Travelling Vets - 2. TV Chapter 2

Thankfully we have substantial savings set aside, to cover any additional or unexpected costs while we are in the UK, and I decided to have a look into making separate arrangements for accommodation in Cardiff, as well as to make some changes to the accommodation plans for our guest vets, and I arranged for them to stay in one of the staff apartments, instead of at the resort.

I also managed to get change the flight to six days earlier than planned, so we could have a good look around before we are due to start work, I had arranged for accommodation and car hire for the first week of our stay in Wales, and I selected the Parkway Hotel in Oakfield, on the western outskirts of Newport for the location where we would be staying, so it is a bit of a second honeymoon for Marcus and me.

Located about 11 kilometres from the centre of Newport, but 4.5 kilometres off the A4042 Motorway, it is an ideal location for us to, as it is 5 kilometres north of one of the Vet clinics in Bettws, 10 kilometres north-west of another in Bishpool and 14 kilometres from their specialist equine practice in Castleton, that we will be working at, the remaining two clinics are located in Cardiff, approximately 24 kilometres away.

There was a lot of rushing to get everything organised before our departure, and as we headed south to Perth, I was confident that the practice was in good hands for the time that we would be away, which would be twelve weeks. After the flight down from Kununurra to Perth, we stayed overnight in luxury comfort at a hotel, before heading to the International Airport terminal to board our flight to the UK.

I had booked and paid for us to travel business class so that we would be able to rest easy for the long trip, especially since it would be our first overseas trip ever for both of us. At Heathrow, after clearing Customs and Passport control, we boarded a train to take us to Paddington Station, where we would be boarding the train for Wales a little later, and on arrival there we placed our luggage in storage lockers, to spend a few hours looking around Hyde Park, which is very close by.

When we arrived in Newport, Wales in the mid-afternoon, we were both very tired after the long travels, and we just wanted to book our hotel room and catch up on some sleep. As arranged, I was able to collect the hire car that I had booked for a week and drove the seven kilometres northwards to our hotel.

Once checked in, we showered and headed straight to bed after putting the ‘do not disturb sign’ on the door, and we were both soon fast asleep and slept right through till morning the next day. After a big breakfast, Marcus and I decided to do some sightseeing, so our first stop was to the centre of Newport, to check out the markets, as well as Newport Castle, the Newport Cathedral, plus the museum and the art gallery, along with a stop at a nice pub for some lunch.

By the time we returned to the hotel mid-afternoon, we were both tired again, and we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon just relaxing. “Just for the hell of it, let's do something a bit different tomorrow,” Marcus suggested to me, as we settled into bed that evening.

“What do you have in mind dear?” I responded, “Well it is a bit of a drive to get there, but I think you will enjoy the day,” Marcus responded cryptically. “No more information than that?” I asked “No dear, except that it is a 166-kilometre drive, and that maybe we should stay there for a night or two,” Marcus replied.

“But we have only been here for two days?” I protested, “True, but you did say that you wanted to have a good look around before we settled down to our temporary jobs next week, did you not? I have already spoken to our hosts, and they understand that we need to look around Wales a bit more, so tomorrow we are checking out, and after a bit of travel we are checking into a hotel in Tenby,” Marcus informed me.

The following day, after a two-hour drive to the west, we arrived at the coastal town of Tenby, and we checked into the Park Hotel, where we have wonderful views of the coast from a high point on the coast. Once settled, we went for a bit of a walk around the beautiful gardens, with spectacular views of the coast.

“You chose the perfect hotel for us, it is absolutely beautiful,” I commented as we walked. “After lunch, I thought we would go for a short drive to see a local attraction,” Marcus commented, as we were heading back to the main entrance of the hotel. “Still not going to tell me anything more?” I asked, “Nope,” Marcus replied smiling, and all I could do was just laugh.

After a delicious lunch in a restaurant in the centre of Tenby, with Marcus driving, since I had no idea where he was planning to take me, we headed out of town in a northwest direction, passing through the village of Gumfreston, and after passing the Dinosaur Park and the Deer Park, Marcus slowed down and turn into a driveway.

“A zoo? You are taking us to a zoo?” I asked, sounding a bit surprised. “Yes, a privately run Welsh Zoo. I thought it would be nice for you to compare it to the one we have at home, and maybe it will give you some ideas, but mostly, I just wanted you to relax, because I know you feel a lot more relaxed when working with exotic animals,” Marcus said in response, and I chuckled at this, as he was 100% correct.

After purchasing our entry tickets, we began our afternoon of exploring and I laughed when the first animals that we saw, were kangaroos, wallabies, emus and camels. It is a fairly small zoo, so we were about to get to see all the exhibits fairly quickly, but when we reached the warthogs and buffalo, I froze.

“Oh, shite, that does not look good,” I commented as I got as close as possible to the buffalo that did not look in a very good condition. “Oh, oh! Don’t tell me spotted something wrong. Dr Kendrik,” Marcus said to me before he started to study the animals a little closer. “Oh, I see what you mean. Not the same problem we had in Kununurra, is it?” Marcus added, “I don’t think so, I am thinking of maybe BJD, tuberculosis or BVD,” I replied, as I began to look around to find a staff member, and it didn’t take long to find one.

“Excuse me, you need to get a vet in here pronto, that buffalo does not look at all well,” I said to the staff member, who frowned at me, “Yeah right mate, these animals are well looked after and are checked every day, so you don’t need to worry about anything, just enjoy your visit,” the staff members said before she walked off.

“That was not very nice, let's see if we can get a better response from someone more senior,” Marcus said as we went in search of someone else, who may be able to assist. “Excuse me, we would like to report that there appears to be an ill animal in your bovine area, and we would suggest that you get a vet to come and check them out immediately,” I said when we arrived near the main building in the centre of the park.

“I am sorry sir, but the majority of our keepers are away for the day on a training programme, but I can assure you that all animals are checked every morning and every evening before the zoo is open to the public and after it is closed at the end of the day,” another staff member said to us.

“Look, we know what we are talking about, we are not just ignorant tourists from Australia, we are both Veterinarians, and my partner here is also a Zoologist and Clinical Scientist,” Marcus said in frustration, as we both took out our wallets and took out our separate business cards, and presented them to the staff member, who accepted them and after a close study, be stepped over to a phone and dialled a number.

“Sir, we have two visiting veterinarians, from Australia, of which one is also a Clinical Zoologist, and they claim that there is a health problem with one of our animals,” we heard him say into the phone, as we waited to see what would be done. “Yes sir, they said the bovine area, so I am presuming the buffalo,” the man said as he looked at us, and we both nodded to confirm this.

“Yes sir… right away, goodbye,” the man said before ending the call. “The zoo director will be with you in a moment,” the man said to us, and we only had to wait for less than two minutes. “You are the ones enquiring about the health of one of our animals,” a more senior gentleman asked as he approached, and after nodding and shaking our hands, we presented him with our business cards.

“Ok, show me which animal you think is in trouble,” the gentleman asked us and a few moments later we were at the enclosure of the water buffalo. “Sir, as well as being vets, I was also brought up on a cattle station, which is like a giant farm, in Northern Western Australia, and I have worked with cattle for most of my life. Plus, I have dealt with a few cases of Leptospirosis,” I said to the gentleman.

“Ok, I see that the animal is definitely not looking good, but unfortunately I am an administration director, I know very little about animal health, from this distance, what is your rough diagnosis?” the gentleman asked me, “Sir, I am thinking it is probably Bovine Johne’s Disease, which means that this animal needs to be isolated right away, from other animals and humans,” I responded.

“All available keepers to the Bovine enclosure immediately, this is a propriety one directive from the Director, over,” the gentleman said into his hand-held radio, and suddenly four people came rushing towards us, with one of them being the young lady who we first spoke too.

“Right listen up, we may have an animal health emergency on our hands, I want this area cordoned off from visitors. This is Dr Kendrik and Dr Sanderson, visiting Vets from Australia, who spotted the problem and alerted the main office, you are to listen to them and do as they direct you. Is that clear,” the gentleman announced to the staff gathered around us. “Mary, please take these two gentlemen to the staff work centre, and have any gear they require issued to them,” he added.