Student Abroad - South Africa

Let me start off with yesterday, we we’re expecting a nice quiet day with 3 groups. No problem! Easy Peasy! But… nothing in UKUTULA goes as planned. And yesterday was no exception. We had a large group of 42 people coming in without a booking. And they wanted the full day package (walking with the lion and the lion interaction). This usually never happens and the moment I heard that I lost my mind, but only a little ;) . luckily we have Sparkly, (the staff always says Sparkly is part of the furniture)  he’s been working for UKUTULA for 6 years . And UKUTULA exists for 8 years now. But with Sparkly’s help and awesome team work it was manageable. I also moved in my official room yesterday, and it’s lovely (I even got my own little bathroom J)!

Luckily today was a nice quiet day. We had 3 groups coming in so we got time to do the things we usually don’t have time for. And we took measurement for new work uniforms! They are really nice. And they will be done in about 2 weeks. After I was done working I went playing with the devils (lion cubs of 4/5months old.) And they took hold of my planning for tomorrow and also my legs. They full of scratches now, at one point I want surrounded by all the 16 devils. Yeah… they won..  

Goodmorning folks!

I’ve truly got the most satisfying job in the world. Yesterday was my first official day as a Host on my own. And everything went super smoothly! In the afternoon I went in to town. I got a laundry basket, a trashcan, and 3 bags full of snacks, drinks, and shower products. i got the best of the best and I only spend about 700 rand. That’s less than 50 euro’s!

The day before yesterday was one big chaos. Marion fell really bad from the stairs and suddenly I had to do everything. They say that you learn the best when you’re thrown in the deep. And that’s true. But I got thrown in the deep with my head first and it was a little overwhelming. Luckily all the staff made me feel a lot better, their my second family. They truly are the sweetest people I have ever met.

Let me tell you real quick how my day looks like. It starts at 7AM with cleaning up the bar. Then I have to make the planning. I have to look how many quests we are expecting, but during the we accept booking for that day aswell, so your planning never stays the same. I have to tell which tou guides are getting which quests and the same for the staff of walking with the lions.

Another important job is to make sure all the quests are leaving happy. I receive then, explain them what they have to do and introduce then to their guides. When the quests are on their tour I have to set up their refreshments, and make sure everything looks pretty. So my main responsibility is to make sure all the quests are leaving happy and I have to make sure my planning is OK. My day is over when all the quests are gone.

Hola folks!

Today was a very exciting and long day. We had a VIP coming in, with his whole entourage. It was Jeff Dunham. (the dead terrorist) He’s truly a very nice guy. I had to set up his table for a teaparty in the bush and for his dinner. It was pretty weird realizing that I was setting the table for a celebrity. I wasn’t his host, (too bad) but I did tell him this when he left: ‘’thank you so much, bye, thank you’’. And he responded with: ‘’ thank you, see y’all soon!’’ so he will be back, but this wasn’t his first time at UKUTULA anyways.

I also went on the UKUTULA tour. This is what guests can book. When you go on a tour with a tour guide you’re going to see all the lions. Starting with the oldest ones (oldest lion in UKUTULA is called Felix and he is 13 years old) and then you work your way down until you’re at the cubs of 10 weeks old. On the tour you also see the cheetahs, hyenas, caracals and the tigers.

We had a couple of groups coming in of course. One group came by helicopter. I just spoke the pilot and he told me I could go fly with him for 5 minutes in his helicopter tomorrow, that’s pretty awesome but unfortunately he was drunk.. but I’ll remind him tomorrow.

And Tomorrow I’ll be walking with the lions. This means you’re going in the bush with a (small) group of lions. These lions are from 9 to 23 months old. After that they are unmanageable and way more unpredictable. So I’m looking forward to that!

Hello,

Today was a great day. It was my first working day. I mostly observed the current Host, Marioné and helped out where I could. We had 4 groups coming in today. So it wasn't busy at all.

  Tomorrow I'll be starting at 7AM. The first guests will be coming in at 8. And tomorrow we have a very special guest coming, an American comedian. I'll give you a hint.... SILENCE, I'LL KILL YOU!

CHECK THIS OUT!

These cute little piggs are hand-raised bij de staff of Ukutula. Because their mother wouldn't. If you listen close you can hear the lions roar in the background. A few weeks ago they had escaped and nobody could find them. A few days later they came back on their own and haven't left the Lodge since.