The lack of curtains on the windows and an unfamiliar bed meant I woke early and just for a moment had that strange sensation of not knowing where you are. My hair and mouth felt gritty and the parts of my body that had been exposed to the sun tingled. The room had three single beds and two other of the volunteers, both on the wildlife project, still lay asleep. I got out of my sleeping bag, picked up my wash kit and made my way to the bathroom which was at the end of the block. It was 05:30 which might sound early but felt pretty late to me given the cockerel in the chicken compound had been crowing since two thirty. That morning several of the volunteers offered to shoot it, by the end of the week they were prepared to wring it’s neck with their bare hands. I carefully checked the shower for anything alive that I’d rather not be there i.e. baboon spiders, scorpions, male volunteers (they have their own toilet block) and had a quick shower before walking around to the Lappa and making myself a cup of bush tea in an attempt to feel at home. I’d got to know the place a little bit from my walk around the previous afternoon, but sitting there, on my own in the Lappa just before 6 I felt a bit homesick.
After breakfast there is a team meeting and the volunteers are split into groups of 3 or 4 and those groups rotate around a variety of tasks. These might include food preparation for the animals (believe me, I wish I were an animal in this sanctuary), spending time with the tame animals in an attempt to keep them tame and calm around humans (this includes the caracals, tame cheetahs and meerkats) and then feeding the carnivores. This is one of the most interesting and sought after jobs for a variety of reasons. 1. You can top up your tan as you drive around in the open back of the van along with the lumps of (look away here if you are at all sentimental) horsemeat, 2. you get to be scared out of your wits by the lions if they decide to mock charge (you think you are prepared for this, but believe me, you are not) and 3. sometimes you get to go into the enclosure with the tame cheetahs (recently used in an adv for VW) and fuss them like great big cute little kitties. Except you are instructed never to turn your back on them, always to make sure your head is higher than theirs and generally remember that underneath the big kitty exterior there are 3 inch claws and teeth to match and if they're really feeling tetchy they're capable of eating you. Being cheetahs you're never likely to outrun them but luckily all the animals here are well-fed and the prospect of becoming dinner is fairly remote. However, not really wanting to put it to the test I did as I was told.