Giraffes Rule OK! Chobe River Runs

Wow..just you wait..here comes something you did not expect. I have been on a few safaris recently (? of course) and many many times have I been along the Chobe River section of the Chobe National Park. In this month, with our guests, we have seen more giraffes than I have ever encountered along this stretch of the Park.
Giraffes? They have always been there. Yes of course. But in such numbers that when you drive from the entrance at Sedudu Gate, once you start to encounter them, you do not stop seeing more and more.
"There's a giraffe", goes the shout in the vehicle. But oh no, each time we stopped or drove slowly past, we counted 3 then 5 then 7 and more - up to 14 a time. I honestly reckon that we saw from 240 individuals upwards.
The buffaloes were also getting into full swing - herds and herds and herds. Many scattered individual and small groups, marvelous bulls and plenty of young calves.
Amongst all this 'big' game, we cannot forget that one of the most impervious, dominating and influential characters along the river-front, is the Impala. They never cease..to be there, to glow, to shine and prance, to jump in their magnificent display - high prancing and happy!Survivors and one of our most attractive symbols in the region. So too the Kudu - wow, are they doing well along this section of the Park! Wesaw so many young, so many females in herds and some wonderful mature bulls.
Then there are the elephants. They will never cease to be there and to entertain us. And to teach us. I have a story which I will tell later..about the most fantastic "whispering" experience one could have with these wonderful creatures. I am going to wait for the comments on my Facebook page, my own writings there and those of the people who shared that experience with me.
Believe me..I don't care who is the 'expert' on this..that expert and I have more than something in common then. I believe in what I know and have experienced and that particular encounter merely cemented what is fact and what I have learnt from past experience.
Check out Facebook toff hill and ultimate africa safaris. If you care.
When we give our hearts, our mind and our feelings to nature and are prepared to share that with nature, we are the ones who learn something new. We are NEVER learned.
Hoping to hear your views and experiences too....

Wow! THIS is a good holiday!

Who is who?

Who of you have been on a safari? Ok, that's a lot of hands up. A trip to the park or even the zoo? Well, I don't know about the zoo, but I sure can tell you that I would not be surprised if I went there to see the leopard in its cage...and, wait for this..it wasn't there.
Darned cats! They are superb at hiding. Yet also superb at being totally visible when they want to be seen. Yet another typical cat trait. There is a ginger cat that owns our house - totally. Occupies it, owns it, (forget the landlord) uses it, abuses it, makes a mess, leaves hair wherever for the housekeeper to clean.. Well the list is endless. That Darned Cat. And that applies to the elusive little ones each time we go on safari. Love them. I think, I hope. No, I am sure I do.
So who is the "boss" out there? Of course we do know the answer. Not us. All the cliches are right - we are merely visitors, passer's through. Animals will dictate at times, what we will or won't see. I have tried, mostly, to be honest enough about that. Yes, it takes a good guide to get you there at the right time but it also takes that element which belongs totally to the animal we are hoping to see.
I am not one for the glitz and glamour of turning each corner and finding a 'big one' or a 'special'. Did we miss the ants crossing? Did we miss the dung beetle trying to cross? Did we miss the leaves falling? We need time to savour the world around us and on our safaris we do try and remember that. Not always. But nearly! And remember that every minute that I am out there looking at nothing, I am looking for the cats,and the specials. But I remember what else is around us.
Our last safari had a lovely surprise lion at sunset, a day of seeking out the 'girls' whom we did not see, and a lovely leopard sighting near the end of the tour. Add to that some of the most beautiful impalas; close up, calm and stunning elephants; kudu, sable and roan, warthogs and baboons, birds and birds, buffaloes falling (?) out of the trees (that's surely a cliche) and excellent human company with lovely food in camp to boot. Well, what more is there? Luxury? A, exscuse me for saying this, hair dryer? Yes if you insist..but that is second to the experience of finding out Who is Who on safari.
Enjoy. It's worth it.

What is Time?

The Chobe River, one of my favourite spots here on this bend,to sit and watch the sunset from my boat, always accompanied by Marty the Jack Russell. Although clouds have these stunning formations, how often have you turned back to look at them again, just minutes later, and they have changed? An obvious observation, no great scientific enlightenment in that one. But that is time, all changes with and in time. Nothing in the material universe will stay the same. And we are but material as well,our bodies. And thus we change through life.
I have been watching the progress of my grey haired beard more recently, since the last two years. It seems to be on a mission of catching up for lost time!
It strikes me as difficult to keep aspects of time in place. I know that I have just recently struggled to get understanding on why something which has happened, is gone, done..never actually leaves us. Even when we think that it will no longer bother us, the present has a way of bringing the past back to either remind us of something or to hit us with some unpleasant memory or association. And we don't seem to have immediate control over the effect this has on us.
Time. Along time ago, can still be right here with us now. Memories, recollections, whatever they are called, never leave us.
And we must remember that what we are doing NOW, will be there in our future as a a memory. Why I can even remember when my beard was definitely NOT grey!
I have been on some wonderful safari tours since my last posting, sorry for the abscence, but I do not yet have, nor will I have, internet connection in the bush whilst on safari.
Here are a few photos to remind us that even out there all we see today will not be the same tomorrow. I am often asked whether my tours don't become boring, I am covering the same areas time after time,year after year.
I have never answered "yes"to that, because it is always changing and always something is new or different. Again,Time.
What is that young baboon thinking as he sits there? What is he doing now? Just as we would, I hope he savoured that beautiful moment and has it stored in his memory as a happy, peaceful time. And the trees, Baines Baobabs, have been there for thousands of years, but without memory as we know it. Yet they stand and change with Time. And we, whoever visits there, stand for a time around them and think of the quiet solitude they have endured.
Well, it's time for bed, too. The longer I stay awake, the less timeI have to sleep; and it's time for me to go, and spend some time resting before it's time to get up. Time and again, Time enters into our thoughts consciously, many times in our conversations. It is always there, passing, making what is our lives. Making my beard grow more grey!
Enjoy your time here (reading my page), and then go on to enjoy it whereever you might be from this moment on.

Thoughts of Today

This morning, before getting into any routine of work or whatever, I cast my eyes to the sky (something which I do at nights and early morning especially), and saw a beautiful full moon suspended above the horizon. As I was in Johannesburg (South Africa) a city with pollution and all those things which might spoil this type of scenery, I was especially happy to note that this moon held proud. Venus was there to accompany her and together they lit the western horison. The mornings, when they are like this, are quiet and poignant with the onset of the hustle and bustle which will consume our attention during the coming day. I am sure that even I forget that moon and the vista which I have seen in these early morning hours. Maybe I even lose some of the tranquility which they instil in me for the coming day..but I know I do not lose all of it.

When on safari, out in the wilderness, I am so priviledged to enjoy this time of day. Usually alone, not always (it is possible to have safari clients awake in the chilly dark winter mornings!), I use this time to draw an energy into me from that universe out there. Even if it is make-believe, I make it believe. It is a time when all around you can stand still while you think to yourself and feel for yourself.

This particular morning, I was very happy when a child, whom I saw early in the morning, made the first comment of the day..."Isn't the moon so beautiful? It shone through my window and straight onto my face when I woke up". Yes, I would have to agree that that is beautiful and for anyone to appreciate it, is also beautiful.

I have also spent time with a friend, sharing some quiet moments and thoughts, as we all do. But when you see a friend only occaisionally, you get to value that time together. Interraction and exchanges, this is what we are about, us humans. We have all said it - either to ourselves or to our friends- that we must make time to be, time to enjoy, time to savour the simple things, time to get away. How often to do we try and do all of this, but within the framework of a society or a social stigma which dictates what the "time away" and "enjoyment" shall be? Then we are just caught up again - back in the big cog, the rat race..not free.

If you haven't already got it, find yourself something small, but valuable, which can instil this feeling in you each time you need it. Then use it. It helps.

A day on the river, time out in some aspect of wilderness, anything like this which you have, cherish it. All these are things which you do for yourself. Because when you are better, stronger, less troubled and less complicated, then you are a better companion to your friends, partners and colleagues. We, by ourselves, alone, are not as whole as we can be, if we do not share our strengths with others.

Here's to tomorrow morning!