Shingwedzi Trip - Day Eight - Welcome Relief!

Wet! Wet! Wet!

Slipping and sliding, everything saturated! Relief had come at last!

What was powder yesterday had turned into thick chocolate mousse! Who knows what the road would be like? We could only wait and see.

Walking anywhere was a precarious affair and poor little Sean had found himself in the same situation twice in a row, in the same spot. Shoes, feet and legs, if not all working in harmony, can be a bad combination when it comes to sludge and the poor boy had decided that, after his two slips and thuds, he doesn't like camping anymore.

I told him it was just a test we were all being put through. That it can't always be dry and sunny. That we have to learn to deal with different situations and we can, when we have to. When I asked him how long he had been camping for his little eyes lit up and he said since he was three years old. He said he has been to many places and partaken in several field courses so he knows quite a bit about the great outdoors. Just imagine, he may very well grow up to be an inventor of equipment for people who haven't mastered the art of mud treading! Watch this space over the next thirteen years...

Shingwedzi - Day Seven - Oh What a Beautiful Morning...

Up and out at 06h15.  Breakfast today consisted of coffee, biscuits and yoghurt. 



All was very still and relaxed .

I went off and washed the dishes and did some laundry so that it could dry off in the heat while we were out for the day exploring the Shingwedzi Valley.  It was only whilst doing these chores that I learned that we were only going to be leaving at 10:00 so that people could have long breakfasts and lie ins!  What a waste!  No wonder we never see any game - they've all migrated for the day by the time we get out there!  In this climate we should be down by the river by 06:00 while it is still cool.  I'm sure there would be herds of game gathering for their water.

So Gordon read and I caught up with this entry, muttering to myself about the lackadaisical manner in which people like to enjoy themselves.  But, everyone is different and there was really nothing I could do about it anyway.  But next time...