Sally & Nikki interacting with ‘Crunchie’ and ‘Milk’
For this year’s first Student Programme intake we had two students, Nicola “Nikki” West, and Sally Meek from Scotland, who stayed with us for a week.
Sally and Nikki at the Baobab tree
“It’s been another amazing week at Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC), and it seems to have gone by so quickly. We have done and seen so many great things – feeding the cheetahs is a true pleasure and highlight. Being so close to such stunning and impressive animals never gets tiring. When cleaning out enclosures and pouring fresh water, the most rewarding thing is having one of the cheetahs rubbing up against the fence so that you scratch their necks and they can lick your hand whilst purring throughout!
Nikki and Savannah
The HESC team has been fantastic. Every day they explain and share more facts about the animals and birds here, and about the trees and plants. It really has been an amazing learning experience.
Karen and Tabs have been so helpful and friendly and we have had some great nights with them and the rest of the team around the braai. Â We would definitely encourage anyone considering volunteering at HESC to go for it! It’s a unique and fantastic experience with stunning animals and great people. We will definitely be back for longer next time!
Sally giving cuddles to Mungo, the mongoose
p.s. I’ll miss my mongoose (Mungo) cuddles!