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David Morinelli - Mashatu Research Shadowing Programme Newsletters » Feb 2007 » Volunteer Profile: Kenya Expedition 2006 VOLUNTEER NAME David Morinelli AGE 35 OCCUPATION I am self-employed in the automotive marketing industry conducting test drive events for new cars – see attached personal summary. PROJECT Mashatu Research Shadowing Programme DATES AT PROJECT July 2006 The story of David Morinelli volunteering on our Mashatu Research Shadowing Programme, and on "Mashatu", the bush, never stops. I’ve seen, done and learned a number of fascinating things since my arrival here.  On the tragic side I’ve been testament to the killing of two elephants, euthanased after falling victim to an embittered farmer’s rifle and a desperate poacher’s snare.  And on the majestic side I’ve witnessed under a moonlit midnight sky the roosting of over a million red-billed quelea, a spectacle more tremendous, more powerful, than any predator sighting could ever be.  I’ve learned about the daily life, the struggles and habits and nuances, of elephant herds and leopard families.  I’ve seen giraffes running and cheetahs napping, heard hyenas whooping at night and felt the generous warmth of the Southern African sun at dawn, rising through the stone cold morning to bask Mopane covered hillsides in a softly glowing hue. But certainly Jeanetta or Bashi could tell you more about all of that than I ever could.  And besides, I’ve learned something in addition to all of the facts and figures and hypotheses and idiosyncrasies of the bush, something that everyone else here already knows, but knows so well that it has retreated from their conscious to their subconscious, knows so well that it is barely ever even mentioned on the terrace before dinner.  The one thing that I’ve learned, the thing that I find most interesting and most amazing, is something that can be spotted every day in the youthful enthusiasm of Villiers’ eyes, the eternal satisfaction in Paul’s smile.  Mashatu, the bush, never stops.  It never stops inspiring, bewildering, fascinating, enthralling, captivating and beckoning. For all their talk of solitary research, patient diligence, management, budget and maintenance difficulties, it’s clear that no amount of hardship, frustration or even time has dulled their keen passion here.  To the last, they greet the day and its pantheon with the same open-mouthed awe that a child displays at first sight of a dominant male lion. This is undoubtedly Mashatu’s legacy, and has been – under one name or another, or for that matter under no name at all – since the beginning of time.  The infectious calling of the bush leaves its mark in both years and in days.  While Paul, after all his time here, still marvels at the bark of a kudu, I, on the other end of the spectrum, after only a short time here, am just as entranced tonight by the brilliant star-filled sky as I was on the night I first arrived, the sky which made me flat out stop dead in my tracks when I first looked up.  To a seasoned veteran or a rank newcomer, it’s the same here – it never stops. [David Morinelli, Mashatu Research Shadowing Vounteer, 2006] Focus on expeditions – overlanding with a purpose VOLUNTEER PROFILE: David Morinelli - Mashatu Research Shadowing Programme FEATURED PROJECT: Cape Town Street Kids and Community Programme Update from David Youldon - Lion Release programme Pathfinders Bush Awareness and Survival Courses News Snippets Subscribe to our free newsletter Africa volunteer opportunities       print this page | bookmark this page (CTRL-D) | send to a friend back to top