2. Seeing a hammerkopf fishing in a weir. These dowdy birds are pretty non-descript apart from their hammer-shaped head, the fact that they are supposed to be unlucky for game drivers and their vast untidy nests. But I liked stopping to see him stabbing at the water and quickly gulping something down.
3. Watching elephants eating. They pull up grass with their trunks and dust it on their legs -- elephants die when their teeth wear out, and eating clean grass slows this down. But the baby hasn’t quite got the hang of it yet and keeps swinging wide.
4. We had an evening game drive and sat on the bank of an ox-bow lake with our beers watching the sunset on our right hand side and the black clouds massing on our left hand side. We were being dive-bombed by swallows, which is never a good sign. Sure enough, the rain got us as we were driving home. Within minutes, even wrapped in waterproofs we were soaked through -- undies and all. But something in the situation -- was it the fact that we were in open topped Land Rovers, that the air was so wet that breathing was like drinking or the brave efforts of the guides to keep on looking for game in the near-zero visibility -- made us yell with laughter.
5. Remembering that I have a medicinal bottle of Cane Spirit in my locker. Julie and I added it to hot chocolate and all of a sudden felt a lot drier.
6. The Grants discuss a crisis:
Rosey: Our tent is ankle deep in water.
Clare: Our tent?
Rosey: Yes.
Clare: Tent Seven?
Rosey: Yes.
Clare: That we sleep in?
Rosey: Yes.
Clare: How ankle deep?
Rosey: Ankle.
We ended up sleeping in the games room -- Rosey on the pool table, and me on the floor.
Wildlife Camp, South Luanga National Park, Zambia
