Big birding morning

We all need a break from guests every now and again and a bit of time to ourselves and I am now enjoying a couple days of off time. But off time doesn't mean sitting on your butt doing nothing. Most of the time these off days would be spent helping with chores around the lodge like varnishing chairs, pick ups, drop offs, etc. Fortunately for me, our new trainer, Andre, has started and off days means time for learning. This being my passion, learning is what I want to be doing all the time but is often limited to the guests level of experience and their interests. If I have new guests often further learning is very difficult and these opportunities to spend time with a mentor, that has spent many years in the bush, can just open your mind right up.

Training started early this morning and I had to be at bush lodge at 5.30am for a bush walk. The objective for the walk was birding and boy did we bird. We didn't cover all that much ground and I think that's what made the walk all that much more special. With regular stops to listen to bird calls and ID them you really get a sense of all that is going on around you. Unfortunately because of weather conditions being overcast and a little wet the birds were not out in prolific numbers but a lot was learnt and I am looking forward to our training session this afternoon and another walk tom...