EDGE Zimbabwe Blog Post #2

Posted 7/6/2015

The experience continues.

Saturday, July 4 - Antelope Park

As we drove down the dirt path surrounded by tall grass, I was met with anticipation of what was to come. What was a dull yellow dirt path quickly turned into a green oasis. I was first out of the bus and first to see our greeting composed of the staff of Antelope Park singing and playing African drums, with four elephants in the river behind and a colourful “Welcome Shawnigan” sign. Moments later we were all hypnotized by the music and began to dance to the beat of the drums. This was just the beginning. We were shown to our amazing African rooms/bungalows and shortly after had a quick information session about what we will be doing over the following week.

The next day we woke at 5:50am to be down at the ALERT (African Lion Environmental Research Trust) tent for our early morning walk with the 18 month-old lions. Even though it was an early morning for all of us, our excitement for the experience to come seemed to make the wake-up easy. We got more than we bargained for when we were able to not only walk but pet the lions! Afterwards, we split into two groups where one group was in charge of feeding the adult male lions in their enclosures with raw meat from all kinds of animals, and the others looked for snares and traps in the bush set up by poachers. Both teams came back tired but satisfised. We then moved on to make “toys” for the lions made out of long grass, hay, elephant dung, strong bark, sticks, and of course, meat. These toys assist in teaching the cubs the initial stages of hunting. They didn’t last very long to say the least, once they’d been placed inside the lion enclosures. To end our full day of adventures, we went on an elephant walk. We all stood with the four elephants for photos and watched as the gentle giants roamed the bush.

Sunday, July 5

Today we got a well-deserved sleep-in, had breakfast, and went to work on the “Shawnigan Lion Enclosure” which we have funded. The work consisted of us digging trenches with picks and shovels to soon be filled in with cement which will be part of the perimeter fencing, filling and cleaning the lions’ water troughs, and breaking the cement of the old fences to expand the size of the enclosure. This experience ended with four stitches on the head of our Head of Rugby, Mr. Murdy, by an accidental rebound of his pick axe. Luckily he only needed a few stitches and was back up and working as soon as he got back from the clinic in Gweru. Early afternoon we got the pleasure of riding the elephants in groups of two. By far one of the most amazing experiences of our lives! As a wrap up for the day, we all went on a game drive, where we got to get an introduction to the vast amount of animals we are surrounded by in the park - zebras, antelope, giraffes, and wildebeasts.

With two and a half more weeks to go, we can’t wait for the rest of the life-changing experiences to come.

By Lulu U. & Hannah R.

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We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.

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Shawnigan Lake, BC V8H 2G7
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Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.