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My Journey to the Bush

on Dec 08, 2015

In life, we all fall in love with something at some stage; sometimes it’s people, sometimes it’s places, and sometimes it’s an activity. The problem is, when you love something, it makes you happy and well, everyone in the world wants to be happy. To move away from something that you find happiness in, in search of something new, is risky making it a difficult decision to make. But that is all a part of growing up, difficult decisions come with the territory. About 8 months ago, I read a quote by Buddha “The trouble is, you think you have time”. My whole life I have been in love with the bush, and for the past 3.5 years, it has been my whole life but that is about to change as I move toward my conservation dream. Where did I come from and where am I going? These are questions I am asked almost on a daily basis and so this is my story...

“For Africa to me... Is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been...” - Maya Angelou

I was born in Durban, in the suburbs of the city, to my DIY father Rob and mother ‘Luscious’ Linda. My Dad’s newspaper clipping read “Lin and Rob would like to announce the birth of their baby girl [future pest, teenage brat, lingering school leaver and financial drainer] to the world 17.10.90. Wish us luck...” A ‘normal’ upbringing, was never to be.

01Courtney Dalziel Family

To my father’s horror, at 2 years old I still could not catch a ball and so along came my little brother, Ashton, future retirement fund, overachiever, big city slicker. I didn’t like the feel of sand but at 3 years old I already showed a love for wildlife and its beauty. I got away with rescuing wildlife of every shape and size. My pet dead moth was by far the family’s least favourite, especially when it was slowly eaten by some sort of decomposing mite. We had aviaries, dogs, a mongoose, rats, fish, silk worms, and ant farms to name some of what I can remember. Both my parents were more than supportive of my collection of wildlife, with my Dad being the builder of all enclosures and advisory; and Mom the hygienist, financial support and inevitable finder of all lost pets. It was however, never questioned that their care was always my responsibility. Lunch breaks at school were consumed with warming food for my Lovebirds which I was hand rearing and in the afternoons, I would be taken for a run by my dogs.

Unlike many of my time, I was also brought up without the colour factor, for my second mother was an African house keeper, Lily. It was only after I tried to curse my friend’s dog in Zulu many years later, that with puzzled looks from both my friend and the dog, I realised not all Roman Catholic school girls spoke Zulu or had dogs that understood it. It was at the age of 15 that I said my goodbyes to Lily in Zulu at her funeral, and it was then that I realised the power of equality in attaining respect.

“The immense and brooding spirit still shall quicken and control, living he was the land and dead his soul shall be her soul.”

04Courtney Dalziel Lilly And I

Family holidays were undoubtly my first introduction to the wild outdoors and adventure. Rustic camping was our holiday of choice, where we would explore unchartered territory, enjoy open air living, run away from my Mom and her tube of suncream and almost always cause some degree of pandemonium – I remember once we ventured from our normal camping holiday to a bit of luxury at a lodge in the Transkei. One afternoon I came across a sundowner cruise about to depart, carrying a bunch of birders (distinguished by binoculars and bird books). A keen birder myself I asked if they would wait for me whilst I fetched my book, which to my delight they said they would. After racing to seek permission from my mom, I came running down the path with my coffee table book half my size and with no parent in tow, much to the astonishment of the passengers. Along the cruise I made great friends and whilst I couldn’t indulge in the champagne, the oysters went down like a homesick mole; my new friends remained bewildered. A long story as short as possible, the people at the lodge had trained an African Fish Eagle to respond to a call, swooping down to catch a fish thrown out only metres away from you. Convinced that that moment was the highlight of my life up to that point, I returned adamant that my family join me the following day. My Dad remained uninterested and after my Mom insisting and the lodge accommodating us, he agreed to join us on condition we fetch him half way down the river from fishing, Ashton in tow. The next day we set off, with Mom dressed in her crisp white linen sipping on her glass of champagne, she would have had the attention of everyone had it not been for the apparition my father was. In “baggies” with a floppy wide brimmed hat, fishing rods and a packet of bait, my Dad hailed down the cruise from the riverbank; the foreign citrus famers on board with us unsure if we were about to be hijacked. Once sorted, he began answering all the questions by intrigued onlookers and to my mother’s horror, announced we all knew each other. Satisfied my father was not a pirate, we all started to relax and enjoy the cruise... And then my Dad spotted a Water Monitor. Basking in the remaining sunlight, unaware of our presence, my Dad ordered the skipper to advance toward the giant lizard... closer... closer... Then before we could even imagine it, my Dad reached out and grabbed it, wrestling it to the floor of the boat! It was at that point that I realised why we don’t usually go to fancy lodges. Following the panicked crowd, we all hurtled ourselves to the opposite side of the boat, apparently fleeing for our lives. As the champagne glasses crashed to the floor with the boat tilting, it wasn’t until a woman unexposed to my father’s antics nor monitor lizards turned around and saw the lizard clawing at my Dad’s now bloodied hands that she shouted “it’s eating him!!”. I was convinced the only thing left to do was jump overboard. Trying to avoid a mass rescue, my Dad managed to immobilise the lizard and coax my brother and I over to inspect the poor creature, leading everyone into a false sense of security and calm. With everyone having had their champagne topped up and now open to being educated about the creature, my Dad picked it up and released it into the water. Cameras clicking away and a few claps, all seemed well until it decided to turn around and come back toward the boat causing the crowd to flee once again, tilting the boat and resulting in a secondary champagne shower. We were not allowed to participate in group activities again. Away from the family, much of my school holidays were spent on friend’s livestock farms. It was, an exceptionally African childhood for the city.

At 18 I set off to fend for myself at university in England where I pursued a BSc in Animal Science with Agriculture. Whilst there I found a lot more wildlife in the bars than in the bush, but I also found a passion for learning, had the fortune of experiencing a new culture and found my independence. From a young age, I felt full independence was only attained when you could financially support yourself, so I made a concerted effort to find work wherever I could. Initially in the UK, I worked as a bartender/waitress in the week but primarily in my holidays as a carer for the elderly and disabled. By my third year, I had moved into a full time live-in care position for a young, completely compus mentus but severely physically disabled gentleman as an enabler. I was extremely humbled and grateful for what life had granted family and I, but mostly, I had a better understanding of people. I also used every opportunity possible to work on different farms, finding a slightly obscure love for cows and milking. I wanted to expose myself to agriculture as much as possible in order to understand the difficulties farmers face with complying to conservation programmes and their conflict with wildlife. I qualified second in my class in 2012 with a First degree, won the Ellen Khan Jenkins prize for Animal Nutrition and was nominated as Faculty Representative of the Year.

08Courtney Dalziel Graduation 2012

In 2013, I returned to South Africa hoping to find a way to get the hands on animal behaviour experience I lacked in the UK. Despite having worked on numerous livestock farms and game farms, my previous experience was never for an extended period of time; I looked to Field Guiding (Commonly referred to as Game Ranging). I enrolled in a one year course attaining my FGASA Level 1, Back-up trails guide, Advanced Birding, Advanced Rifle handling, Cybertracking Track an Signs Level 3, First Aid Level 2 and 4x4 Driving Proficiency over five months in four different game reserves. Toward the end of the course, was a placement as a ranger at a lodge. Hitting the jackpot I landed in the world renowned Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve and found what I had been looking for all along, and more. The lodge I was based at was small, simply beautiful and unlike most lodges in the Sabi Sand, it did not cater to 5 star clientele. The owners were very hands on in the running of it and I felt at home. Over time I moved into an assistant lodge management role but my hunger to learn eventually lead me to seek a more internationally well known lodge with a greater establishment and involvement in the conservation industry. I hoped for Sabi Sabi and they chose to take me on.

“Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.” - Margaret Shepard

Almost two years on, I feel I have achieved what I set out to accomplish. I have reconnected with my African roots and gained a deeper understanding of the environment and the mechanisms it encompasses. It is time now to take the next step and that is to achieve a Masters degree in Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture, in the hope of moving into a more macro-education role in conservation through an NGO and hopefully in the future, the United Nations. In the next few weeks I will be saying with an itch in my throat “farewell” to my Sabi Sabi family, but as I look back on where my love affair started to where I am now, like a caterpillar, I feel like I am about to metamorphosise into a whole new incredible experience and life. Indeed “if nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies” - unknown.

Blog by Courtney Dalziel (Bush Lodge Ranger)

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