part 1: a girl in a man’s world

For those of you that have been to Sabi Sabi, you may have experienced the reaction I am most accustomed to when I meet guests; something along the lines of shock, horror and/or disbelief. At 5.4ft, petite in stature and blonde, my rifle bag is at least 3/5ths my height. I am certainly not the big, burly African man most expect to be greeted by when they travel across the world to go on safari. And to a large extent, it’s for this reason many lodges today will not employ female rangers; we simply don’t fit the picture. In comes Sabi Sabi. With the largest ranger team in the Sabi Sands (a family of 32 highly varied personalities) we now have one of the teams with the most female rangers: 3 with one in training. When I originally started here though, I was just one of two.

My father is the only boy in his family with three sisters. He dealt with it by becoming the manliest gentleman I know today. But when I was given 15 brothers when I moved to Bush Lodge, the last thing I could do was become more girly. So what does one do? A sentence one of my instructors drilled into me during my training days still sticks with me “grab a cup of concrete and toughen up princess”. But we are women, and at the end of the day it is important for us to try not to lose that amongst all the khaki and bush clearing. We are some of the few who ventured to Mars and decided it’s a lot more fun than people let on.

And so my story and first lesson starts during my training, with the uniform. Practicality is key, but it’s also about making the most of what you have. Having managed to wangle a change to the evening female ranger uniform (from maternity trousers, fitted shirt and “vellies” to a skirt – length depending on the season – shirt and sandals), I found myself within my first cycle attempting to chase a hyena into the bush in a floor length skirt. Had I been sitting with guests who had gotten to know me, this may have been seen as a somewhat heroic scene. But, as Murphy would have it, I was working behind the scenes at an intimate bush braai – I was on one side, the hyena on the other. With the commotion of the chefs shouting in horror as the hyena ran away with a full sized barrel rubbish bin, I sprung into action. Running as fast as I could (the skirt limiting my gait) I came tearing through the braai area in a manner that may only be compared to that of a wild banchee with the legs of a tortoise, to join the only other pursuing member of staff – the butler. But once the hyena had reached the bush, the butler refused to go further and I wished I still had the maternity pants. Having created such a scene, there was no way I was coming back without that bin. I hiked my skirt up to my knees and propelled myself in full sprint into the long grass. The hyena shared the same astonishment as the butler, dropping the bin not long after and retreating a couple metres away to start growling. I carefully approached, got a hold of the bin and slowly dragged it out. My only recognition was a few raised eyebrows and nods by the chefs and waitresses. But I had done it. In a skirt and sandals.

There are two quotes that I stand by; “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” - Conficus and “the easiest things in life are rarely rewarding. The rewarding things are rarely easy” – C. Fantelli. I’m not sure which one I prefer, but they both certainly seem quite fitting. The uniform still stands today and is a small testament to the determination a woman needs in order to gain respect and recognition in this environment. It is just one of my many many day-to-day adventures and obstacles as a female in a male dominated industry. Through my blogs I hope to share the stories that have led me to fall in love with Africa with every sunrise and go to bed every night with a warm and happy heart. I hope to give you a taste of what it is like in the life of a female ranger.