Old Year’s Eve in the Bush

I am the only occupant of Pitta Camp. All the staff have gone home to celebrate the coming of 2019. The sun is setting over the Angwa River. Not too far behind me somewhere a hyena is laughing – also happy at the passing of another year. Over the river elephants trumpet as villagers chase them out of their crops – just another day in Africa.

It took me three days to drive from Pretoria to Pitta Camp, near Masoka in Zimbabwe. On the way, near Masvingo, I had a too close encounter with a container truck and removed its side mirror and added a few scratches to its paintwork. The side awning of my camper moved some inches back, but this was the only damage.

Camped last night at an Anglican mission school in Guruve, but first had to convince the principal that I was not some lunatic and a danger to his establishment. This morning two delightful security guards took me to a backyard mechanic, Paul, and his Rasta helper, who, with the minimum of tools, fixed the awning. On the last 80 km stretch to Masoka I gave a lift to an army corporal, who time and again had to correct the female voice of my GPS to keep me on the straight and narrow. Last lesson learnt in 2018 – female voices can lead you astray and get you into heaps of trouble!

The sun has set. Above me in a tree an African Wood Owl is calling. The elephants are crossing the river and majestically coming towards me. With the rest of the world I wonder what 2019 will bring. Hopefully many new bird species for my African Birding Big Year!

Oh yes, my new year’s resolution: To change the voice of my GPS to a male version.