RSI (Repetitive Safari Injury)

I’m currently suffering from what I have diagnosed as Photographer’s Neck – severe neck pain caused by excessive craning out of car windows through a view finder. It’s nothing that a good hot bath wouldn’t fix – it’s a pity we still do not have hot water.

Other than the lack of hot water, which is testing Julia particularly when it comes to hand washing laundry (fortunately I have been happy to help her out with her chores ), things are going well. We have had a very exciting couple of weeks and the work situation has improved as a result of some promising meetings and us adjusting to the pace of things. Furthermore, today I managed to speak to my manager and have arranged to meet him this week – only six weeks in!

We have continued with our induction taking advantage of transport opportunities whenever possible and meeting as many people in the region as possible. The region is 41 000 square miles, slightly smaller than England, so getting around takes some coordination and effort. Last week we went to the north of the region with a couple of friends, Mike and Sandra, who are volunteering with the Ministry of Education and were visiting some schools. This area is known as Bushmanland and is inhabited by San communities (supposedly one of the oldest civilisations in the world) living in villages separated by vast distances and gravel roads or sand tracks. Mike and Sandra visited one remote school which was a tent. They returned to the village along the sand tracks with 7 adults, 5 children, their belongings and a bag of elephant meat crammed into the Land Rover. We visited a couple of clinics and spoke to a few people including a social worker who has set up a soup kitchen and garden project for TB patients. As with everywhere else in the country the main concerns were HIV and AIDS, TB and Malaria. Disability wasn’t thought to be a major issue, or at least it isn’t high on the priority list. The more you see and learn about the impact of AIDS and TB the more you appreciate the difficulty that the Ministry of Health faces in releasing funds for anything else such as community based rehabilitation.

Despite car mishaps including a blown tyre and broken suspension we managed to get to Khaudum National Park for the weekend. The camp was ‘rustic’ with minimal facilities and a sign warning of the danger of elephant and lion in the camp at night. The wildlife was great, we got good use of our camera and were lucky enough to see a herd of fifty elephants.

This weekend was also a bank holiday for us so we took an extra day off and made a trip to Waterberg Plateau and Etosha National Park with some other volunteers. Waterberg is only 50km from us and is best seen by taking the 4 day hike – it’s on the list. This time we settled for an afternoon exploring some of the shorter trails. Etosha is probably Namibia’s main tourist attraction. The salt pan is approximately 150km by 70km and is surrounded by waterholes. We lucked out again and saw tons of wildlife, hence the Photographers Neck. It was good to spend time with the other vols and much alcohol was consumed, and a great weekend was rounded off on our way home with our first lion spotting.

We learnt today that the Medical Rehab Worker is leaving tomorrow. There is still far too much that we don’t know but I am doing much better at not getting frustrated.

Ant xxx