Janet Casey, 45
South Africa, India, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Ecuador and Galapogos.
 Tailor Made Complete Gap
Janet took part in a tailor made round the world trip with Gap Year for Grown Ups. She was in regular contact with us and here you can read about some of her experiences!
South Africa horse riding and conservation
 I arrived in Johannesburg and then took an internal flight to a small town called Hoedspruit, near where the project is based. I am staying on a game farm that also has 12 horses. The activities involve working with the horses - grooming them, sometimes going for rides or working in the lunge ring. Also doing work around the farm - putting down twigs and horse manure to encourage bare patches to regrow, mending fences, etc. Usually have 2 hours of lectures each day - on horses, the wild animals of the bush, and conservation issues. We also go for game walks and drives, both here and at reserves, eg Kruger. Also done a bit of African drumming and should get to do some jewellery making.
The camp where I am staying is 'rustic'. I am staying in a hut with a thatched roof. The 'windows' are holes in the wall - not even a mosquito screen (fortunately mozzies are not a problem, and I have a net anyway). There is no electricity; the only light is from paraffin lamps. My bathroom has no door and no roof. The other evening there was a thunderstorm when I was getting ready for bed. Have you ever tried brushing your teeth whilst holding a torch and an umbrella?!
I am really enjoying working with the horses. I have never really been close to them before and always been a bit nervous of them. It is nice to be confident enough to give them a carrot, put a head collar on and get them out of their stable. As any horse lovers will know, they all have their own characters. The other day I managed to lock myself in the tack room; fortunately, one of the horses can open latches so I called him over and he let me out!!
On the farm there are giraffes, zebra, impala, kudu, waterbuck, warthogs, civets, honey badgers, mongooses, monkeys, baboons. There are no permanent predators, i.e. big cats, however, they do sometimes get in through the fences... Last week we were doing some conservation work when we saw vultures circling. We went to investigate and found an impala carcass surrounded by prints that were identified as lions'! However, having got in through a hole in the fence, chances are they wouldn't be able to find their way out again, so there was a good chance they were still on the farm... So, we were in an open land rover (that kept stalling because water had got in to the petrol), with no guns. Did we go back to the safety of the farmhouse? No, we went looking for lions and found one. Fortunately it was as scared of us as we were of it (debatable!) and ran away. We then called in a ranger, who brought another dead impala to use as bait to get it off the farm. We were repeatedly reassured that a lion wouldn't come into camp but we were rather nervous that evening until we got word that the lion had gone!
The animals on the farm are relatively tame because they don't (usually) have predators, and when on horseback we can get really close as they don't recognise us as human - they just see the horse.
India Community Development
 For the past 3 weeks I have been based in a small town called Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, doing voluntary work. I signed up for a manual labour project (the other option was teaching - not my idea of fun!).
There was a group of nine of us and our assignment was to paint two classrooms in a local government primary school. This comprised two stages - firstly whitewashing the walls and ceiling, and painting the window frames and shutters, and then painting educational materials for the children, e.g. alphabet, multiplication tables, days of the week, pictures of animals, fruits, parts of the body, map of the world, etc.
The first room we tackled was quite large and had been recently completed, so had bare plaster walls, and covering these was a hard, frustrating process. We soon came to realise that materials, equipment and workmanship in India are not what we are used to! We only had one ladder (which was actually just a collection of bits of wood nailed together - not even symmetrical!); fortunately we were able to borrow another, more robust ladder, from a nearby house, together with a sort of platform with steps at each end. Even then, it was always the ceiling that was holding up the project. The paint did not cover well - we applied two coats of lime and two coats of paint, and it still didn't look brilliant. It seemed like whoever had done the plastering had just sprayed the whole room, including the windows - we had to wash/chisel a thick layer of plaster off the frames and shutters before we could start painting. Anyway, we got the basics done eventually and then added the educational bits, and it looked really good when we had finished. The children were extremely excited when they saw the finished result.
Of the group of nine, seven left after two weeks, leaving myself and one other person for the final week. Together, we tackled the smaller classroom. This did not have bare plaster, so was much easier. We did the whitewashing and windows, leaving a blank canvass for another group to add the educational pictures.
Our accommodation during the project was at a volunteer house about 7km from the project site. The facilities were basic, but perfectly adequate. Beds were a little hard (more like a duvet than a mattress) but I was always too tired to notice. We had squat toilets and bucket baths. Food was mostly very good - mainly vegetarian with chicken or fish twice a week (but the chicken or fish was nearly all bone, so not a lot of meat!).
Our working day was from 9:30 to 3:30, with lunch delivered in tiffin boxes. We also had a number of workshops: Yoga every day at 6:30 (!) - I only missed it three times - helped that it was outside on the lawn, looking across to snow-capped mountains! Also: Hindi, cooking, putting on a sari/turban, henna painting, dance. (The latter was hilarious - we had thought we would learn some traditional Indian dancing; instead, two of the project leaders put on a CD of Bollywood music, started dancing, and we followed as best we could. It was a scream, and a great workout!). Also had a visit to a tea plantation.
We could get the local bus to Palampur in our spare time (not that we had much!). I went a couple of times. The local bus was quite entertaining - one time, I was on the bus and a man got on with a sheep! We also had two weekend excursions. The first weekend we went to Amritsar. From there we went to the India/Pakistan border at Wagah, to watch the border closing ceremony (outlandish costumes and silly walks - you may have seen it when Michael Palin visited in 'Himalaya'). The next day we visited the Golden temple in Amritsar.
The second weekend we went to McLeodganj (also known as little Tibet) - home of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government in exile. It really was like being in Tibet for 2 days - a nice calm contrast to India! We visited the main monastery, took a half-day walk to a lake, and spent lots of time browsing in the shops. As well as the two excursions, we visited Agra (for the Taj Mahal) at the start of the project.
Altogether a very full, tiring and rewarding three weeks!
Australia Koala Sanctuary Volunteer
 Each morning volunteers are assigned to a particular section and keeper, and they stay with that keeper all day, doing whatever is required. With most sections the basic routine is cleaning in the morning (raking up poo and uneaten food, changing water dishes, taking food dishes away for cleaning), then preparation of food late morning/early afternoon, and feeding mid/late afternoon. There are many other animals at the sanctuary, apart from Koalas. In my first week I did "mammals", "barn", "birds" and "macropods".
"Mammals" covers all mammals other than koalas and kangaroos, i.e.: wombats, dingoes, bats, echidnas, possums, quolls. My favourites are the wombats and dingoes. I was able to go into the enclosure to feed the dingoes, which was very exciting!
"Barn" covers the farmyard animals: chicks, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens; also guinea pigs and miniature horses. The nice thing about "barn" is that there are no dangerous animals (except the pigs) so volunteers can get on with jobs without the keeper always having to be around. The scariest thing about barn is that it is visited by lots of children :-) Twice a day there are chick and guinea pig holding sessions where children come and sit on a bench outside the pens and we catch them a chick or guinea pig to hold for a while, and supervise them to make sure they are holding it correctly. They can also help with bottle-feeding the kid goats.
The “bird” section was fun to work in because it meant going in to the aviaries to clean. Some of the birds have been hand raised so they are very tame and cheeky. In one aviary I had a Pheasant Coucal following me round pecking at my boots, and a huge black and red parrot kept appearing on the bars at my shoulder. The parrot would also steal my brush when my back was turned. I also got to feed mice to the hawks and the Kookaburras, which was exciting!
"Macropods" includes kangaroos, wallabies and pademelons (another animal that looks like a wallaby). The emus also inhabit the kangaroo enclosure. The kangaroos are quite tame - the public can buy food to hand feed them.
Working in the feed shed is fascinating. There are huge fridges full of fruit and vegetables, wheelie bins full of hay, pellets, etc, tins of dog food, trays of dead mice and rats, live insects and assorted worms, and buckets of assorted supplement powders. For each group of animals, the "recipe" for their meals is written on an index card. The bats' food, for example, is one huge fruit salad - pawpaw, melon, apple, pear, orange, grapes, bananas - I could have eaten it myself (until it got covered in "bat supplement"!).
Here are a few examples of Janet’s favourite days at the sanctuary;
Monday - Birds. Cleaned out the lorikeet aviary and a particularly tame and cheeky lorikeet came and sat on my shoulders and head from time to time.
Tuesday - Mammals. Took the dingoes for a walk!
Friday - Spent the morning in the hospital. Two wallabies had to be sedated so they could be x-rayed for minor problems. I helped move one of them. In the hospital there are also 2 lorikeets that have a problem with their feathers which means they can't fly; a dog recovering from a paralysis tick; a blue-tongue lizard whose tail was bitten off by a dog; a turtle with a cracked shell; a bat (not sure what is wrong with her). In the afternoon I finally got to work with the koalas - changing their old eucalyptus branches for fresh ones and filling up water pots. Volunteers are not allowed to handle the koalas without supervision, but at the end of the afternoon I was finally allowed my first koala cuddle!
Monday - Barn. When I got there the sheep were roaming around again! Fortunately the keeper decided to put them in the enclosure and I said that sounded like a very good idea! The 3 male kid goats who are about 6 weeks old had to go up to the hospital to have 'the snip'. I carried one of them and got head-butted a couple of times by his horns! Another pretty manic day because the keeper was up at the hospital all day and I was on my own doing all the chick and guinea pig holding sessions for dozens of children!! Also, when the bird of prey show is on, twice each day, we have to get the chickens into their coop so they don't get eaten by the eagles!
Wednesday - Hospital. There weren't any cleaning jobs to be done so I was able to go round with the vet nurse while she did her koala treatments - cleaning wounds (usually bitten ears) of a few male koalas who had been fighting, weighing some koalas, giving supplements and an injection. When we got to the first enclosure, to treat a koala called Gnome, the nurse waved her syringe at him and he obediently got down off his branch and came over to us! What I didn't realise at the time was that the syringe was full of a milky supplement mixture that the koalas love the taste of, rather than being for an injection!
Weekend - Stayed 'at home' this weekend and saw something of Brisbane city. I particularly enjoyed my ride on the 'City Cat' catamaran along Brisbane river. Also visited the botanic gardens, 'South Bank', had a ride on the Brisbane Wheel, had a quick look at the main shopping street, and visited another public garden space - Roma St parkland.
Wednesday - Hospital. Watched the koala treatments and weighings as last week. A koala called Diesel needed IV fluids and antibiotics because he has been losing too much weight.
Have had a lot of fun this month. It has often been hot, tiring and dirty work, but it has been a fantastic experience, and I am now a huge fan of koalas!
Ecuador Spanish Language School
 I am staying with a local family - Ronel and Cinthya Augustin and their 4-year-old son, Julian. I have a comfortable twin room, my own bathroom and my own balcony with views to volcano Pichincha opposite!
I suppose it is obvious in a catholic country, but my family are crazy about Christmas (for those that know my views on Christmas, you will find this quite amusing!) Every surface and wall is covered in festive decorations. The other evening the lounge was in darkness and I was trying, in vain, to find any light switches. Eventually I realised they were all concealed behind Christmas wall hangings! But the funniest thing is in my bathroom... I have a Santa Claus toilet seat cover!!!
I am staying in the new town, which is also where the school is - a 5-minute walk from home. It is an area of hostels, Internet cafes, restaurants, shops etc - everything the traveller needs but not at all touristy - a really nice atmosphere. The old town - El Centro Historico - is about a 15 minute bus ride away. It is amazing - everything the guidebooks promised - plazas, churches, cobbled streets, alleyways, all surrounded by volcanoes! (Apparently it is a UNESCO world heritage site.)
I get breakfast and dinner included in my stay; I just have to get my own lunch, which is never a problem with so many restaurants around. I can get a set lunch of soup, main course, desert and a drink for US$2.50! The food both at home and in restaurants has all been very good. Dinner at home is always soup followed by rice, meat and veg of some description. I´m not normally a big soup fan but the soups here have been delicious. The other weekend I tried llama for the first time, which I enjoyed. I still have to sample guinea pig (don´t tell my nieces!) The only meal I have had, that I didn´t like, was "cuero" (literally "leather") - pig skin with potatoes and onions :-(
My Spanish classes are Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 12:30 with a half hour tea break. They are quite intensive - one to one and all in Spanish unless there is something I really can’t understand! Afternoons are free to explore Quito and weekends to explore further a field. (I’ve now finished my 4 weeks and I feel reasonably confident conversing in shops, taxis, buses etc. Still a long way to go though!)
Ecuador is on the equator (hence the name) but Quito is at an altitude of 2800 metres, so this affects the climate significantly. It is quite a Mediterranean climate - can get pretty hot during the day if the sun is out, but can be a bit chilly at night and on cloudy days. It tends to be sunny in the morning, clouding up during the day, and then it often rains in the afternoon. As far as I have seen, houses don’t have heating or air conditioning - they don’t really need either, although it gets quite chilly at the school - I often have lessons in my coat! If it is sunny we have lessons outside.
Galapagos Giant Tortoise Conservation
I left Quito on the 6th January and flew to the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos. I spent one night there then got a boat to the island of Isabela, where I am staying for the rest of the month.
 Whilst on Santa Cruz we went to visit the Charles Darwin research station, where the famous tortoise "Lonesome George" lives. For anyone who hasn’t seen the documentaries about him, he is the only surviving tortoise of his species. They have searched in vain for a mate for him. Now they are hoping he will mate with a female from a species which is quite close to him genetically so they can get as close as possible to preserving the species. When we went he was certainly doing his best, chasing the females round the enclosure. Not bad for his age (approx 90?) Unfortunately he couldn’t catch up with the 130-year-old female!
I am working Monday to Friday mornings at the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre. Work involves cleaning the enclosures and feeding. Tortoises get surprisingly lively when the food comes round! We have also been to collect the food once (we went by truck up into the hills, stopped by the side of the road, the staff cut the vegetation with machetes and we loaded it onto the truck). Another day we painted identification numbers on some tortoises. There are a number of tortoises kept here for breeding, the rest are released into the wild when they are about 5 years old. So there are tortoises here ranging from newly hatched (about 3 inches long) to about a hundred years old (males weigh about 200kg). There is one tortoise who likes human contact. She was one of the original tortoises when the centre opened in 1993 so she has become very tame. Her name is Ingrid (number 14) and she hangs around near the gate of her enclosure. You knock on her shell and she then sticks her head out to be stroked!
The working hours are 8 - 11:30 am. The afternoon is free to have a siesta, swim, snorkel, etc! The Galapagos are famous for their wildlife. Because they don’t have any natural predators the animals tend to be very tame. There are lots of sea lions (Lonely Planet describes them as "the golden retrievers of the Galapagos"). Also marine iguanas, pelicans, a few penguins and, my favourite - the blue footed booby!
I am staying in the town of Puerto Villamil - the only town on the island. I say "town" - it’s only a few streets, population (of the entire island) about 2200. It is a very laid back place. The streets are full of white sand from the beach. At night, in the streetlights, it looks like snow. Very odd!
Tailor Made Complete Gap
|
