Wrinkles in the Moonlight

Once again, I confess that yes I will never receive an award for the most dedicated blogger! I see so many things during the day that make me say to myself….”that will make an interesting blog, I should definitely write about that”. Yet by the end of the day the memory is just that, a memory. However, I have purchased something that I am hoping will inspire me to write more and possibly even relax a little…a hammock. And yes I said relax. For those of you who think that I live in paradise (yes you are correct) but it does not always feel like paradise. The actual activity of relaxation is in fact hard to perform out here. When you live where you work, the damn work seems to follow you around the place. While there are many many positives of living far from human civilization, there are some down sides. For those of who do not appreciate coming home to a brick walled house and not having to chase all manner of cretins from your bed before lying down on it…start appreciating. Those of you who after having a bath, actually look clean…start appreciating. Those of you who don’t have to drive from one part of your house to another without fear of being chased by an elephant….start appreciating. I appreciate my surroundings almost on a daily basis…however I do sometimes miss the comforts of home. Which brings me to my story….

Sven (the person who keeps me from the grips of bush fever, a very dangerous and sometime fatal disease) is away on holiday. While his absence has quite a few negatives, along with them come a few positives and boy are they nice. For instance, I can get through a meal without having to physically defend my food from the grips of the bottomless pit that Sven calls his stomach. BUT by far the best positive is the fact that I can take over his tent, equipped with tv AND a bath. Two of the home pleasures that I miss the most. In the last two weeks I have managed to acquire not only one pinched sciatic nerve, but two. Arn’t I special? The doctor informed me that I need to find a relaxing pastime or hobby, yes that word again…relax. So with this mission in mind I headed to Svens tent one evening. Awhile ago, before Svens time at Dibatana, whoever lived in his tent at the time decided that a marble bath was the order of the day. Who has marble baths…seriously? This marble bath looks out over the waterhole and boy is it a nice view. So having filled up the bath, which by the way is enough to fit like 4 people and a lilo for each of them, I get myself comfortable. Of course, fitting the story well, it is a full moon. Next thing I know, there is an elephant at the back of the tent, rummaging around in the leaves. He shuffles round the side of the tent until he is standing about 7m away from the bath at the edge of the deck, unfazed by my presence. I have to say it is quite a surreal experience to be up to your eyeballs in bubbles watching an elephant browse a few meters away. And because of the full moon I could see small details, such as the wrinkles in his skin and his long eyelashes. He was so relaxed, leaning his weight from one foot to another. As my toes and fingers became wrinkly, he continued feeding so close I could hear him breathing. I never tire of watching elephants. I think they are incredible and fascinating creatures. While I do find them formidable animals and not to be reckoned with, for me they carry a calming feeling. Saying this, I cannot vouch for the rest of camp, as recently the elephants have been creating a certain amount of mayhem, tearing up water pipes, breaking down branches and such. Having just mentioned a calming feeling and also mayhem, I have to giggle as right now there is a young male at the waterhole with quite an attitude about him. He is particularly grumpy with the guinea fowl taking up his space around the edge of the waterhole and according to his actions encroaching on his personal bubble! So back to the relaxing. All that’s needed is: 1.) a marble bath 2.) a waterhole in the Okavango Delta 3.) an elephant to share the scenery with 4.) full moon. Mix together and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Results are total relaxation.