The adventures of Tom...just imagine

Tom in Oxford, packed and ready for his unknown adventure

stepping into Dominik's shoes at Mareja over Christmas and NY while there is a major poaching crisis?  If you know Dominik and Mareja and the amorphous, lurking, immeasurable pressure of elephant poaching....it is a feat that requires very large adventurous feet and a bold stride.  But Tom pulled on his boots and took it all on.

He left family and friends for a very remote wild Christmas and New years eve, almost alone - though with a backdrop of locals, the call of lion and star shine and hopefully buoyed up with a beer or two.



The 'to-do' list grew as D had time away from the muddy end of the spectrum to consider things with a coffee in hand ...rebuilding the garage roof before the big rains really hit and the kitchen on top of simply managing the place and its surrounding 38,000 hectares of coastal forest.  If you are conscientious or observant and have a green core you see the mountain of work - in addition to staff and Ranager management and daily maintenance (water collection, road repairs, machinery maintenance and so on.) 

Luckily we have spoken to Tom fairly regularly, he would find the good spot underneath the communication tree, a cashew sited on a slightly raised hillock and update us.  I always try to find out how he is coping, any stresses, concerns or hurdles physical or other.  D always tries to impart more worries and jobs.  It is a female v male approach..  Possibly I see more clearly the intricate knowledge you need when living deep in the bush to... repair punctures, handle the 4x4 around hidden pot-holes etc.  D doesn't see these things, they are just part of his life and even psyche, he doesn't preempt but has learnt to get out of the holes....eventually.  He has lived there for 15 years so Mareja's ways are second nature to him.

Well once the bush is closed over from rain Tom will return and I will get a full debrief.  I am much looking forward to seeing him and to hearing all his thoughts and stories.  I am sure he will have seen the highs, lows and challenges in all their Mozambican technicolour - and enjoyed a rather demanding bush-hardened boss (not me!).  (Imagine Tom doesn't even speak Portuguese and has had to steer the whole team, about 20 people - but thank goodness he has some Swahili.) 

It is an amazing thing he has done.  And it will be illuminating to have a fresh spirited view on the place and its work load.  It will help us better plan 2012 - a year when we hope to achieve much at Mareja.  My huge thanks and admiration to Tom.  He has given us peace of mind, renewed energy and will provide another perspective...what more do you want for a new year?