Jacques DeKlerk - Unsung Hero

Jacques DeKlerk (I hope I spelt the surname right) was our volunteer coordinator at Kariega which basically meant that he had to lok after us for the last 2 weeks. He has only been doing the job since January but has already proved to be very adept at it.

His enthusiasm for the job is great and his knowledge of the animals (especially birds) and plants can keep volunteers interested on even the longest game drive.

Some things about him:

He likes nothing better than to whip out his 18 inch canon and point it in the direction of birds! He has even won a couple of competitions with it - ok Raymond enough! What I really mean to say is that he likes to photograph our feathered friends with his canon camera and 500mm lense. His ability to identify a bird (especially flying birds of prey) is very impressive.

He is also good at seeing and identifying animal tracks - though he could be just making it up as I wouldn't have a clue anyway. '4 Lions passed by the qhere very recently' 'Really how can you tell?' 'Cause they are over there looking at us!'

He goes above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to making sure the volunteers enjoy their time off. Off course this usually means forcing them to drink alcoholic beverages such as Straw Rum and springbok cocktails but could also mean having to get on a horse and use his own car to transport people around.

Finally he has big conservation ideas about what he would like to do with Kariega which hopefully he will see happen,especially if he becomes conservation manager, though who is going to be the new volunteer cordinator then?

PS He has a nice girlfriend and a nice mum:



Jacques and his Mum