May 2007

31 May

It is so nice to just relax, and the bush is quite spectacular at the moment. It always is when the seasons change. The colours as the sun sets are clear and such beautiful gold’s and bronzes.

The hippos, all 25 of them, have been lying on the bank in front of the “Dining”, enjoying the sun and looking like great big fat pink cushions. At about this time 4.45pm, they start to get up slowly, puffing and snorting, and getting ready for their nightly sortie inland to find grazing. One woke me up last night scrunching and munching his way past our “shallet”.

It’s bright moonlight and starlight at the moment and I love watching the animals, especially the Bushbuck, pass our hut in the night. It is so clear, and they seem to be etched in the brightest black, treading daintily past, hardly making the falling leaves rustle, although it is the sound that gets me up to look out.

And of course, the lion roaring nearby… We had the good luck to see him yesterday, walking over the road near our camp at about 9 am in the morning. It was a truly massive lion, but with a small golden mane. His body is really big, and he seemed quite undisturbed by us, which was nice. He stood behind a bunch of golden grass, and if we hadn’t watched him walk we would never have known he was there, except for the rather menacing eyes, blinking at us through the grass, and the twitching black tipped tail. A lovely start to the day.

There is a little bat in our hut. He is really the bustliest, busiest little creature, and he takes ages to get going in the evening, perhaps because it is so cold? When the paraffin lamps attract insects he swoops and rustles, finally leaving. At dawn, when he comes in, he takes ages to settle down, leathery fluttering’s as he tries first one perch, then another until he finally settles in his usual spot, swinging gently. He is really too sweet for words. I still haven’t identified him though as there are so many different types of bats around.