Week Two.

So my second week in Plett has been just as busy and eventful as the first! Again apologies if this is really long!

MONDAY
On Monday we went out on the boat as we do every Monday, weather permitting. Before we went out Tracy's husband Derek wanted to make a quick video about Oscar the turtle and what we are doing to help him. So he filmed us measuring and feeding him. it was weird as I don't really like seeing myself on camera! He edited it and now you can even watch it on youtube. Luckily I'm not in it much!

On the boat I didn't want to get my hopes up that we'd see anything good but I shouldn't have been so pessimistic! We saw humpback dolphins which are the rarest dolphins that we get in the bay and are listed as endangered on the Red List. They are notoriously shy and difficult to take pictures of. These are only the second species of dolphin I have ever seen in the wild and I really liked them, however we didn't manage to get very close. On this trip I also got to see my very first whale. I have wanted to whales so badly for so long so I was very excited. We saw a Bryde's whale and like the humpback dolphins they are very shy and difficult to track. But I saw a whale!!!!
We went out again on the 12.30 boat and we saw more humpback dolphins but this time they were much closer and more of them. We also saw another Bryde's whale and again we saw it much closer. I love whales!

TUESDAY
Today me Hilde and Chanel went on a hike in Robberg Nature Reserve. Robberg is where the colony of 4000 seals live and you always get to see them on boat trips. The hike is really beautiful and half way through you reach a massive sand dune that leads to a beach. We ran down it like crazy people. It was fun. At the beach we did a beach clean up and collected loads and loads of bits of plastic and cigarettes and bottle caps that had been left or had been washed up there. In the afternoon we did a SASS. I can't remember what it stands for but basically it's dome to evaluate the health of a river. So you take a sample of water and you look to see how many different species of insects are in the sample. In the end you come out with a number which tells you how healthy the river is.
In the evening we went to Nature's Valley to join some friends on the beach who were having a braai. It was really cold but fun and there was the cutest golden retriever puppy so I was happy!

WEDNESDAY
Today we went out on the boat again. We were on a boat named Fat Boy which actually belongs to another company. Again we managed to see some Bryde's whales. The guide reckoned there were quite a few in the bay and we managed to get quite close to a few. I really bloody like whales.

In the afternoon we studied for our marine guiding exam that we were planning to do the next day at 8am. There is a lot of information to learn as we need to know about Plett and the surrounding area, all the animals we could possibly encounter on a trip, how to give a briefing to customers and all sorts of other stuff. I was worried I would never be able to remember it all!!

In the evening we went to Surf Cafe again for open mic night. None of us snag this time but it was Marlies's birthday so she got on stage while the whole bar sang happy birthday to her and she got a free shot.

THURSDAY
In the morning we took our exam. We were given 3 hours to complete it but because I had been there 2 weeks less than the others I only had to do half of it. Once the exam was over we drove down to Ocean Blue where we were to go out on the boats. Freddie and Hilde were going to do the practical part of their exam - guiding on the boat! I was feeling sick so I decided not go out as I didn't want to make myself feel worse! Instead I stayed back with Charlie who helped me study to complete the rest of my exam, which I did, and I passed, yay! All that is left now for me to do is the practical part.

In the afternoon we did something that I'll never forget. Tracy knows one of the researchers who works at Knysna elephant park. They have a two week old baby elephant who has been rejected by its mother and we were specially invited to go and meet her. The public is yet to be allowed to see her as she is so young. She was unbelievably amazing. Because she was so young she didn't have very good coordination and because of this she stumbled a lot and didn't really walk in a straight line. SHE WAS SO CUTE!!! We weren't allowed to touch her as they want her to have as little human contact as possible. However she came up to each of us and touched us with her trunk which was surprisingly strong! It was truly amazing to be in the company of such an animal. I could've watched her all day.

I got a super early night as we were off early in the morning to do something exciting!