Crack of dawn

I was harangued pre-6am to go climbing on rocks, trees and through caves. It was hard to muster the energy before coffee, but I managed. Whilst trips like this send me to some incredible places, the most difficult aspect of them is the lack of free space, just to ‘be’. As a person who lives alone, it can feel like crowding, especially if it’s so early that the sun’s rays are still straining to get over the horizon.

The caves on Baobab Rock were interesting; the result of millions of years of rockfalls and geological activity. There was a rock hyrax squealing in one, as well as leopard bones, porcupine quills and pieces of clay, likely placed as offerings when someone had died in bygone days. The morning view over the surrounding bush was lovely from the rock.

Around the base of Baobab Rock there is a secluded area that was used for iron smelting by bush communities in the distant past. It’s easy to find pieces of iron, bone and pottery in the soil. Now buffalo are using the location as a natural corral, for protection.

It was a day for ghoulish creatures. During the car journey from Baobab Rock to Chuilexi headquarters, two golden orb spiders clambered over me as we crashed through overhanging vegetation. I confess to being reduced to a feeble excuse for a human, before being reminded that although they look ghastly, they are in fact not venomous. Back at the Conservancy nerve centre, I saw dead specimens of both a Mozambique spitting cobra and a black mamba, possibly the country’s two most deadly snakes. It gives me mixed feelings as all creatures have their place in nature, yet I understand why the vast majority of Africans I’ve met would kill a snake on sight, out of fear.