Birt: 15.01.2018
The first day of work started at 6 o'clock with the alarm clock (in Germany we could sleep 20 minutes longer), so we could be there at 7 o'clock with the birds. So far, only one of the 7 planned buildings for the birds is finished, which means the work is quite relaxed at the moment :D
But for now, we're just following Stefan and watching or assisting. Prepare and feed porridge for the leaf birds (drink the rest ourselves), cut papaya and banana for all birds, and then remove the jumping legs from about 200 crickets. Feed all birds and clean if necessary. Because the birds are supposed to breed, we want to disturb them as little as possible. At the moment there are 32 birds living here.
After we finished our work, Stefan took us on a tour through the actual safari park. Just like in European safari parks, you drive a fixed route from enclosure to enclosure. Gates separate the individual enclosures in between so that, for example, lions and antelopes do not encounter each other :) The enclosures appear spacious and you can hardly recognize the boundaries. And just like almost everywhere in the zoo world, you can also buy food for the animals, here it's carrots. But there will probably be 'experts' here too, who throw the carrots to the lions, etc.
After the short safari, it was time for lunch. We get 2 meals a day for free from one of the 5 restaurants here in the park. Great deal! However, each restaurant only has around 10 dishes, and if we exclude the items we don't like or the ones that are sold out, we will have tried them all very soon. But the drinks are also free, so now I treat myself to a watermelon juice more often. Unfortunately, there is almost no beer available here, so Roy is a bit dry. Maybe you can make it here by Wednesday, Basti! :D
In the afternoon, there isn't much to do with the birds. Feed a few more insects, sweep, wash dishes. But we have more time for other things. Set up enclosures, do carpentry work, or get leaves for decoration, for example.
Since I caught a bad cold, I went to bed around 6 o'clock. And I actually slept through the night... until the muezzin started...
On the second day of work, we did the feeding all by ourselves. After the birds were taken care of, Stefan took us to the next village to get a few things: tea and cough syrup for my cold, some groceries, phone cards, 2 plastic stools as shelves, storage boxes, and slippers for work. Then it was time for lunch. So we don't have to walk multiple times (the distances here are quite far and it's extremely hilly), we always take our lunch box with us for dinner.
Other things that happened: collected fresh mint for tea, shook hands a few more times, still leaking toilet flush, 2 missing keys, and ants in my lip balm.
Tomorrow we will be alone with the birds for the first time, as Stefan will be away. We're excited...