Operation Wallacea 2013 The Faculty of Mathematics, ICT & Computer Science, 2011-12

On Thursday the 18th of July a thoroughly kitted-out group of Olavian sixth-formers plus Ms Marwood and Miss Baguley convened at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport to embark on the trip to end all trips - SA 2K13 (as the participants colloquially termed the adventure later on). The all-male cast of our student cohort inadvertently laid the foundations for the ultimate lads’ holiday experience. Whilst proceeding to the South African Airways check-in desks we were offered stickers upon which to write messages of support for the critically ill Nelson Mandela, who just happened to be celebrating his 95th birthday on that day. Everyone duly obliged and wrote their messages. Just before boarding we all stuck our stickers on a specially-designated wall by the departure gate. We couldn’t help but wait for a certain Ken Chung to even join us in the first place, having been hilariously held up on the way to the airport by police. Upon making his long-awaited appearance the original group size of 23 (21 students, 2 staff) was restored, so we all sat back and reflected on the prospect of an 11 hour, 15 minute flight.

meeting up with the other school group we all boarded a coach bound for our destination, and an eight hour road journey ensued, taken by many as an opportunity to nod off. I on the other hand used the time rather more wisely by indulging in some birdwatching. Being the most avid ornithologist of the group, only I appreciated the hovering black-shouldered kite by the highway and the fearless pied starling at our only pit-stop (named Belfast, as it happened). A later transfer to open-top safari vehicles signalled our near-arrival. Whilst on these vehicles we briefly saw a few elephants just as it was getting dark. For quite a few of us this was unfortunately the only view of elephants we would have on the whole trip. A while later a scrub hare zigzagged in front of our vehicle for a few metres. When we at last reached our destination, Struwig Eco Reserve, within the confines of Balule Nature Reserve, right on the edge of the Kruger National Park, all were keen to have dinner. Following this we were introduced to the reserve staff, split into our groups for the week and assigned to our rooms (or tents for some of us) and settled down for the night against the backdrop of the adjacent Olifants River and its grunting hippos (likened by reserve staff to a bunch of old men laughing at a very bad joke).

Our first full day on the reserve began early for some of us, as we rose of our own accord while it was still dark to catch the unmissable sunrise over the river and tried to photograph it (with mixed success, I have to say). Birthday boy Tim Adelani and I were also among the few to glimpse a snake as it swiftly slithered off into the reeds (my research has led me to believe that it was an olive whip snake). First on the list of activities were back-to-back talks on biodiversity and trees, delivered by Orla and Rhian respectively, two of the reserve staff. The latter talk included a short walk around Struwig, where

We arrived early on the morning of the 19th of July at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Some of the cohort emerged sleepless, having opted for a nine or ten hour film marathon during the flight (when we were also reminded via plane safety announcements that it was forbidden to sleep in the aisles). We were given some free time on the grounds that a group from another school which would be accompanying us hadn’t landed. We had already been joined by three girls from a different school who were on our flight. Many of the cohort made a bee line for “Nando’s”, others stocked up with souvenirs. While on our own individual excursions we couldn’t help but notice that South African taxi drivers are very keen to acquire passengers. After eventually we were shown many different tree species and were told (amongst other things) of the difference between a spine and a thorn (a spine is a modified branch, a thorn is a modified leaf). Our favourite plant was definitely the buffalo thorn, but only because we found out that the leaves acted as natural female aphrodisiacs (note: this was after Ms Marwood and Miss Baguley had been coerced into sampling a leaf each). My group later had its first drive around the bush. Our driver, Daniela, had eyes like a hawk and as such managed to point out the more obscure organisms such as rock hyraxes and a ground squirrel as well as the more obvious organisms such as giraffes, water buck and kudu, on top of that ubiquitous antelope, the impala (JAFI to the locals). The birding highlight was the striking lilac-breasted roller perched on a low branch. On our return to base we were greeted by warthogs on the other side of the river. Our evening lecture was on spiders, snakes and scorpions, given by the reserve manager, Toby, who taught us (amongst other things) the difference between poison and venom (poison is ingested, venom is injected). During this time Toby also passed around a scorpion preserved in a jar and an ultraviolet torch so that we might appreciate the fluorescent glow of the scorpion under the UV light. Following his talk he took a large number of us to a certain tree inside which could be found two resident scorpions of the family Scorpionidae (the not-sodangerous variety, as opposed to the potential killers in the family Buthidae). On another invertebrate note, the keen Olavian entomologist Asher Leeks found a large hawkmoth inside one of the lodges.

The next day began with a walk in the bush for two of the Olavian groups. My group was led by a guide who went by the name of Gavin, while the other was led by the biggest legend among the reserve staff, Warren, with his characteristic “Hey, what’s up, gangsters?” catchphrase. I might as well come clean now; I envied this other group for their lucky sighting of a female spotted hyena. However, my group had its own share of adventures. Gavin and Daniela taught us how to identify various animal tracks and dung, plus trees on the receiving end of elephant damage, but the informative highlight was the tale of the amazing symbiotic relationship between fig trees and tiny fig wasps (watch “The Queen Of Trees” if you’re really interested). We also spotted our first zebras, but for me the highlights were the birds, with magpie shrike, greater honeyguide and juvenile bateleur featuring on the list. On our return we were treated to one of Orla’s bird lectures, which became highly entertaining when Jay Siregar decided to share his slightly smutty mnemonic for the order of the taxonomic levels with us. Our short mid-lecture break was used by me in the standard fashion, and as such I was rewarded with views of a Hamerkop on our side of the river and the Natal spurfowl, a bird whose raucous call was from then on the soundtrack to the reedbed. Later we readied our sleeping bags, roll mats and bare necessities, for the Olavians would be staying in bush camp that night. After we arrived at said location we delayed none in sitting around the camp fire. During this time we all heard a spotted hyena and discovered that Jay could tell spontaneous funny stories, a talent unknown to most of us. We were accompanied by Warren, who told us about a local spirit which he could have sworn he had seen earlier on in his life, the Tokoloshe (I suggest you look this up, fans of the supernatural). He also started the tradition of calling Luke Richards “Fancypants”. Some of the cohort were brave enough to have a bush shower before bed, but only after it felt we had exhausted the number of ways in which we could play rude versions of Chinese whispers.

We awoke the next morning for an early transfer back to base. This time it was Asher’s turn to have a birthday. On our return we attended a lecture on African herbivores (except elephants; these formed a separate talk). Lunchtime was dreaded by my group as it was our turn to wash up, but thanks to some military-style direction by Miss Baguley we were done much quicker than expected. In the afternoon the work aspect of our trip began, with some groups heading off to conduct habitat assessments, others game transects. The former were conducted by my group, and it was a fairly uneventful affair except for the sighting of three blue wildebeest. However, on our return to base we exploited the opportunity to watch wildlife from the hilltop viewpoint, with plenty of bushbuck, kudu, warthog and impala to keep us occupied. The highlight was a family of ten banded mongooses drinking from the pond, unfortunately missed by a group returning from a game transect (unfortunate because had they seen them they would have broken the record for the highest count of individual game in such a survey). In the evening we boarded the big game viewer for a night drive. This involved searching for wildlife with the help of some big and very bright torches. The target species were nocturnal specialities such as leopards and porcupines, but we saw neither of these. The same familiar herbivores of impala, water buck, bush buck and zebra were the main sightings, along with a scrub hare. One nocturnal creature we did spot was the bush baby, its red eye shine standing out from its surroundings. The main stars of the night drive were two separate giraffes because of what they were doing - one was sleeping, one was audibly urinating.

The next day almost made up for the lack of success the night before. While we never did see a leopard on our expedition, it was my group’s turn to try its hand at doing a game transect. Water buck, impala and kudu were regulars, but we also spotted a Nile crocodile a long way from the river where we usually saw them. After the survey work was completed we were treated to a drive, with no shortage of birdlife whatsoever. Personal highlights were a distant martial eagle, the striking African hoopoe and the dark-chanting goshawk which allowed us some very good views and chances of excellent photographs. I was greeted by more birds on the river on our return back to base, with sightings of African jacana, black-winged stilt (a record breaker - the bird with the longest legs compared to its body size) and the all-toofamiliar Egyptian goose (feral populations of this species exist in Britain), as well as two species of kingfisher; pied and brown-hooded. A lecture on carnivores followed (including a showing of the amazing video clip “Battle Of The Kruger”), then an entomology workshop led by Elmè, a native entomologist and expert on beetles. It was this experience that later bore the idea amongst some members of the group to start an entomology society on our return to school in September. The evening was a very competitive affair - at lunchtime we had been given a debating topic (whether we should legalise game hunting), and the evening saw this debate take place. We were randomly divided into two groups and allowed some preparation time, but then battle did well and truly commence. We managed to confirm the theory that a debate is not a debate without the vital ingredient of Lucas Bertholdi-Saad. The debating maestro drew out his introduction into a full-blown soliloquy and every time the right to speak had to go to the opposing team he visibly squirmed in his seat, longing for the opportunity to shoot down their argument with his arsenal of comebacks. Yet despite his and everyone else’s best efforts, neither side was declared the winner.

The next day began very well for me as I spotted a blackheaded oriole just after breakfast, but sadly no one else was in the right place at the right time to marvel at this bird’s stunning colouration. The first part of the day was spent mounting some of the insect specimens we had caught in traps two days before. David Giles, Asher and I were very lucky to have caught two of the most striking of the area’s butterflies in one of our traps, the pearl emperor and the Bushveld emperor. The afore-mentioned lecture on elephants followed. The surprising fact was that the Kruger National Park has an over-population of elephants, yet only one group had good views of these behemoths later on that day. During the break I found and photographed a male collared sunbird at close range. The next talk was by Elmè on insect orders (Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera etc). In the evening there was a surprise in store for previous birthday boys Tim and Asher - each was presented with a cake. We were also told that the next evening we would be giving a presentation in our groups for the week on a topic linked to what we had been learning about in our lectures. Most of us then attended the optional talk on stars given by Gavin and Warren. We saw Centaurus, Scorpius and Crux (the Southern Cross), three constellations only visible in the Southern Hemisphere. We also saw the Milky Way, Jupiter and Antares, a red supergiant star within Scorpius. Using the bisector of the line between the two brightest stars in Centaurus (Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri - the Two Pointers) and an extension of the longest side of the kite shape formed by the stars in Crux, we were told that we could locate geographic South, by the intersection of these two said lines.

Our last full day in Struwig began with the first and only pearl-spotted owlet, little bee-eater and white-crowned lapwing being of note. Two more lectures greeted us on our return back to base - invertebrates (given by Elmè) and conservation (given by Orla). During the break between these two the most iconic raptor of the region, the African fish eagle, appeared, soaring and calling overhead (the call is surprisingly gull-like). Ms Marwood and I were also lucky enough to spot two very distant baboons on the other side of the river which nobody else saw. The real drama, however, unfolded during a final trip up to the hilltop viewpoint. After about only five minutes the shout went up for African wild dogs, and lo and behold a pack of eleven ran through on a hunt. Word quickly got round of this incredible sighting, thus practically all the Olavians crowded into the hide and stood in awe, snapping incessantly with their cameras. With an estimated world population of only 5,700, these animals are endangered, and their appearance was surely unforgettable. Even a lone shooting star and glorious sunset practically went unnoticed. Our last meal on site was a barbecue, with a Southern African addition of cooked mopane worms (they’re actually moth caterpillars), which most of us tried and surprisingly enjoyed. We also had the luxuries of marshmallows toasted by an open fire for some extra sustenance. The evening was dominated by the group presentations, ranging from a snippet of David Attenborough’s “Life In The Undergrowth” to a gospel reading of “U Can’t bird point count for my group. Many species were noted based solely on their calls, but we did have sightings of greater blue-eared starling and crested barbet. After we had completed our survey at all three points we went on a drive around the bush, where the game highlight was a group of three male buffaloes (one with its tail bitten off) drinking at a watering hole. We ventured in search of lions following a reported sighting by another group, but this turned out to be a fruitless quest. There were plenty of birds to keep me busy though, with

Touch This”, the first and only chapter in “The Book Of Hammer” (containing the Ten Commandments for wildlife conservation), ending a fabulous week to say the least. Our time in Struwig hadn’t passed without its fair share of songs either. I distinctly remember one of the cohort remarking “I came here and now I know all the words to Toto’s “Africa””. Such was the power of music, infiltrating our minds even in that remote location.

The next day marked a week since our touchdown in South Africa. It was also the day of our transfer to Sodwana Bay, the site of our marine activities, all of 12 hours away by road. Most of us woke up around four in the morning for a five o’clock departure from Struwig.

As we had been reminded the previous evening, the darkness at our time of departure meant we still had a chance of spotting some nocturnal creatures, perhaps even those we didn’t see on our night drive, given that it would be nearly two hours until we left Balule’s dirt tracks. I thought I was most unfortunate to be the only Olavian on a full open-top jeep, while the rest of the cohort and a few others filled up the big safari vehicle, but an advantage of this arrangement soon made itself clear. My jeep overtook the other jeep while the big safari vehicle brought up the rear, putting me in the best position for wildlife-watching. While it was still dark my vehicle lit up a porcupine by the side of the road. The great rodent scarpered five seconds later, but nonetheless I remained the only Olavian to see this animal on our expedition (bragging rights were obtained but not utilised!). Just as it was beginning to brighten up later the passengers on all three vehicles had views of a sidestriped jackal trotting along the road in front of us, but mine were the best owing to my vehicle still being at the front. My driver informed my temporary crew and I that this was the rarer of the two species of jackal on site, the commoner species being the black-backed jackal. I hoped most for a leopard or a better view of elephants, but neither of these wishes came true. We eventually hit the tarmac and transferred to our coach at the same stop as where we had made the opposite transfer a week before. I used the brief break to go inside a shop for some vital warmth, having foolishly worn only two layers on the back of an exposed jeep in near-zero temperatures. The coach journey was fairly uneventful but for some common mynahs on a roundabout, a brief roadblock made of cows and the mixture of moral, philosophical and political debates going on behind me between Shunta Takino, Skanda Rajasundaram and Lucas. At last we arrived in Sodwana Bay for another open-top jeep transfer, this time to our intended campsite of Exodus. There wasn’t time for much that evening except for dinner and the formality of being split into groups (all named after South African rivers) depending on whether we were qualified scuba divers, aimed to qualify and had done the pool training, aimed to qualify and had not done the pool training or (like Ms Marwood, Lucas and I) we had opted for snorkelling instead. Following this we all settled down in our tents, with some (including me) mentally cursing an early start to the next day.

The next day we all passed by the scuba centre first thing in the morning. Those without their own gear picked up what they were renting by a man known only (and quite degradingly in my opinion) as Hopeless (don’t worry though, it wasn’t his real name). I and my snorkelling crew had to complete some surprisingly quick and simple pool skills before we were ready for some marine action. Indeed the ordeal was so quick the only vivid memories I have concern the mysterious disappearance of my towel and elsewhere witnessing Tim’s attempts to photograph

Henri Hassett in a very feminine wetsuit. The rapid drive down to the beach on the open-top jeeps gave an uncanny sensation of flying. The route took us through mangrove forest alive with sound, and there wasn’t a day when we didn’t narrowly miss running over some crested guineafowl and pass through the toll with the worst security anyone had probably ever experienced. The first boat ride in this coastal location was fairly unpleasant for some, as the rough conditions and the power approach to driving by certain skippers (including one with a striking resemblance to Sir Richard Branson) combined to give rise to a few instances of seasickness. While I too fell into this category, I was very content at coming across a few bottlenose dolphins during the journey and spotting a great-winged petrel and juvenile red-footed booby. The snorkelling itself yielded some good views of the reef. Free time on the beach was spent by most at the beach café which provided all manner of tasty snacks, including the widely-promoted “Sodwana Special”, a sandwich talked about like no other. A girl from one of the other schools famously remarked upon first tasting it “I want to make love to this sandwich!”. She then made it her personal duty to tuck into at least one other each day. A major attraction was the system of rock pools exposed when the tide went out. The most obvious species here was the rockskipper, a type of fish which scampered over rocks into other pools at the slightest hint of danger, but most exciting was the juvenile floral moray eel I found and photographed (then tried to show to everyone else, but it had gone. Typical!). Each afternoon at camp we also had a lecture delivered by one of the centre staff, Kirsty, and upon our return from the beach we attended the first one, an introduction to coral. In the evening we watched a documentary about Sodwana Bay, highlighting its marine biodiversity.

The next day was even busier for the snorkellers, as we went out not once but twice. The first trip was most memorable for our first humpback whales of the trip, with their exhaling water jets clearly visible. The snorkelling itself yielded some reef fish, but the murky conditions meant that they proved difficult to identify. The most exciting fish were seen from the boat when flying fish broke the surface and glided on their elongated pectoral fins for many metres. This journey was inexplicably supplemented with the singing of some 80s classics, mostly the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me”. The interval between snorkelling sessions was spent at the café, with most playing cards. Our views of humpback whales improved further in the second snorkelling session when we came across two individuals, a mother and calf, perhaps only ten metres away from our boat. Our skipper told us that that particular calf was probably no more than a week old and would have been born weighing nearly a tonne. During this journey we also found a hawksbill turtle (my first and only critically endangered species) on the surface of the sea. We discovered a piece of debris in the sea which our skipper removed, only to find a baby octopus amongst it. We took this tiny specimen back to shore to show everyone else. On exploration of the campsite once we had returned, I found a yellow-fronted canary to add to my bird list, plus some crowned hornbills and very noisy hadeda ibises before our lecture, which was on the productivity of a coral reef. There was no documentary that evening, so the whole cohort turned to relaxation mode before eventually going to bed. few others suffered with severe ear and chest problems, putting them out of action for at least a couple of days. The most exciting avian sighting was a group of swift terns on the edge of the rockpools in the early afternoon. In the latter part of the afternoon we sat through a lecture on marine invertebrates, some of which we had seen during rockpooling. In the evening we watched a documentary about one man’s quest to convince people to save sharks, since some species are of conservation concern due to heavy persecution and hunting.

The next day began wonderfully: for the first time I was on the latest transfer down to the beach, and as such I was entitled to an extra-long sleep! The day itself was one of novelty for many; while more divers qualified after four open-water dives those who hadn’t done the pool training on arrival in Sodwana Bay had their first such dive in the sea. The latter group was the only one not present for the shore snorkel in the morning, whereby everyone else snorkelled around the rockpools close to the shore. As well as having much better views of innumerable (and unidentifiable) species of fish I was lucky enough to be pointed in the direction of a lobster, its long antennae the only protrusions from its crevice hide-out. While lounging around on the beach during our free time some of us looked out to sea at exactly the right time to see a humpback whale breaching fairly close to shore. When we snorkellers headed out to sea we saw more humpbacks. Cameras snapped when our skipper stopped the boat and we witnessed another breaching (just when I was cleaning my lens!). We also found two loggerhead turtles on the sea surface. Visibility for fish and coral was also decent. Back at camp we attended a lecture on two very important beach habitats, mangroves and dunes, before the evening documentary of “Coral Seas”, an episode from the series “Blue Planet”.

The next day’s snorkelling was very rough. The boat’s motion over the waves was undulating like we had never experienced before. We saw some more humpback whales, but the snorkelling itself was very difficult, both in trying to stay together and to see anything through the nearly opaque waters below. The conditions only deteriorated after coming ashore, so much so that the intended second snorkel had to be cancelled. An alternative arrangement of rockpooling was undertaken, with sightings of sea slugs, sea urchins, more rockskippers and plentiful coral in an array of different types, including tree and brain. However, if the snorkellers thought they had had a tough time out at sea, they should have talked to some of our divers. Although some our divers officially qualified that day, having completed their four required dives in open water, qualification for others was postponed due to complications. While one lost the rest of his group, a

The first beach activity of the next day was a talk on dune ecology, whilst appropriately standing on top of such a structure. At the end of the talk most gave in to the temptation to run down the steep dune as quickly as possible, while those who were less enthusiastic opted for the more gentle amble down the ridge. With my hope of seeing as many marine megafauna as possible, I was very happy when we snorkellers came across a manta ray swimming on the sea surface on our boat ride. Unfortunately it had disappeared by the time we were ready to go in and swim with it. We again saw many species of fish and coral when we did venture into the water. A very amusing incident greeted us back on the beach. One of the many vervet monkeys inhabiting the mangroves snuck into the café area, stealing a bag of nuts off the counter when there was someone on duty. Even more amusing was the response; one of the café workers came out brandishing the most formidable weapon of them all - a water pistol! I also added some new birds to the list: dark-capped bulbul, white-fronted plover and grey-headed gull. Instead of going straight back to camp we had the opportunity to go to the local market for some shopping. Most if not all of us bought at least one thing, but whether any haggling went on or not depended on each individual. All manner of goods from hats featuring the “Big Five” (lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, and elephant) to wooden animal figures and bracelets were for sale. Our return to camp was just in time for a double bill of lectures, with the first focusing on threats to coral reefs, the second on how coral reefs can be conserved. Next came something a little different, namely a quiz. From the previous evening we had been told that we would be having this quiz and that it would be based on what we had learned from the week’s lectures. The bottom team would be on washing up duty, the only team to have to do it twice. Needless to say, with everyone possessing the “I’m on holiday” attitude, as far as I know nobody had bothered to re-read their notes (if they had any). The quiz therefore became a test of pure memory recall. With the universal lack of revision I feared my team could come bottom, but as it happened, we won, beating our nearest rivals (a group of university students) by half a point. Last place and hence plate and cutlery scrubbing duties went to Miss Baguley and her team (yet the winners never got a prize. Anyone for an inquest?).

Upon waking the next morning it dawned on us that it would be our last day of marine activities. By this time most of our divers who had been negatively affected by the experience earlier in the week had sufficiently recovered to try and squeeze in their last qualifying dives on this day. With the exception of one person, this strategy was a successful one. Those on shore for the morning were treated to a talk on sea turtles by an external speaker, with the opportunity to handle some preserved turtle specimens - a hawksbill, a green turtle and a leatherback hatchling. We were also shown the skulls of a green turtle and a loggerhead to appreciate the difference between them; the loggerhead has a much larger head. I was also very happy to later spot an African black oystercatcher on the beach. One diving group returned with news of a whale shark sighting. Upon hearing this I was desperate to see the world’s largest fish for myself. Our only snorkel that day and our last of the whole trip was my only chance. During the preceding boat ride we came across the bottlenose dolphins again, then our skipper spotted a whale shark beneath us too. I don’t really need to say that within an instant we were in the water, swimming with both of these magical marine organisms. Barring green and leatherback turtles, I had thus seen the megafauna the area had to offer. Even one last look at the reef didn’t produce anything on the same level of splendour. When beach time was over we all transferred back to the scuba centre for the divers to do their necessary paperwork. I took this opportunity to explore the lost property and was delighted to find my long-lost towel. There was no lecture that evening, but instead we were treated to a singing and dancing performance by Zulu dancers. After some initial apprehension some audience members joined in with the dancing, although some of this inexplicably slipped into “Gangnam Style”. We all tipped the Zulu dancers for their efforts, then settled down to eat a barbecue dinner. Following dinner each group gave an evening presentation on a topic linked to what we had been learning about in the week, very similar to how we gave presentations in Struwig. Despite a warning dating back a few days of the need to give a presentation, some groups had clearly put in more effort than others. The presentations this time ranged from a list of humorous misconceptions about sharks and dolphins to a cross between a children’s coral reef programme and an episode of “The Jeremy Kyle Show”. Some of us then retreated to our tents for some sleep, while others stayed awake in the dining area all night, playing all manner of music. It had been a thoroughly enjoyable second week, with many sightings of spectacular marine life by the snorkellers. The divers reported their own sightings back to me too. As well as the afore-mentioned whale shark, the divers saw all manner of organisms from green turtles to Spanish dancers, lionfish to blue-spotted rays and honeycomb moray eels, and a potato bass which Tim was apparently very tempted to hug.

The sleepers had to wake up early the next morning, since a five o’clock transfer was again in order as it had been a week earlier, while the all-nighters couldn’t wait to make up their lost nap time on the coach. A last transfer on open-top jeeps was marked by the singing of “Jerusalem”, which was later repeated on the coach along with “I vow to thee my country” (the Headmaster would have been proud). Yet with so many of the cohort asleep for at least part of the journey, the near-ten hour drive was otherwise very quiet. We drove straight past two hitchhikers with scarcely anyone noticing. Having said that, everyone seemed to be awake when we ran into our first South African traffic jam. Our driver was having none of it and did a U-turn back the way we had come, which involved partly driving into a field. He then proceeded to miss a turning, therefore needing to drive off the road to turn around again, with many of us thinking we would be having an off-road part to our journey. Within a few minutes everything was back to normal and the tranquil atmosphere returned to the passengers. I then had my final new bird sighting of the fortnight when I spotted two sacred ibises (so named because they were revered by the ancient Egyptians) in a small pond. We reached O.R. Tambo International Airport faster than expected, leaving nearly three hours for lunch in “Nando’s” and a final stint of buying souvenirs. We later passed through all the security hurdles and eventually boarded our South African Airways return flight to Heathrow.

We touched down at Heathrow earlier than scheduled. Far more of the cohort had slept on the return flight than on the outward-bound flight, but I had decided to have my own film marathon instead. We descended from the plane and boarded a bus for a ride to our destination of baggage reclaim and security. There was a final heartin-mouth moment when I thought my roll mat had got lost in the transfer, but I thankfully managed to recover it. At this point we could go our own way as we pleased, but not before we had presented both Ms Marwood and Miss Baguley with a thank-you card each, both complete with a signature from all 21 members of the Olavian student cohort. There were some very emotional goodbyes too. We had got to know the three girls from one of the other schools very well, and needless to say there was a lot of hugging. Perhaps more importantly, we Olavians had got to know each other even better than before, having spent two weeks together on the other side of the world without our families, and there was no less hugging among us. The goodbyes came particularly thick and fast for those in Year 13, since their last chapter of the Olave’s experience had come to a close.

However, it was the end of an era for all of us, the end of the SA 2K13 era. No matter how sad we were to have had to come home, it was on the back of a truly unforgettable experience. A quick survey concluded that the wild dogs at the end of the first week had proved the most popular sighting. On behalf of the whole student cohort I would like to thank Ms Marwood and Miss Baguley once again for this breathtaking journey into the unknown. I think I speak for all of us by saying we had the time of our lives.

Now a note to the readers: if you are in Year 12 or below and you are green with envy upon hearing of our experiences on such a trip, then the best advice I can give is this: if the opportunity to embark on such an expedition presents itself to you, do all in your power to grasp it with both hands and never let go! You will make new friends, re-affirm existing friendships and perhaps more (Toby knew of three instances of marriage between people who first met on an Operation Wallacea expedition). I admit that there is a hefty price tag attached, but if you can meet it then I assure you that you will return from a lifechanging experience in the same state of ecstasy as us.

English & Drama