9 - The Quicksand Phase

Well. . . . . now that it's been 3 weeks since my last update. . . . . I won't bore you all with a detailed recap of everything that's happened since then. Just a general outline. And a recommitment to do this more often.

The Galkas finished up their trip with a few more casualties and headed for the airport. The next group of hunters, a father and retired police man from Houston and his 3 children, followed closely on the Galkas' heels. It was really a pleasure to have them here. The youngest was 11 and so cute, and it was so much fun to have some younger people here to chat with and joke around with. The death toll was low, only a zebra, a vervet monkey and a black mamba, but it was one of the more fun hunts.

The group after them was from Spain, and the original plan was for half the group to go hunt elephant on the Chikwalakwala concession, and the other half to stay at Threeways hunting plains game. David and I were left to man the house while everyone was away in South Africa picking up the Spaniards and more supplies. We got a call from Quinn the day before the hunters were to arrive. He was at the border coming back to Threeways and wanted us to be ready to leave for the concession when he got here. This is what caused me to remember that I had not as yet written another update as I had hoped to. I realized it would be another week before I would be able to catch up with things, and wrote a hasty mass email to everyone letting them know that David and I were still alive and would be updating soon. (I've hit that point in journal-keeping which I like to think of as the quicksand phase. It happens to me nearly every time I re-decide I'm going to keep a record of my life, and most times I just end up staying stuck. This time I'll do my best to drag myself out of the pit and forge on.)

Anyway, we packed up everything we'd need for the next week, loaded up and drove down to the concession with Quinn. We were instructed to set up the camp and have everything ready for the hunters' arrival the next day. By the time we arrived at the camp, however, it was dark and we decided we'd do the setup in the morning. Quinn returned to Threeways to await the arrival of the Spaniards. The weather here is cooling down considerably and it was difficult for me to wrench myself from under the covers early the next day and get moving. There's nothing gradual about the weather here right now. The afternoons are hot enough for shorts and t-shirts, and I break a sweat if I'm doing anything physical. The instant the sun hits the horizon, however, the temperature plunges and if I don't have a sweatshirt nearby I become very cranky. The nights are regularly in the high 30s, low 40s and the mornings are brutal until somewhere between 8:30 and 9:00 when the sun hits a magical height in the sky, and I'm instantly peeling off the layers.

Anyway, we finished setting up the camp by lunch time and were just getting ready to scrounge up some food when Quinn drove in. But he was not attended by any Spaniards, and had not brought any food or supplies as we had planned. He disembarked from his vehicle and announced with a smile that the Spaniards had changed their minds and no longer wanted to split up to hunt elephant. They would rather stay together and hunt plains game at Threeways. I'll admit it was somewhat flabbergasting, and I was a little disappointed that we would not be having any serious action, but there was obviously no use wasting energy being annoyed, so we set to work breaking down the camp we'd just finished setting up. It came down much faster than it went up, and we were on our way back to Threeways. It was not a total waste, as we were able to witness a rare, gorgeous colorful sunset on our way back. Generally the sky here goes from bright blue to black in an astonishingly short time, with only a flush of orange low on the horizon to mark the place the sun vanished. On the rare evening when the air is clear of dust, but there are a few clouds in the west, the scene is totally different, with all the pink, yellow and orange splendor to herald in the twilight. This was one such evening and it was a delight to behold.

There were 5 in the group from Spain. The main man was Jose, and he paid for his 2 body-guards, a friend who was a wildlife specialist, and a translator to accompany him on the trip. I was extremely relieved that there was a translator, as I had been feeling somewhat apprehensive about putting my Spanish skills on display. However, I realized the next day that I was not completely off the hook when Tokkie asked David and I if we would be responsible for guiding the 2 body-guards during their time here. They were extremely tolerant of my butchery of their language, and we generally made do, with surprisingly few misinterpretations. The group had planned to remain at Threeways for a week. However, Jose was not happy with the way things were going. He apparently was not getting enough action, and would rather have more shooting than hunting, so he made a new plan with Tokkie to head down to South Africa where the bush is not so thick and the animals are much more restricted in their movements. If shooting is what he wants, he'll most likely find it there. The body-guards seemed to have had a nice time, though, and tipped us generously for being their guides.

So the whole group took off to South Africa. Quinn and Dirkie were delighted to be left unexpectedly with a free week on their hands, and so they took off to South Africa as well to do some serious planning for their wedding. So David and I are here alone again. Tokkie is due back on Friday, Dirkie and Quinn will be back sometime between the 17th and the 20th. We are getting used to the rhythm of running things over here and have not been caught without the answers as often as before.

David has found a dead tree he wants to make into a table. The only issue is that we do not have a functioning chain saw, and so he has been hacking and sawing at it with hand tools. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, as it occupies him for hours at a time and he does not seem to get bored with it. At the moment he has gone off with one of the guys to take a look at some cattle they want to sell. We've made contact with a man who has agreed to buy all the cows we can get ahold of for a certain price, which happens to be nearly twice the price we would be paying to buy them from the local guys. So it looks like a fair investment of our money, but we'll see how it pans out. I am relaxing at the house today. A repair man has come to fix the walk-in refrigerator here (for the third time) and so I'm keeping watch on the place until he goes. After that I think I will go for a long walk.

Anyway, sorry to be so general and bland this time. Will get my butt out of the quicksand and have a nice story for you all next time I update!