And so ....

I must admit to having to have a little lie-down before lunch to quell my raging nerves, stomach, head etc. but after that I was raring to go. I spent the afternoon having a good old snoop around the camp. I checked out the rooms and went for a walk (not too far !!). I did ask if there was one of the staff who could walk with me, but they replied unfortunately not, but didn't seem overly concerned that I wanted to wander off. I started off down the airstrip, happily snapping photos of the plane, but kept going, wanting to get a good landscape shot of the camp. Now, I'm not usually a sissy in the bush, but when I spotted a rather large pug mark of a lion I did start rapidly glancing around me to see what looked like a good lion-camoflage spot and thought it might be a good time to head a little closer back to base !!! Suddenly the airstrip felt very exposed !! Even though anyone could see it was not a recent track, I still thought I needed to get back ... Once closer, my "bush skills" & nonchalance returned (ha ha) and I headed out the opposite side of the camp. Fortunately there was nothing scarey that side.....

The freelance pro-guide, Tony had taken his client out game viewing, but returned at sundowner time. This man has been EVERYWHERE in Africa - so interesting !! And so knowledgable, with a wonderful sense of humour. Whilst we were still sitting around the campfire we were paid a visit by a thirsty elephant. As you can see from the photo, the waterhole is very close to the lodge. Apparently the eles come there every evening, it's wonderful they are so close and relaxed. I did want to take a photo, but fortunately first made the comment "elephants don't mind flashes, do they", which was more of a statement than a question, to which I received all sorts of grunts and mumbles and eye rolling as a reply, which led me to believe that eles do, in fact, mind flashes !! I was very well behaved that night, knowing I had to fly again in the morning, and not wanting a repeat of the earlier discomfort, I only had a glass or two of wine with dinner, and otherwise abstained, wanting to be feeling strong and healthy in the morning !!

Please bear in mind that we were on the Ngamo Flats in the middle of winter ... it was rather chilly that night, the sort of night when you start wondering if you really did actually get dirty in the day and perhaps you didn't need to wash....! I headed off for my tent with these kind of thoughts in my head, but, having always been a 'before bed bather" decided I needed a shower and deployed the dear appy (Stoffel) to stoke the boiler fire ahead of me. They kindly kept the generator running for another 10 minutes seeing as I decided 2 minutes before switch off time that I needed to wash, and so I had some light whilst I headed into a lovely steaming hot shower. Difficult to get the clothes off in the cold, but worth it once a hot wash was had ... I glanced at my folded down bed and saw that I only had one blanket on the bed. "Are these people MAD" I thought and grabbed another duvet off the other bed in the room and piled it on top of me. The sheets were freezing, but I warmed up and was quite snug in my bed - IF I didn't move. All in all, somehow, a good night's sleep was had.

The final instalment will follow ...