Saturday 16th November 2013

The tracking course finished with instructor Innocent taking a session on trapping.

He told us how when he was growing up he would go onto the reserves and set traps, run down buffalo and hunt with dogs. It was about subsistence for him and his family and that seemed fair enough.

His hunting didn’t come without risks, not just a case of being chased by the Anti Poaching Unit but also on one occasion accidentally trapping a leopard.

The majority of the camp went into town which meant that the campsite was really peaceful all day.

As soon as they left the nyala immediately came in as if by prearrangement. I spent the day revising and had a really good fitness session in the midday sun.

It was braai night which meant that it was appropriate to have a few beers. I was about to pop an empty in the bin when I heard some movement next to my flip flopped feet and looked down to see a Mosambique spitting cobra disappearing into the grass. The reassuring thing was that he didn’t want to hang around and have a confrontation.