Rachel Colenso

Today I was invited to a wake for two baboons, Fred and Rude Boy. Sounds quite odd, and in some ways possibly comical. Fred was known for jumping into occupied cars to steal food. Naturally most ordinary human beings vacate their car pretty smartly when this occurs, so it proved to be a fairly successful, albeit rather bold tactic. How Fred reached this conclusion was not so smart. Close up wildlife photos make for great pictures to brag about back home. What easier way to get your one in a million picture than to offer food. Tourists and possibly tour operators have offered, and still do offer animals food just to get a photo. Fred's life was sadly cut short because he had become accustomed to the handouts and took things that obvious next step. When not supplied with what he expected to receive, on a few occasions he became aggressive. The State Vet was called in to intervene, and end the lives of these two well known characters. Today I watched about twenty tourists who had purc

Don't forget to switch your lights off at 8pm for Earth Hour! Over 5 million people supported Earth Hour last year in India alone. Other things I will think about in that hour of darkness: 1. How lucky I am to have electricity and running water 2. Eating and showering in the dark is quite novel, but takes a bit more planning. 3. Wish I had brought more candles

Had a super day guiding one of my favourite clients and a friend of his up the sheer cliff faces of Table Mountain. They were shooting an advert on location and today, the day off, was perfect. Was also quite interesting speaking to someone whose passion for the mountains is on skis and the similarities between off piste skiing and technical climbing. Both very fit men, and we all had a super time.