Baobab Pan

   I haven’t been able to post any entries to the blog for a while as we had no internet access. The faulty satellite I mentioned in an earlier post was switched off and we had to wait to be connected via a new one.

   Back at the end of March, Michel Buenerd and Ariane Privat joined us from France to help install a new solar pump at Baobab Pan. Michel raised the money for the pump through his local naturalists’ association, Le Pic Vert, Ariane has visited us several times over the past few years and has become a good friend of ourselves and of the Park.

            Michel                                                     Ariane

    The frame for the solar panels was delivered from France as several bundles of aluminium and a box of bolts, accompanied by a diagram that gave almost no help at all. We all stared at the heaps of metal for quite a while but to be honest I think we were just waiting for Michel to come up with a plan – which he did.

   Even when we (well Michel anyway) knew what we were doing, the actual installation was time consuming hard work and of course it is a feature of solar panels that there is little point in mounting them in the shade so all the work has to be done in full sunshine. The frame is designed to hold a maximum of twelve panels, our pump uses ten so there is an ugly gap at one end but otherwise the design is impressive and very solid.

   

Early stages                                               The completed frame with panels

   The final day’s work was installing the pump itself……..

……connecting it to the outlet…….

…..then the nerve wracking bit – switching on for the first time and waiting for the water……

  We didn't have to wait long.

  The pump supplies a lot of water at peak sunshine hours and there will be plenty of grateful animals using the pan through the coming dry season. We would have liked a celebratory drink ourselves but forgot to take the Champagne and ice with us. A cup of tea made a good enough substitute though.

  Many thanks to Michel and Ariane for all their hard work.