While I was at the Rehab in SA Global Vision came and filmed a piece of their documentary on the work I was doing, to see the finished project (which is in Japanese) Follow this link and fast forward to the 12min and 43 min marks to see exactly what I was doing...this link will only be available for a limited time, but I should be getting a DVD copy of the full movie in a little while, and I'll put that up as soon as I get it!

http://www.twellv.co.jp/minogashi/index.html

Footwear

I have never loved a pair of shoes as much as I loved my plain white Vans. time took its toll on them before Africa, but they were still wearable and extremely comfortable. So I brought them, and wore them well for the first 7 weeks or so of my stay. One day we had work cutting down Acacia bushes that were overrun. As fate would have it, I took a bad step and was stabbed through the sole of my shoes, into my foot. the rubber was holding the thorn in place, and the angle of the thorn was against the way I would pull the shoe off, so removal of the shoe meant a broken thorn in my foot. The only solution I saw footing was to cut my foot off. Just kidding, but I did have to cut the shoe. damage to my foot was minimal, but the shoe was "beyond repair". I went to work anyway, and sewed it back together, and wore it for the rest of my stay. unfortunately my sewing came undone when I got home, so I had to buy a new pair of beautiful white Vans. These pictures tell the story pretty well...

The Addo Elephant Park

Ranked as the best place in the world to see Elephants, the Addo Elephant Park delivered a weekend to be remembered. We were able to ride an elephant, which while awesome was actually mildly painful for its entirety. Feeding the Elephants was also an amazing experience, and I could not asked for a closer experience. The elephants were rescued from a routine culling at the Kruger National park, which is actually in elephant excess by double the normal amount. The guys who rode the front of this animal basically used a long stick to direct the elephants by the ears. You never really understand how huge one is until you're riding on it!

Bugs!!!

Spiders, Praying Mantis, Cockroaches, and every other creepy crawly you don't want to find in your bed, was what I was encountering on a regular basis in the bush. I was sick with tick bite fever for a good 2 weeks, which basically leaves you extremely weak, fragile and fatigued. When you're in the wild the tick come out of the woodwork, and they always seem to know exactly where to find their next meal. The worst part about them is the places they find on your body to attach to you, but I won't elaborate on that. I did find quite a few scorpions under rocks when I would look, and a spider as big as your hand was not rare at all. I also learned the hard way what happens if you don't make your bed immediately after you wake up. I would constantly be out with painful bites all over my body, from the spiders that seek refuge in the warm dark folds of bedsheets. I ate a flying ate on one occasion for scientific research (curiosity) and I was also bitten by a termite for scientific research (entertainment) on a separate occasion. the worst was being the last one to go to bed and turning the last light off (light pollution is the biggest killer of bugs ever) because that would mean that they disperse everywhere right after the light goes off, which usually meant my mouth, eyes and ears. Speaking of ears I once had a fly crawl into mine, and it was probably the most uncomfortable/seizure-like I have ever been in my life. But I swear it was worth it all!

A Brief Return

In reality I have returned from Africa as of one week ago, and I'd like to thank everyone who is following still for your patience and interest. I had a mishap with my camera during a power out in my second location, and this will delay some of my postings for a while, but I will be bi-weekly (if not more often) posting the rest of my pictures. Also keep in mind that I will be leaving for Bolivia the 17th of January, so the escapades have yet to end!

I'm a little embarrassed I am beginning each entry with an apology for being late, but my ability to access this blog is only becoming more limited. About a month ago now I left from the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre near Kruger to the southern tip of Africa at the Shamwari Game Reserve. My animal work is a lot less hands on now, and I'm doing more conservation work, so bear with me if the pictures arem't as impressive. We had some nostalgic times (the resident animals) before I left and I definately had some trouble leaving Thabo behind, but I'd say it was about time for a change of scenery!

Weeks 2-3

Hey everyone, sorry my posts haven't been ample this past month, internet access is not too easy in the bush to say the least. Things are progressing quite quickly with my baby rhino Thabo. He grows about 5 kilos every week, and his horn is noticeable now. Also Rumor around the rehab is he might be getting a brother this week! Lets hope its not too much for me to handle if he does. I got to go on a safari adventure three days ago and say a massive herd of elephants, it was truely the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Also I got the chance to see and Aardvark; a very rare find here. Unfortunately I was not quick enough to snap a picture of that animal. I hope to be able to update more frequently after my transfer in about two week to the Shamwari Reserve, which is near the southern coast of South Africa. Also I've heard there are difficulties becoming followers of the blog, which I am going to fix now if I can. My Pictures are going to be put up today if I can manage andyou can expect many, many more very soon.
Tyler

What's up everyone?

Week one is quickly becoming the past and the adventures have begun. After a two day plane ride I finally arrived. I'm 60% sure that we are inside of a canyon so the lanscape is gorgeous everyday. Moholoholo is mostly an aviary, but we also are home to half a dozen lions, a couple hyenas, a handful of cheetahs and serveral cats, some crocodiles and one baby rhino. Presently I am in charge of the baby rhino. I spend sixteen hours every other day in his constant presence as so he won't get lonely. He was abandoned almost immediately after birth by his mother, left crying in the bush. Ussually we don't rescue animals that haven't been hurt by anything that wasnt man-made, but there were several complaints and requests for this rhino. So today he is 8 weeks old and he has two other parents who share the time with him. His name is Tarbo which means happiness in Zulu I think. He's a little handful, but it's very rewarding. I don't have any pictures of him yet, but I'll get on it ASAP!

The Countdown of the summer

This being the premier post for my blog, I guess it should be a preface to the story I hope to make.

Hopefully if you're checking this its because you know me and wanna check out what I'm up to. If that's not the case, or you just want to see how I describe my life then this is for you:

My name is Tyler Mascarello, I was born on April 20th, 1991. So if you do the math I'm 18 and should be going to college sometime this month right? Well that's not how this story goes. I've been a world traveler my whole life. I can't say I was a natural, I remember screaming on an airplane to Disney World on our first family trip due to the pain of the air pressure. But due to a business opportunity my Dad had in the UK our family was given the chance to spend one to two years living in England. Exciting stuff for a seven year old. While we were there it was easy to take family trips to different places in Europe, so my brother Jake and I were the best travelled kids I knew by age ten. Eventually we went back to the states, and mellowed out on the travelling for a while, keeping most vacations within the states. The world was calling me back, and I was dying to explore it. I went to a Spanish immersion camp before High School started (it sound dorky, but it rocked), and that was the base of my independance and willingness to be alone. I was away for a month, and the next year my parents gave me another oppourtunity to travel, I went to Australia after my Freshman Year, and Argentina after my Junior year. I also participated in two missions trips to the Dominican Republic during high school. So before my brother went to college my parents presented him with a "Gap Year" oppourtunity. He had the ability to defer his admission to Purdue and take a year to travel and do some of the coolest stuff I had ever heard about. I couldn't believe he didn't want to do it! So after five college rejections, and acceptances to two schools I wasn't too thoroughly excited about I did what my brother didn't; I deffered my admission to Indiana University, and signed up. So finally after not knowing where I was going to be this fall for so long I know! I will be in a northern province of South Africa called Limpopo in an animal rehibilitation center. I'll be moving further south after five weeks to another rehibilitation center, and then I'll be in Bolivia after December.

So here I am blogging my journey (In the footsteps of Rick Beiterman my Earth Science teacher last year) and trying to keep you informed, because you deserve to know.

Love,
Tyler