserve was on the agenda, but Mike had already announced that he would be focusing on birds this time – and not on large mammals such as rhinos or elephants. What I regretted at the beginning actually turned out to be an interesting and exhilarating undertaking during the day.
Mike, whose real name is Michael Rosati, was a guide and instructor with fourteen years of experience, a keen eye and lots of energy and even more motivation. He had learned at Ulovane, in the Amakhala Game Reserve in 2010 and did his lead guide here at Bhejane with Dylan. Now, after initially working regularly for a few lodges, he was freelancing with his own small customer base. His work as a guide and instructor had already taken him to Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe, but his favourite was clearly the Congo.
Mike managed to pick up each and every one of us from his point of view and gently introduce us to the subject of birds. He didn’t just tell us the name of a particular bird, but gave us simple, practical tips on how to remember this and that species. He was always very authentic, patient and motivating. At the end of the day, he hadn’t been able to turn me into a real birder, but I had now developed a much better understanding of the subject.
By the end of the week, the frustration of the assembly had completely disappeared and I was now really confident and in very good spirits that I would be able to manage this mass of information and tasks well. However, Mike’s ‘sweet treat’ on Thursday evening was what really made the week ‘complete’ for me:
‘Botswana. I recommend Botswana!” Mike replied after I had told him about my mission to explore the strength. ’The animals in Botswana are often very strong and pronounced. The country itself is still mostly very wild and not as overrun as Kenya or Tanzania. Botswana is what you are looking for. Rent a pickup truck with a roof tent, do the game drives yourself – especially with your training from Bhjane, it’s not a problem – and spend most of your nights in the bush in a roof tent. This way, you’ll be independent and get great photos. Then I would hire a guide for a few days and then go on foot on a primitive trail. There you are in direct contact with the animals and get the experiences and stories you need.”
That sounded like a very good plan! In my mind’s eye, I saw myself travelling freely and independently in a pickup truck through the dark green landscape of the Okavango Delta. I saw myself having breathtaking encounters with large, powerful animals and preparing my food on a small stove on a primitive trail.
My exploration of Africa had definitely just begun!
