The Okkie Jooste Camp

The Okkie Jooste Camp

I remember my lecturer, Mrs Eager telling the class about the camp in the first semester and just like everyone there, okay maybe not everyone but I was quite thrilled and just could wait for August to come so that we can just go. In high school we never really had outings so excuse my enthusiasm. First semester ended and August came and it was camp time. However I wasn’t as enthusiastic, honestly I didn’t want to go. It was spring break so I just wanted to chill and have some me time, not spend FOUR DAYS with my classmates that I practically see every day. Because I’ve already paid for the trip I had to go. Came the 30^th of August, the buses we ready and our-ever-so-energetic lecturer Mrs Eager was there, I wasn’t feeling well that day and the weather wasn’t doing justice, IT WAS HOT! But that didn’t stop Rose from running around and making sure that everyone was inside the bus, I asked myself…”where does this woman get all that energy?”…it was about 9am in the morning and that time im usually lazy in my bed with my eyes closed and not waiting for a bus to take me to a camp that I don’t even wanna go to. We left and arrived at the Okkie Jooster Campsite in the early afternoon, checked in to our rooms and and sort of got comfortable, we tried to get comfortable…it was a campsite after all so one can never be 100% comfortable. My team, the blue team was allocated for kitchen duty for the supper, which was fun, helping the chefs that came with us to make food.

We had different activities like mammal trapping, hiking, star gazing, river ecology, presentation from different doctors and professors who specialise in biodiversity and biology. Personally I enjoyed star gazing and that was actually surprizing to me cause I’ve never seen myself as one who would enjoy and actually rest and learn while looking at stars and listening to different sound of frogs in the river and other organisms.  

On our last night at the camp we had to do presentations and I personally thing that this one thing that almost ruined the whole trip for most people including myself. I do not like presentations, they really make me nervous and very awkward when everyone is quiet and just listen to me. However the presentations turned out to be quite entertaining and informative, listening to students reflect on their experiences at the camp. The talent show however was the REAL entertainment.

I could go on and on about the camp but unfortunately my time is limited in this lab and I have to publish this by 16:30pm and be out. I would however like to thank Mrs Eager and everyone who was involved in preparation for the camp. I HAD A GREAT TIME! AND GIVEN THE TIME TO DO IT AGAIN I DEFINITELY WOULD.

  

THE CAPE POINT NATURE RESERVE EXPERIENCE

The 26th of September 2013, a day many of the students enthusiastically waited for. It was the trip to the Cape Point Nature Reserve and the excitement was overwhelming. Many could not wait to get there because the only place that they knew Cape Point from was on their television set, including myself. We took off with our demonstrators, practical presenters, tutors and  lecturers to one the world famous heritage sites, the Cape Point Nature Reserve. The trip was about two hours long and along the way the weather never promised any sunshine which was one of the reasons that made me reluctant to leave but the was no turning back, all roads led to Cape Point.

We arrived to the Cape Point and OMG! what a huge place I thought to myself, the ocean was out of this world and the mountains where just magnificently beautiful. On may way to the light house I had the opportunity to  meet or see cute little baboons, I call the the ''BIG GUYS OF THE WILD''. I will not lie, I was scared, the thought of having to experience a baboon jump over my head did not seat well with me so I no option but to behavior and respect the " BIG GUYS OF THE WILD''.

The journey to the top of the mountain was an interesting one but the wind interfered though, it was very strong and I felt light, I also most thought it was going to blow me straight into the ocean but the God it did not, I reached the top, yes the light house, I was there with my dear friend Esihle and we signed our names, my goodness what an experience. My ears were hurting but I guess it was worth it. One has to be there to fully experience how it feels to be at the tip of our beautiful continent, Africa. 

My highlight of the trip was definitely the Cape of Good Hope, I love every this about the place. The fresh air of the ocean, the birds and the sea. I was at peace, my body and mind were just transformed in the most amazing way that I can not find words to describe. I could feel the interaction of the thousands of species in the reserve and the water splashing against the stones and the mountain walls, I was beautiful and the feeling of being in the Cape of Good Hope was really hard to put down on paper, one definitely needs to experience it first hand to understand.

The trip was an amazing experience, it made me appreciate the beauty of our nation and how blessed we are to have all this in our own country. My perspective of the outdoors has changed, I believe now I am going to start going out more on field trips of this nature, just to observe and enjoy what mother nature provides.

  

MY PERSONALLY EXPERIENCES IN LIFE SCIENCE 151.

I have been fortunate enough to do the Life Science 151 module for the past eight months and I describe my experience regarding the module as challenging and yet informative experience. I remember my first practicals where we were taken to a game reserve, and the weather was extremely hot. As a first year student I was not really expecting to be out on the field on my first practical. However besides the weather, I enjoyed myself at the reserve. The Life Science 151 module is also composed of other concepts rather then the practicals; we have tutorials, which we sometime get surprise quiz. At first I used to hate the quiz because I did not understand why out lecturers or tutors inform us about before we write them. Late on I think I came to understand the system that they were using and that encouraged me to always stay on top of my game and study my books regularly.

I think the lectures are also one of my other great experiences, my lecturer Dr Maryke Malan is such an amazing person. She has never missed a day in class and she always makes sure that every student clearly understands every word that she alters during class. Another thing that I love about her is the fact she is aware and well informed of the things that she teaches and if she does not know something she will sharply inform the class about it, she does not pretend or make the students feel uncomfortable in class. I think having someone like Maryke as a lecturer is a great advantage be she is encourage and always pushes the student to do their ultimate best.

In practicals we were also appointed to people that would help us during the practicals, the Demonstrators "DEMI''. I was fortunate to have Apiwe Mdunyelwa as my demi, she is an amazing soul and she is always keen to help us during practical. She encourages us as student to take advantage of the her presence by asking her questions of anything that we are uncertain about regarding the Life Science module. Also I believe she has sense of humor because every Fridays during our practicals there is always laughter within the group and I love the way she interacts with each student.

My tutor Ilana. Ilana is very helpful during our tutorials. Every Thursday before we start our tutorial set of that particular week she always goes through the previous tut with the rest of the class. She helps us with our corrections and makes everything that we did not quite understand in class easy and more understandable.

Lately I will talk about my practical instructor, Mr Bradley Flynn. He is very our of the life of a scientist and and aspiring like myself in the laboratory. He is always willing to assist the students with any equipment in the lap that we are unable to use in the lab, like the microscope which I sometimes struggle with. He presents the practicals in an orderly way and make it easier of our to understand all the instructions in the practical manual.