Elliott Adventure 2024 - Tembe Elephant Park

Electric Fencing

On day 1 we all gathered at the Tembe entrance gate to gain a better understanding of what needs to be done. The HOs shared some practical skills that need to be mastered by the teams.

The fence would be switched off in the morning and would only be switched on once everyone had stopped work later in the afternoon after-which testing and fault find commenced.

Day 01 - On the job training

The Objective:

To perform the following maintenance along a 21 kilometer section of Electric Fencing:

3,1 Clear vegetation along the fence line;

3.2 Remove rusted wire along the top 2 strands (positve & neutral);

3.3 Replace the removed strands with good wire;

3.4 Clean/replace rusted joints/connections;

3.5 Roll up the old wire;

3.6 Test and resolve any issues;

3.7 Replace broken poles; and

3.8 Repair fencing damaged by elephants.

Working the Fence

The road along the fence line was very narrow and pulling over for any traffic was a challenge. On the 1st day, everyone was learning the challenges and had to work out a way to provent bottlenecks along the route. Sometimes, the only option was to reverse into a bush or head straight into the bush. By stopping traffic flow, it creates a bottle neck and prevents people from working.

By day 3 the various teams (bush cutters, wire removers &rollers, and wire installers) had ironed out the challenges and found their groove and progress increased significantly. There were a couple of short sections along the fence line that were flooded and people and vehcles could not enter, however all the objectives were successfully executed.

Making space for traffic to pass