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Guilty pleasures in the bush

Mark Gunn

Mark-Gunn_161014_094133

As you get to know Mark you will see a man with an immense amount of knowledge and a very dry sense of humour. His guilty pleasures are:

  1. Wine and cheese (really smelly cheese)
  2. Plunger coffee
  3. Chocolate with the last coffee of the day
  4. Outdoor showers under the moon

Russel Crossey

Russel has just joined EcoTraining after working as a guide with Wilderness Safaris for several years. He describes his one guilty pleasure in depth.

“My secret pleasure is stolen moments on the internet reading my favourite online newspaper, The Daily Maverick. I then try to weave this current narrative into my interpretation of the natural environment in a fashion that will educate our students in no uncertain manner as to the immense challenge that we face as conservationists in the decades to come.

As conservationists, we at EcoTraining represent the command group in this fight for environmental integrity. Our students are the few good men and women in the trenches. We need to make sure that they leave our training fields adequately prepared and equipped to lead the charge toward the inevitable victory of truth over the forces of environmental destruction and the inevitable wasteland that they would have us bequeath our children and grandchildren.

For this reason, I do not begrudge myself my secret moments on the ‘light net’”.

Jan-Hendrik Hanekom

Jan-Hendrik is a young instructor with a great passion for his work. He does not let a day go by without having some great fun.

  1. “I enjoy walking around naked when I am alone in the camp. At first, it was uncomfortable, but after the second day, it became second nature… until Maya (a past student) popped in to say hello.
  2. I don’t always sleep well and normally wake up at around 3 to 4 o’clock. To pass the time I make a fire and brew coffee on it before anyone is awake. I normally steal Michell’s fancy coffee as she doesn’t hide it well.  I sometimes also make animal sounds outside students’ tents when I am awake early, and when they gather for morning coffee I enjoy hearing them interpret their “dangerous” encounters”.
  3. I sometimes also make animal sounds outside students’ tents when I am awake early, and when they gather for morning coffee I enjoy hearing them interpret their “dangerous” encounters”.

Bruce Lawson

Bruce is an avid birder, and fitness enthusiast who loves walking. Being a very “to-the-point” kind of guy, Bruce summarized some, of his guilty pleasures in short points:

  1. Bruce_161014_094126Sleep
  2. Whiskey and wine
  3. Fitness
  4. Leatherwork
  5. Welding
  6. Reading action novels
  7. Watching rugby

Everyone has their own guilty pleasures and it’s important that we take time out of each day to be revived by those ‘things’ that make us happy.

Share your guilty pleasures in the bush with us by tagging #EcoTraining and #guiltypleasures in your post.

About the Author:
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Annemi Zaaiman

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