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Published: March 30th 2010
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We’ve been here 2 months and the novelty of the 2way radio has definitely worn off. So has the job in fact. Yes its lekker to be able to work in this environment but it has its pro’s and cons and you get a boss just like any other. On days when the phones, the internet, better known as flikkernet, email and the electricity all works is remarkable and makes my job easier.
Most guests have been really nice. Even the Germans. Sorry. I’m having a cynical day. We’ve had a few gays - who’ve been great. The last 2 spent 4 hours looking for the place, and yes I had a hand in directing them but that’s not my point right now. Delana had to evacuate a bat and a frog out of their tent while I waited outside with them anxiously clutching my arm until the coast was clear. I got her to check under the bed for snakes for good measure, much to her disgust, since her puffy eye had only just returned to normal from her previous incident with the spitting cobra. Luckily nothing ominous greeted her from under the duvets.
I’m not looking forward to
Head mountings
watching and waiting winter. Being cooler than present temperatures between 38 and 45 0C will be welcoming but it’s the hunting season that I’m concerned about. An animal that’s had a life wondering around chewing grass, and then re-chewing it like old bubblegum, while resting under a tree killing time before the rutting season starts and dreaming about his chances of getting laid or wondering whether he can find the same spot to crap at again to mark his territory, is a pretty ok life. For an antelope that is. Luckily we don’t have to mark the same spot since I’d spend a lot of time being constipated while searching for my midden. The amount of time some men spend on the crapper with a book could be constituted as territory marking mind you. If the animal happens to end up on someone’s dinner table, to me, its acceptably part of the life cycle food chain. So long as I don’t have to kill it.
As of winter I’m going to have to deal with a bunch of gung ho manne who haul out their bazookas and don their military camo’s and head for the bush. I’m supposed to listen animatedly, while offering them another double brandy and coke, to their stories of how they super humanly survived the jaws of a man eating lion while scouring the African plains in search of deer. Meanwhile, they probably spent the day sitting in a hide next to a water hole with mielies scattered around, waiting for an animal to cross their sights. I probably sound sarcastic. Well actually I am. I do realise meat doesn’t come in styrofoam packets from the shops and I do realise I eat chicken who have spent their whole what 90 days of life in a coop no bigger than their body size, never seeing the sun - disgusting and inhumane. None the less people who get a kick out of posing next to their kill and then have its head mounted against their living room wall gives me the heebie jeebies. Had bushmen discovered photography instead of spending their days hammering bits of flint, I’m sure they would have loved to have taken a proud photo of their kill before cutting it up into luggable sizes. A wrinkled little man in a loincloth squatting next to his Gemsbok kill and flashing 3 yellow teeth at a lens sounds more acceptable than a hunter with the latest laser scopes slung over his shoulder and a giraffe neck coiled around his body with the sunset as a backdrop sounds more acceptable.
Talking about animal carcases stuck on the wall, I suffer from the mona lisa syndrome here in my office. I’m being watched by a dozen pairs of eyes who see my every move. A caracal peers at me from eyelevel across the room, a hyena lurks behind the couch, a civet is poised next to the door ready to pounce on the porcupine hiding on top on the cupboard and a Nyala peers over my shoulder. They’re all stuffed and very dead but none the less their glassy eyes watch me typing away. The adjoining room has antelope heads and skulls decorating the walls to complete the African bush theme.
We’ve realised that before we can move on and explore the rest of Africa we need a 4x4 camper. Our bus has worked fine so far for South Africa but wont cut it for the rest of our journey. We spend free time surfing the net for anything available in our price range or for conversion ideas. We’re considering a military samil vehicle or a Unimog converted to a overlander. Alternatively Theo wants to buy an old diesel Merc or Chev and stick a caravan on the back chassis. That should be quite a site. Will keep you posted
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Everette
Everette Studdard
I have enjoyed reading your blogs. We are headed to South Africa next week. I have been concerned about the weather since SA is entering the winter season. Will a light weight jacket be enough? Is it still fairly warm in the afternoons? I have spent my time worrying about the weather, but after reading your blog, I decided that I need to be worried about snakes. I hope I am able to avoid them. You are living a very interesting life. I appreciate you sharing it with the world. Thanks, Everette