Wednesday 5th March 2014

Johnny, Emma and I went for a drive in the morning whilst the others went walking. The sunrise was impressive and Emma was quick to conclude that I’ll never want to leave. If the African bush came with my family and friends from back home she’d be right, but it doesn’t. There is one thing for sure, I’d find it very hard to see myself living in a big city like London again.

After seeing the only ostrich in the area last night we saw the only two giraffes on the concession this morning. There were lots more buffalo on our drive as well as all the little things which Johnny and Emma were interested in. They actually said that there’s more to a safari than chasing ‘cats’ which was music to my ears, although I do want to show them a leopard.

We stopped for our morning cuppa at Mutale Weir which was new to me and certainly a repeat, I’ll definitely be taking Mum and Dad there next week. Unfortunately it’s so wet at the moment it’s unlikely that I’ll get a chance to take them to one of the gorges.

Johnny ducked out of the fitness session to spend time with his wife. This was a wise choice as it was a tough workout especially after my over indulgence in Cape Town. As soon as we finished it was lunch which didn’t give me much time to stop sweating and then get ready for the afternoon walk. It was great that Johnny and Emma could walk with me as Back Up. The walk was from camp over the ridges to Mr BB (Big Baobab).

The rain and sun has certainly worked its magic, the grass was long and the bush thick. Emma was testing her new GPS and heart rate monitor, each time we entered a new bit of long grass her pulse shot up. Disappointingly we had no encounters but there was lots of game to see and with Bruce as the ‘Lead’ giving Emma and Johnny lots of attention they learnt a lot.

I absolutely loved walking with Johnny and Emma, the only downside is that you don’t get the chance to talk like you would on a drive. They both really enjoyed themselves and they’re keen to go again tomorrow. This may have had something to do with the sundowners under Mr BB which is a pretty special thing to do. Once my rifle was away I had a couple of drinks with Johns and Ems but nothing too hectic as I was feeling the effects of not drinking enough water through the day.