Zambia World Wide

The last curtain raiser

From my past experience I know that some of the readers will condemn me for my actions and brand me as a ruthless character. Yet today I can safely say that I appreciate and respect nature more than most of my critics.

You spend a quiet afternoon in the shade of a tree, some thirty kilometers away from the nearest civilization. All you hear at intervals is the call of the Go Away Bird and the Sun Beatles. Suddenly your instinct tells you that you are not alone and you start looking around. As you look up you see a snake sliding ever so slowly closer and closer to a bird. It is obvious that the bird is aware of the snake but it makes no attempt to fly away. In a flash the snake strikes and it falls to the ground with the bird within meters from you. You sit quietly as you watch how the snake goes about swallowing his lunch. You become so engrossed that you are not aware of anything going on around you.

Anyone who has spent sometime in the African bush with the stars above serving as the roof over your head will agree with me that there is no equal. You lie next to a smouldering fire which glows bright red with every breeze. Every now and then you are comforted by the nocturnal sounds of the bush. There is the manic cackle of hyenas, the cry of jackals, the calls of various Antelope and Zebras, or the moan of Lions to the thoughtful chomping of Elephants. It’s almost as if they are letting you know how far they are away, just to put your mind at rest. You lie and listen how a herd of elephants come closer and closer to your camp and as soon as they become aware of you they continue their grazing in another direction. As their sounds fade away you wish they would return.

The teardrop of the elephant, which few will ever experience, certainly made me realize that we are not the only creatures on earth that would like to live out our stay on earth.

While looking at the stars you suddenly see the lights of an aircraft passing way overhead. It is not a welcome sight as you are reminded that there is a rat race out there that you cannot escape.