My dreams merged into reality

I’ve been sitting here in the office, watching out the office windows….Sunny (the ever-present ostrich) pecking in the dirt, Kariba browsing through the trees and the baby suricates romping in their pen, listening to the green-speckled dove calling repeatedly…..I feel a bit stunned as my ever-present dreams of SanWild have suddenly merged into reality. I’m having a lot of trouble comprehending I’m actually HERE!!!!

Already it’s been spectacular. I’ve seen the elephants in full-view as we turned a bend in the road and there they were! I’ve watched an industrious little dung beetle, his mate clinging on to the nuptual ball as he rolls it along, stopping to check in with the sun to confirm direction. I’ve listened to Lutalo’s and Bombi’s roars echo in the dark. Tonga has lazily yawned and rolled over in the water, kicking all four feet into the air. I’ve marvelled yet again at the amazing little red-headed weaver bird as he intricately builds the tunnel into his nest, hoping a little female will be impressed enough to move in. And I am confounded at how little the almost-regal brown hyenas resemble the “eee-eee-eeehing” little cubs I once tickled, scratched and fought off! I’m soaking in the beauty of SanWild in the lush springtime and am almost drunk with being here!

Many things have changed

Many things have changed. The tourist camp is now covered in lush green lawn with various garden areas about. The renovation of the main lapa there is almost finished. It now has a beautiful stone fireplace, a huge kitchen area and large dining/lounging area as well as the bar on the covered patio area. The new game-drive vehicle (renovated from an old bakkie) is soooooo much more comfortable on your bum than riding in the rear of the bakkie.

John Botha is a wonderful, fun new team member with a love of the bits of knowledge he enthusiastically shares. And I see Sagaria has traded in his pink bush hat for a new, fancy beige one with adjustable air vents!

However, it’s the familiar which I’m enjoying revisiting. I have to smile as I watch Louise rushing around, calling out teases and instructions to everyone as she jumps into her new bakkie and races off to who-knows-where. We’re giving Andre as hard a time as ever about his various trials and tribulations. Sagaria’s large greeting smile was so welcoming. And yesterday I took an early-morning bush walk with Albert (now the lead ranger). His English is very much improved, so we were able to have a long chat about his family, recent stories and funny remembrances.

Re-route for a injured steenbok please

I arrived in Jo’burg on Thursday and spent the next two nights with Liezel (who manages the SanWild website) and her husband Rod. We were originally to drive to SanWild on Friday, but the new kitchen cabinets which we were bringing were delayed. Just as we were leaving early Saturday morning, Louise called requesting that we go a different direction to stop and pick up a baby steenbok whose leg was broken by road workers. (Evidently when they find an antelope and her baby, they will run off the mother, then kill and eat the baby.) Some of the construction men had rescued the tiny steenbok and contacted a farmer in the area. He remembered seeing an ad some time back for the SanWild rescue service and took the time to buy a Farmers Journal to locate the phone number. It was so pleasing to see to what lengths they all went to help out this helpless creature.

After meeting up with the farmer and taking up the adorable little fawn, we headed toward SanWild, crossing over the Drakensberg Mountains. By detouring for the rescue, the trip might have taken much longer, but I was thrilled to be able to ride through and over this beautiful area. It’s springtime here now, there’s been a nice amount of rain and everything is a gorgeous beautiful green. We then met Louise and Barbara a few miles down the road from SanWild and turned over the little steenbok so they could race her to a vet.

The last I heard, she and the little duiker recovering at Louise’s house were already beginning to hobble around together in a kind of play.

I’ve gone on long enough now…..I have weeks left to gush about all the wonderful aspects of being here….and I apologize in advance for all the exclamation points!!!! So, until tomorrow’s adventures…….Cheers!

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