Like the deserts miss the rain…

I’ve been back in South Africa for approximately two weeks now and it certainly was about time! I have discovered that what I’ve missed most about the bush is:

The amazing nightly concerts with participants ranging from crickets and frogs to owls, hyenas and lions. One night when I was just about falling asleep, I was startled by a noise just outside my tent. I quickly found my torch and looked out the mosquito net window. Just a couple of meters away, on the other side of the camp fence, a hyena had found a spot to rest.

A few days later we heard hyenas calling to each other all through the night and we therefore took a short detour in the early morning to look for them. After only about ten minutes we found them, right where we thought they would be… and we felt very pleased with ourselves (at least I did).The African sunsets, when first all colours are enhanced and take on a golden shimmer. Sometimes this hour is beautiful enough to bring tears to my eyes. Later the sky turns flaming red and dusk settles like a soft hazy pink blanket… what’s not to love?! The elephants! As unbelievable or cliché it may seem, the elephants are probably the animals I’ve missed the most. They are strong enough to push down a sizable tree and smart enough to realize that there are people inside the huge, stinky and noisy beings on four wheels… and yet, they normally accept our presence. I do hope they continue to do so, despite some guides’ less ethical methods to achieve a reaction from them (not our guide, but one in another vehicle). It is usually a better idea to sit tight and let them go about their own business. These two seemed totally oblivious of our presence and interacted with each other instead of us and that is so much more rewarding. /A