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Like Marnus
Roodbol.
In his own
words:
“If you have
passion for something you will eventually find the pudding that makes all the
other things disappear, so before you think this article is about pudding, you
are mistaken. The heading originates from where ones passion comes from and how
it makes you feel once you have achieved it. It is something that is deep down
inside your soul and very rarely comes out in this world due to worldly
pressures.
Just like so
many other passionate people out there, my passion for conservation also dated
back before I was actually born most likely. When the time came to step up and
start fighting for my passion, I had great support from friends and family to
continue my dream and that dream was to learn as much as one can about wildlife
and actually walk away one day from the planet leaving green footprints.
Taking on the
role as a conservationist is an honour but has to be earned and respected. It
is very similar to being a policeman or a soldier. These people also dedicate
their lives to protect and serve other humans (society) and their country. So
to take on the role of a field guide, researcher, ranger or even lodge manager
is a commitment that has to be respected. Most conservationists know that there
is very little money involved for what we are doing, but to exchange money for
what we see, experience and live, no gold can purchase.
As the time
came to leave school, it was time to go and follow my passion and I found a
young company (at the time) called EcoTraining. The course I did was at this
time the one mouth course as EcoTraining did not offer the year courses then,
but that month was still something I will never forget. At the same time, the
group I was with was also studying at college for our diplomas so it was a nice
relief to be in the bush and learning from the masters themselves.
To be honest,
our first year we did have a few late nights around the fire and concentration
during the hot days were hard, but when we did the second year (advanced
EcoTraining) we were well prepared; or so we thought. Some of our mentors from
the first year, met up with us again the second year and knew us a little
better than what we had hoped for, thus testing our weaknesses to a fine hair.
I remember
there was a test where one of our mentors told us to go and sit on this huge flat
rock and be by ourselves to just enjoy the sunset. Once we all split up and
found our positions, we heard the Landrover start and off he was. Dumbstruck we
all looked confused at each other and basically asking the blind to lead the
blind.
We were in no
major threats from game as the reserve has a few wildlife but we were not aware
of this at the time. So we all huddled together, saw the sun was almost gone
and decided to walk back to camp. Maybe this is a test to see how we can
navigate at night? Maybe it’s a test to see how well we work together? Or maybe
it’s a test to see how dumb (ignorant) we are as students. None the less, we
made a group decision to walk back to camp, at night, with no torches or light
(only little Nokia 3310 lights).
After an hour,
we arrived with our mentor sitting at the deck, looking at us and smiling. Yes,
we thought, this is a good sign and we will pass. The smile turned away quickly
with a harsh talk around the camp fire about how and where we went wrong.
Ever since
then, I have never really made ignorant decisions like this. It shows you that
not only do you learn wildlife skills from Ecotraining, but you also learn some
very valuable tips that will save your life in the future.
The smell of
the pudding came closer and closer for me, and after a few years of guiding in
fantastic lodges, it was time to focus more on specialised large cat research. Reintroductions,
Large Carnivore Survey’s, Hand Raised species back into the wild and many more.
It sounded very
romantic and was for a few years but after that, you kind of wonder if you as a
person cannot do more for wildlife. There are truly so many rehab and captive
centres around Southern Africa and still you hear of the wild population
dwindling.
So to cut a
long story short, I decided to take my little knowledge, large passion and go
for the animal that scares me the most in life and that is the majestic lion. A
species that does not have to earn respect, it demands it. And a species that
is declining so fast in the wild, some determine that by the time the rhino population
has subsided, the last lions of several areas in Africa will be gone.
If you ask me
now how the pudding tastes, I can tell you for a fact that I am getting closer
and closer to it, but will most likely only taste it when my time is up.
A very good
quote which I heard in a movie once is; ‘can a man change his destiny?’ and the
reply was ‘a man does what he can and at the end, his destiny will reveal
itself’.
On behalf of
Walking for Lions, we would like to say many thanks to the owners and staff of
EcoTraining for supporting our organisation, and we know that we will change
the outcome together.”
Thank you
Marnus Roodbol for sharing, such inspiration!
For more on
Walking for Lions, go to www.walkingforlions.org.
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