Missing Mariepskop

Hello again!
It is about 1pm and week two is almost over (the week starts on Fridays here at base). I had an amazing week up in the Mountains of the Blyde river canyon... Mariepskop Mountain to be more exact. We were split into groups of six and went with Kim (the staff member who runs the Mountain phase of each expedition) and Mickalea, and intern here, to the Cottage about half way up the mountain. Mariepskop was used as a Special Forces base previously (it hasn't been used in at least 10 yrs though) and so we would have to pass through a security check point every morning and afternoon when we drove up the mountain to check the traps. No, not evil TRAPS, little boxes that we bait with oats and peanut butter and when the mouse (or whatever) steps on a trigger plate, the door closes. Kim's research deals with a small mammal diversity study in different environments on the mountain... so mostly shrews and mice. Mariepskop was used for logging a for a while and so a lot of the natural forest was cut down and pines and eukalyptus (I am almost postive that that is spelled incorrectly but I can't be bothered at the moment) were planted. The issue is that now logging has stopped (yay!) but the introduced species are terribly hard to get rid of (boo!). As a result Kim is looking at the species found in different areas of unaltered habitat versus recovering at varying altitudes. Good times, although the massive amount of felled trees in some areas makes me sad.
There is so much I would like to tell you about the mountains... but in all honesty words hardly suffice. Even the pictures that I have (not online yet will be posted eventually) are mere substitutes for the real thing. I an not eloquent enough in my writing to capture the fear of getting lost in the maze of the grasslands (even when you are only 20 meters from the jeep), frustration when pulling your leg out of a 3ft deep hole that engulfed your leg and left permanent mud stains on one pant leg of your jeans. The joy when jumping through the fynbos (really rocky area at the top of the mountain) imitating the cliffspringers that seem perpetually out of reach. And sheer feeling of awe when you walk through a cloud, and see a waterfall of fog pouring off the tops of the mountains into the canyon below as the sun sets. It was and amazing five days and I only hope that one day I can return and show my favourite spot in South Africa to others.
For now I am happy to be back at Karongwe base.
Scratch that, I'm stoked.
While I was up the mountains it seemes EVERYTHING happened down here, my roomates got to see a pangolin (coolest mammal EVER!), the lion cubs, the leopard Shoulini's surgery, and the baby elephants. BAHH! It's cool though because tomorrow Shouie (because even a leopard deserves a cute pet name) is having a root canal and I think the vet is gonna let us watch! The reason so much surgery is being done on the poor guy is because he broke his top canines when caged (before he came to Karongwe) and they were starting to absess. It's gonna be a long road for the poor guy and about three or four more surgeries before he is all decked out with titanium teeth! I feel bad for him but since he gets easily stressed in captivity this is the best option that still allows him to hunt on his own. Right now, however, he is being a bit of a pain for the reserve manager because he escaped out of the recovery encosure (a smaller fenced in area within the reserve) and they are worried he may try to jump the main fence.
... maybe it is because he is such a pain in the bum that I like him so much. Hehehe.
Meh!
Well tomorrow will bring what it will. All I know is I'll be up at 4am to start the telemetry tracking and see what data we can collect. I feel like an old person cause I haven't stayed up past 10pm two nights since I've been here. :p Ok, I'm off to rummage up a late lunch and let someone else try to contact the outside world.
All my love,
Mia

ps- Apparently I don't have access to facebook at base here (it is blocked by their firewall or something) and so all comments and whatnot on that won't be looked at until I get back... this also means that I can't put any of my pictures up online which is insanely frustrating. Blah.

pps- lion eaters don't get presents... if we even get to go to a market or something.