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Archives for Carl’s stories

These are the Days of My Life, Part 1
Carl Olen - Once Upon a Time.... A frank account of the last 18 years on Kapama Game Reserve, by Carl Olen It feels like just yesterday when I drove through the gates of the reserve for the first time. I had no idea what was lying ahead of me, but one thing was for certain … I was glad to leave ...more»
Camp Jabulani takes a moment to appreciate one of our most precious resources
Carl reflects on one of our most precious resources in the wake of National Water Week, 6-11 MARCH 2012, and as we prepare to celebrate International Water Day on the 22nd March. “Water is life: Respect it, Conserve it and Enjoy it” We are utterly reliant on the Klaserie River at Camp Jabulani. Water is pumped out of the river on ...more»
Early morning drive (as in, really early)
Carl the intrepid ranger We once had a South African couple stay with us. They were the only two guests in camp at the time, and since the game rangers were exhausted from the very busy month we’d just had, I decided to give the guys a much needed break and look after them myself. It was early July, the middle ...more»
A close call
The kind of dangerous wildlife you can expect to see at Camp Jabulani A few years ago I woke up one morning at about 2am and just couldn’t fall asleep again. After about a half an hour of tossing and turning I decided to go and watch TV in the lounge. I didn’t switch on the light because I didn’t want ...more»
Looking for elephants
Years ago, long before Camp Jabulani and its herd of elephants even existed, I was a ranger and manager at another lodge on the Kapama Nature Reserve. On his arrival, Mr Holland - a guest from the USA - informed me that the three days he was spending with us were the sum total his African safari, and that all ...more»
In which Carl gets chased by a rhino
Imagine being chased by something like this, only bigger and with a long pointy horn Years ago when I was still a game ranger, we rescued a month old baby rhino from one of the neighbouring game reserves and brought it to the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre. The poor little thing was extremely dehydrated and required a fair amount of medical ...more»
A long way down
Carl at the top of a very long fall A while ago I got a phone call at about midnight from some guests in Room 1 informing me that they were having trouble locking the door of their room. I grabbed the flashlight as it was a dark night and quickly ran over the suspension bridge that connects the suites to ...more»
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