Bedazzled

On the ride to Singita lodge, we spotted numerous critters out the windows: warthog, giraffe, impalas (always impalas), wildebeast, kudu, water bucks, a "dazzle" of zebra.

Dazzle is a term referring to two or more zebras.  Indeed.  Seeing these beauties — with their black, brown, and white striped hides — tucked in among blonde blades of grass, one can well understand why.

Photo by Cecelia Helen Barrett

Safari

From Swahili meaning a voyage or hunt, sometimes expanded to include all the accouterments of such (a caravan — two or more vehicles traveling together with a common cause — of land rovers, trackers, guides, tourists, rifles, cameras, binoculars, blankets, hot water bottles, radios, thermoses, snacks, notebooks . . . )

Day 1

Arriving from Nelspruit airport in a small propeller plane, we make a surprisingly smooth landing on a patch of dirt on the northeastern boundary of Kruger National Park — Satara airstrip.  As we crawl out of the plane, we are met by Collin — my brother Amos' guide from a previous visit.  Amos and Collin have kept in touch, and they greet each other as old friends.  Nearby, there is a small bamboo hut housing a single bathroom and supporting a roof that extends over a concrete veranda.  Members of the safari crew have arrived before us and set up a reception — linen, real glass, drinks and snacks.

We munch wasabi peanuts and dried fruit while our baggage is loaded into the van.

Words Wanted

The more words in my head, the less on the page.

Words wanted.

Wanting words.

Wanton words.