“Knock, Knock”
At 5:15 in the morning, I found myself standing in automated response to an as of yet incomprehensible onomatopoeia. I am not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but my first waking moments for half of my life have been composed of the same existential question:
“Where am I?”
It is absolutely beautiful out here this morning, and I’m still pinching myself that I am right here, right now, and able to experience god’s work at its finest.
After what I would describe as a safety briefing (“If an animal charges you, don’t run”), our guides brings us onto the reserve for a grass-level familiarization walk. Here the kudu are having a look and trying to determine whether we fit in with the scenery.
Another view from the pan. As you will soon see, I don’t have the heart to pare down the number of photos that I shot. They’re too beautiful not to share.
I have mentioned that the grass is tall- and with this in mind, spotting some of the animals becomes a bit like deciphering a Where’s Waldo illustration.
Ambulatory by grace of coffee.
Can you spot the owl? Hard to believe, but he is there if you take a close look. He’s also huge. It took me a long time to pick him out with binoculars, and I was absolutely amazed at how the animals can camouflage themselves into the background.
Ahh technology. Mark has a great app that not only shows us photos of each bird, but it also plays back each bird call. It was explained to me that becoming qualified as a guide in Zimbabwe is extremely difficult- but once you have passed the battery of tests your qualification is held in the highest regard, even from an international standpoint. Mark and Jean really know their stuff, and you can tell that they really enjoy what they are doing. Between you and me, I was kinda more grateful for his sidearm, rather than his iPhone.
Ever seen a termite hill? They are out here, and they can get huge.
That circle of life stuff? It’s real. We were shown how animals and insects use the carcass of other animals to survive. Here, this skull was fashioned as a damn for the water running into the pan. It’s all so simple, so logical, and yet so amazing.
After our morning walk, we got back to the lodge for an actual breakfast with the staff. It is served right on the edge of the pan so we can continue to enjoy the wildlife.
And we were rewarded with come cool sights!
As we drove for a bit longer, we saw an impala looking over at something, seemingly concerned. Farther away you could see zebra clustered about, and in between each species was the reason for all the concern: a lion was enjoying a mid-morning sit near a pan. Jean pulled the truck up to the pan so we could have a better look.
Appropriately caffeinated, Annie and I took some time to commence a favorite activity of ours- creating jumping photos. She taught me this trick back in Dakar, and I have to say that you can’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
It takes some practice, but you eventually get captured in mid-air. It’s actually the most fun you can have sober. Lucky for us, Jean our intrepid guide obligingly snapped photos till we got it right. As for the lion, he simply wandered off in disgust since he was no longer the center of attention…
Seated in the very back of the truck, we are up rather high and thus have a great vantage point. That being said, up here you get a sense for how tall this grass grows if you check out where the windshield and exhaust pipe measures in comparison to the grass.
Warthog mom and her babies.
Zebra, wildebeest and the McDonald’s of the bush.
This side of the park had loads of palm trees. The diversity of this place is like none other that I have seen. I went from feeling like I was in Kansas to feeling like I was in Hawaii. Or maybe I should now just say that I felt like I was in Zimbabwe.
I know it sounds clichéd, but once you get out to a place like this, you really get the sense that god is out here, doing some incredible stuff. Much like every time I get out of Dakar and head into the countryside of Senegal, it makes me wonder why I don’t escape more often. Simply beautiful.
