It’s a late start for some after the frolics of the night before and for others there is the option of an early morning game drive on the lake. I have been told by many that I need to learn to relax so today I decide to take my training seriously, wondering how long it will be before I break. After a leisurely breakfast I grab my bikini and a sunbed and lie in the sun reading my book for a whole thirty minutes. Then I pace around the boat looking for activity, but everyone else is chilled and snoozing or reading. I really do need to apply myself more seriously, so it’s back to the sunbed. It’s a tough job and requires a whole lot of concentration, which is very tiring, so I sleep till lunchtime. I’m learning J
After lunch, I decide to re-apply myself to my new hobby...fishing. Just beyond the boat I can see the fish swimming in the clear water close to the shore amongst the rocks. They will definitely look good in tonight’s dinner. It’s not long before I’m the resident expert in threading worms, and others gaze in awe at my newfound skill. Casting is also a doddle and soon there are little tugs on the line. Eagerly I reel in the line, only to find that my tasty morsels have disappeared and only the hook remains glinting in the sunshine. Meanwhile, Kanyo and Mark are filling up the bucket with tiddlers. I am marginally mollified by the fact that only one is big enough to serve for dinner. As evening approaches, we decide to go for a sunset game drive. The water is so calm and the scenery stunning so it will be worth it just for the sunset. But sunset is the time when the hippos leave the cooling water to graze overnight and we are lucky enough to spot a few in and out of the water as we glide by. We also spot the crocs (it’s not easy, they all look like logs!) virtually licking their lips as we float past, just waiting for one of us to fall in!
Back at the houseboat, the cooks have prepared us a typical African meal of beef, ugali (a sort of maize porridge, like a cross between polenta and mashed potato and the staple of any African meal) and curried cabbage. In the evening we exchange stories on life growing up in Africa and our various home countries and some of us decide to sleep out under the stars, listening to lapping water, the singing frogs and ..... various grunts and slurps. Grunts and slurps? The water slaps against the side of the boat and we get up to peer over the side. We can’t see anything in the pitch dark but it is clear there is something close by in the water.
Next morning, as we cast off to return to civilisation, we spot the origins of the grunts. A small group of elephants are also just moving away from the water’s edge.
After lunch, I decide to re-apply myself to my new hobby...fishing. Just beyond the boat I can see the fish swimming in the clear water close to the shore amongst the rocks. They will definitely look good in tonight’s dinner. It’s not long before I’m the resident expert in threading worms, and others gaze in awe at my newfound skill. Casting is also a doddle and soon there are little tugs on the line. Eagerly I reel in the line, only to find that my tasty morsels have disappeared and only the hook remains glinting in the sunshine. Meanwhile, Kanyo and Mark are filling up the bucket with tiddlers. I am marginally mollified by the fact that only one is big enough to serve for dinner. As evening approaches, we decide to go for a sunset game drive. The water is so calm and the scenery stunning so it will be worth it just for the sunset. But sunset is the time when the hippos leave the cooling water to graze overnight and we are lucky enough to spot a few in and out of the water as we glide by. We also spot the crocs (it’s not easy, they all look like logs!) virtually licking their lips as we float past, just waiting for one of us to fall in!
Back at the houseboat, the cooks have prepared us a typical African meal of beef, ugali (a sort of maize porridge, like a cross between polenta and mashed potato and the staple of any African meal) and curried cabbage. In the evening we exchange stories on life growing up in Africa and our various home countries and some of us decide to sleep out under the stars, listening to lapping water, the singing frogs and ..... various grunts and slurps. Grunts and slurps? The water slaps against the side of the boat and we get up to peer over the side. We can’t see anything in the pitch dark but it is clear there is something close by in the water.
Next morning, as we cast off to return to civilisation, we spot the origins of the grunts. A small group of elephants are also just moving away from the water’s edge.
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