Noloholo, Day 43-44: Restful
Yesterday was a quiet day. I get involved with work and don’t end up going down to shoot with the Hadza in the evening. I eat too many chapati, and then too much at dinner. Sleep is elusive, and when I finally do fall asleep I dream about high school reunions, old practice partners, and stealing someone else’s identity so I can get free fruit tarts from a bakery. The alarm wakes me at 5:45, and I rush to get dressed so I can go on today’s game drive with Christy, Dennis, Andrew and a couple of our VGS.
We pick up Emilio in Loibor and begin the transect just outside of the village. We swing out toward Kangala but then go south a long way, towards Kimotorok. It is a beautiful drive once the sun begins to break through onto open farmland, then stubbled plains, then graceful slopes dotted with slender acacia and enormous contorted baobabs, the surrounding shrubs alive with new birds. It startled me to see how different the landscape looked, just an hours’ drive from Noloholo. At one moment we came over a ridge to face a rise of bulbous, emerald green treetops, shimmering in the light. Behind us the ochre dust of our passing drifted up and away. The wildlife was plentiful - large groups of impala, juvenile giraffe with their mama’s hovering back from the road, two kudu, a hefty male ostrich.
We return by 9:30, and scrounge up food in the kitchen. We each eat a smorgasbord of food; we are running low on eggs, bread, vegetables. Christy has a grilled cheese, Andrew eat pasta and cereal, I have pasta and a leftover chapatti.. we all nibble on sausage. It is very satisfying in the end, each of us satiated and Tuma enjoying the respite as we wash dishes.
The afternoon arrives slowly. It is sunny now, and warm. I do laundry and enjoy the feel of sudsy, muddy, cold water, even though I know it’s going to peel my skin off. I teach Andrew pieces of my pilates routine, then go for a short run around the top of Noloholo. I start “The Covenant” by Michener and read it in my tent while I watch the sun set.
Dinner is a very satisfying meal of rice, mboga (sautéed greens), a little fried fish and leftover salad. It is delicious, and I’m asleep by 9.
We pick up Emilio in Loibor and begin the transect just outside of the village. We swing out toward Kangala but then go south a long way, towards Kimotorok. It is a beautiful drive once the sun begins to break through onto open farmland, then stubbled plains, then graceful slopes dotted with slender acacia and enormous contorted baobabs, the surrounding shrubs alive with new birds. It startled me to see how different the landscape looked, just an hours’ drive from Noloholo. At one moment we came over a ridge to face a rise of bulbous, emerald green treetops, shimmering in the light. Behind us the ochre dust of our passing drifted up and away. The wildlife was plentiful - large groups of impala, juvenile giraffe with their mama’s hovering back from the road, two kudu, a hefty male ostrich.
We return by 9:30, and scrounge up food in the kitchen. We each eat a smorgasbord of food; we are running low on eggs, bread, vegetables. Christy has a grilled cheese, Andrew eat pasta and cereal, I have pasta and a leftover chapatti.. we all nibble on sausage. It is very satisfying in the end, each of us satiated and Tuma enjoying the respite as we wash dishes.
The afternoon arrives slowly. It is sunny now, and warm. I do laundry and enjoy the feel of sudsy, muddy, cold water, even though I know it’s going to peel my skin off. I teach Andrew pieces of my pilates routine, then go for a short run around the top of Noloholo. I start “The Covenant” by Michener and read it in my tent while I watch the sun set.
Dinner is a very satisfying meal of rice, mboga (sautéed greens), a little fried fish and leftover salad. It is delicious, and I’m asleep by 9.