Giraffe in the Sunrise The view from the truck, as we bounced across the roads in Northern Namiba’s Etosha National Park, was just breathtaking!
It was a dream-come-true: riding around in a truck with a pop-up roof across the open grasslands of Northern Namibia.
When I had the opportunity to travel with a small group of photography enthusiasts under the guidance of photographer Ben McRae and local guide guide Morne Griffiths, I had a momentary pang of guilt: I don’t know how many times my husband and I had planned travel to Africa, only to have something crop up in our schedules to make the trips impossible.
The guilt passed quickly once I was sitting overlooking a Namibian waterhole! (see: A day at the Waterhole)
I had my first taste of the African waterhole experience at a bush camp in Kamanjab, where we stopped overnight before continuing on to the magical Etosha National Park. Waterholes are like a zoo in reverse: people are behind protective fences or in their vehicles while the animals come and go as they please.
It was nerve-wracking driving across the savannah, scanning the seemingly empty horizon and then seeing SOMETHING! anything – and stopping; standing on the seats of the vehicle to aim the cameras out from under the pop-top. Oh, how I envied the other people with their 400mm zoom lenses!
Watching the waterholes, on the other hand, was absolutely mesmerising: you sit, anytime of day or night, and the animals follow their own rhythms – coming and going. We had pitched our tents at Namutoni Camp for two nights, next to the King Nehale Waterhole on the eastern side of Etosha National Park. I could wander out to the waterhole and watch the animals all day long; I could set up my tripod and attempt to take pictures under the low, low, yellow light that was cast over the scene after dark; or I could lay in my tent at night and listen to the jackals fighting over the jerky someone had left in the next tent, with the roar of lions in the distance.
Never mind “Out of Africa”; I was finally in it!
Waterbuck – Kobus Ellipsiprymnus If you build a waterhole, the animals will come … especially if you are in a game reserve.
Waterbuck – Kobus Ellipsiprymnus
Rock Hyrax – Procavia Capensis Many of the animals are a delightful surprise: hyraxes are a primitive mammal with characteristics in common with elephants, manatees and dugongs.
Rock Hyrax – Procavia Capensis They are like irresistible teddies with grins.
Pririt Batis – Batis Pririt
Hyena in the Sunrise An early morning ride in the truck gives us unique views over the veld: the hyenas are up early.
Hyena (Hyaenidae) on the Veld
Etosha Pan In the language of the Ovambo people, Etosha means ‘great white place’; the Etosha Pan, which covers approximately 4,800 square kilometres, is the largest salt pan in Africa.
Gemsbok (Oryx Gazella) The large oryx are a beautiful animal – and a popular menu item in Namibia where “vegetarian” is a foreign concept.
White Rhino (Ceratotherium Simum) Our reward for getting up early is a white or square-lipped rhinoceros – with a couple of giraffe on the horizon for good measure! The largest of the five rhino species, the white rhino has been brought back from the very brink of extinction, but is still considered threatened.
White Rhino (Ceratotherium Simum) The massive beast doesn’t tolerate our presence long before shuffling away at surprising speed.
Kori Bustard (Ardeotis Kori) I couldn’t help but think of “All Creatures Great and Small” as I watched the small birds and huge mammals that co-exist on the savanna. The kori bustard is the largest flying bird native to Africa.
Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) While the fat-bodied guinea fowl can fly, they are more likely to run around at ground level.
Gemsbok (Oryx Gazella)
Oryx on the Run
Springing Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) I never tired of watching the dainty-looking springbok hop and run. Protected in Etosha National Park, in nearby game parks, springbok are raised for their popular meat.
Two Gnus Not the most elegant of antelopes, the large wildebeests tended to cluster near the waterholes. I grew up listening to Flanders and Swann’s songs about animals, including: “I’m a Gnu”. Every time I saw these creatures, I’d end up singing: “I’m a g-nu, spelled g-n-u… You really ought to k-now w-ho’s w-ho!”
Zebra In distinct contrast with the gnus, the zebras are quite beautiful.
Laughing Doves
Black Backed Jackal (Canis Mesomelas) In the evening, as the light and temperature drop, the jackals come out to the King Nehale Waterhole on the eastern side of Etosha National Park.
Black Backed Jackal (Canis Mesomelas) I love how the angled evening light catches their fur!
Giraffe at the Waterhole After dark, the animals come out: …
Giraffes at the Waterhole … singly, and in pairs.
White Rhinos at the Waterhole The rhinoceroses are a treat; an added layer of hush falls over the animal-watchers around the waterhole when they come out.
White Rhinos at the Waterhole
Oryx and Rhino It is fascinating watching all the animals take their turns.
And then, there were the elephants!
They stand alone, so I’ll save them for another day.
[…] I spent hours and hours, across four days, just sitting there, on a bench behind the fence, with my camera on a tripod and the remote in my hand. The air was soporific, buzzing with heat and insect noise, tranquillising me into a dreamlike state as I watched the animals come and go (see: A Day at the Waterhole; Birds and Beasts on the Veld). […]ReplyCancel
“Gado Gado” or Jukut Santok Gado gado means, quite literally, “mix mix”. Gado gado is a mixed vegetable salad combined with a spicy, flavoursome peanut sauce, and is an Indonesian favourite popular in Bali.
One of the many joys of travel is the food. I love food!
I also love markets, and the insight they give into the everyday lives of the local people.
Combine those two components: food and markets, and I am in my element! So, I was very excited to read that the special package deal I’d organised at a resort at Sanur Beach, Bali, included a trip to the market and a cooking class.
My husband and I got up early to meet the chef at the appointed time of 6:30 am and to pick out a bicycle in order to ride the 3.5 kilometres to Pasar Tradisional Desa Sanur, the Sindhu Traditional Market – the principal fresh-food market in the Sanur Village area.
I have never seen a market so clean!
It turns out that this cleanliness is no accident. First opened in 1972, Sindhu Market was originally more ‘traditional’, that is, it was dark and dirty, with piles of refuse and puddles of water under-foot – especially during the rainy season. Because the market is in a tourism area, the Sanur community and the local government decided, in 2009, to renovate the market and promote it as a tourist destination.
Today, the market is beautifully clean, well lit, and orderly. It still services the local community, but it also attracts visitors and their tourist dollars.
After seeing where the ingredients come from, we got to watch them being combined into gado gado and satay lilit.
Join me on a culinary adventure!
Following the Chef to Market It’s still pretty quiet on the Sanur Beach roads as we follow the chef to the local morning market.
Fish Sales – Sindhu Traditional Market I spend a lot of time in markets when I’m travelling; this was easily the cleanest and most orderly one I’ve been in. It turns out that that is no accident: in 2009, the Sanur community came together to revitalize the market, renovating the stalls, expanding the aisles, conducting repairs on the ceiling and drainage, before covering the floors and counters with easy-clean white ceramic tiles.
Chef Widastra Our chef and guide points out some of the herbs and spices commonly used in Balinese cooking, although he confesses that the food that is served at the resort where we are staying comes from a different supplier.
Shopkeeper While this is a “traditional” market, many of its customers are tourists, and the shopkeepers are friendly and welcoming.
Market Courtyard
Butterfly Sewing Machine
Making Offerings Balinese Hindu practices are a central part of everyday life; …
Focus on the Working Hands … there are people making offering trays from banana leaf everywhere.
Placing the Offerings Offerings are bought (or homemade) for placing in front of houses and buildings; on ancestor- or house-shrines; at shrines in temples; and in shops and markets.
Fresh Greenery One of the beauties of the tropics is the fresh food …
Flowers … and fresh flowers at every turn.
Needle-Nosed Fish
Parrotfishes
Parrotfishes
Dishing up Meals You are never far from fresh, tasty food in Bali (or anywhere else in Southeast Asia for that matter!)
Egg Lady
Taro, Turmeric, Galangal, and Ginger Balinese food relies on a complex spice and herb mix, including coriander, turmeric, galangal, ginger, chili, nutmeg, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. The different rhizomes and root vegetables all look much the same to me.
Sindhu Traditional Market We take a last look of the market before we leave to cycle back to the resort to have breakfast ahead of attending a cooking class which will show us to how all the ingredients go together.
Ingredients in the Demonstration Kitchen The ingredients make a colourful display in the demonstration kitchen, where we meet with Chef Dewa who will walk us through the day’s Balinese menu.
Ingredients for Base Be Pasih The ingredients for the Base Be Pasih – the Balinese Spice Paste for Seafood – are lined up, fresh and colourful.
Making Satay Lilit Chef Dewa shows us how seasoned minced snapper is attached to skewers of balsa or lemongrass, …
Making Satay Lilit … continuing until the skewers are ready for grilling.
Making Peanut Sauce While the fish satay skewers are cooking, Chef Dewa grinds peanuts in a large stone mortar, seasoning with palm sugar, chili, galangal, fried garlic, kaffir lime, and salt before adding water …
Gado Gado or Jukut Santok … and mixing in the freshly cooked vegetables, to beforemake the gado gado that I love.
And then we got to eat it all. It doesn’t get better than that!
Waterfalls on the Jenolan River The Jenolan Caves area is as interesting above-ground as it is below.
I lived within easy reach of Australia’s Blue Mountains for many years, and while I’d take visitors up there regularly for day-trips and hikes, I guess I rather took them for granted. I knew some of the stories of the hardships the early explorers (Blaxland, Wentworth, Lawson, and their unnamed servants) faced trying to find a path through the rugged terrain that seems to extend forever (1813), but the current road is a vast improvement over the one forged a year later (1814) by William Cox.
Just west of the Blue Mountains – but still within the Greater Blue Mountains UNESCO Area, there is a honeycomb of limestone caves considered by many to be one of the world’s most spectacular cave formations. Created about 340 million years ago, the complex is certainly the oldest known and dated open cave system in the world. The network of caverns, set aside asthe Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve, is still being explored, with more than 40 kilometres (25 mi) of multi-level passages identified.
For thousands of years, the waters in some of the caves were used by local indigenous peoples for their healing powers. The first Europeans known to visit and explore the caves were brothers Charles and James Whalan around 1838, and visitors have toured the caves from the 1840s. Today, eleven of the cave systems are open to the public, under the guidance and management of the Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust and the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service.
I first visited Jenolan Caves back in the early 1980s. Last year, while my husband and I were making plans for a road-trip up-country, Jenolan Caves House advertised some special over-night deals.
The opportunity to go back was too good to pass up!
Jenolan Cave House Built in 1896, Jenolan Caves House was added to the NSW State Heritage Register in 2004. The rooms have been renovated to include en-suites and modern bedding, but otherwise are little changed from earlier days. Dinner in Chisolm’s Restaurant – in what used to be the Grand Dining Room – overlooking the blue-green mountainside, is a real treat.
Pink-Purple Wildflowers
De Burgh’s Bridge Entry to the Grand Arch and Caves House is over an old stone bridge, called Limestone Bridge or De Burgh’s Bridge, built in 1895.
Cave Guide The light disappears under the Grand Arch where we meet our Cave Guide. She had led the Imperial Cave Tour many times before, and was extremely knowledgable. But, she was as excited as if it was her first time and her enthusiasm was infectious.
Entrance to the Imperial Cave The easiest cave for visitors because it has the fewest steps, Imperial Cave was first seen by Europeans in 1879.
Jenolan’s Underground River Down a long spiral staircase in Imperial Cave, we come to an underground river so clear that we can see the limestone-coated rocks on the bottom.
Ceiling in the Imperial The Imperial Cave tour spends about an hour wandering through the 1070 metres of tunnels and caverns.
Stalactites, Stalagmites, and Columns The Imperial Cave features the usual beautiful speleothems(crystallised structures made from mineral deposits); …
Waves of Crystal … these deposits are built on a basis of limestone embedded with ancient marine fossils. More recently, bones of a Tasmanian devil – long extinct on the Australian mainland – and a wallaby have also been found.
Delicate Stalactites The speleothems are still growing – albeit ever so slowly.
Curtains and Shawls
Rain on De Burgh’s Bridge When we came out of the Imperial Cave, the rains had set in.
Rain on Cave House We called it a day, made a dash for Caves House, and dressed for dinner.
Purple Wildflowers
Caves House The next day dawned bright and clear. We walked up the hill to the Binoomea Cut,…
Guide at the Binoomea Cut … the man-made tunnel entrance leading into the Temple of Baal Cave.
Crystal Stalactites The two large chambers that make up the Temple of Baal Cave are known for their beauty.
Angel’s Wing in the Temple of Baal The 9-metre formation known as the Angel’s Wing is one of the largest cave shawls in the world.
Delicate Flowstones The Temple of Baal was named by early cave explorers after the biblical story of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal.
The Light Behind
Curtains in the Temple of Baal
Rivers of Crystal in the Temple of Baal
Jenolan River Walk We had just enough time after our cave tour to complete the Jenolan River Walk – a 3 km trip, out and back.
Water Dragon Plenty of little water dragons …
Skink on the Path … and skinks were out enjoying the beautiful sunny day.
Tree Fern on Blue Lake The Jenolan River Walk starts out alongside the beautiful aqua-marine Blue Lake.
Wier on Blue Lake Blue Lake is man-made; the water from the weir, built in 1908, generated electricity to light the caves and Cave House.
Rock Orchid – Dendrobium Speciosum
Waterfall on the Jenolan River
Leaves in the Light
Maidenhair Fern – Adiantum Aethiopicum I’m always amazed when plants I used to coax along in my apartment thrive in the wild!
Red Belly Black Snake – Pseudechis Porphyriacus In the undergrowth below us – well out of harm’s way – a red-bellied black snake suns itself.
Suspension Bridge The path, while short, has plenty of interest and variety.
Blueberry Flax-Lilies – Dianella Revoluta
Waterfalls on the Jenolan River The track ends at a picnic area next to the old Jenolan Caves Hydro Electric plant, and some very pretty waterfalls.
Back at Blue Lake We retrace our steps …
Crimson Rosella – Platycercus Elegans … and share our lunch at the coffee-shop with a cheeky rosella before driving back over De Burgh’s Bridge towards home. (iPhone6)
We could have easily spent a lot more time there – there were many more caves we could have explored, and more walks we could have taken…
I hope it’s not another thirty years before I get back!
I love your post, especially the images. I always love cave images that contain people, to show the scale of the caverns. Kacy and Stu will be very pleased to see the nice pics of themselves!ReplyCancel
Thanks so much, Sidran! I’m so glad to have your visit. ?ReplyCancel
Tricia Bates -October 29, 2017 - 7:04 am
I really enjoyed that Ursula, I wasn’t able to go on any cave tours but your Photos almost made it seem like I had. We spent part of our honeymoon at Jenolan and 35 years later took our kids, their partners and our granddaughters back to enjoy it all again.ReplyCancel
Hi Tricia,
I’m glad you enjoyed the blog – and your stay at Caves House. It really is a special place, isn’t it?
It might be a big country, but it is a Small World!! Fancy running into you and your family in the Blue Mountains! Always good to see you.:DReplyCancel
Great White Lake Chunks of volcanic rock on the foreshore of Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur pay homage to the nearby now-extinct Khorgo Volcano.
Once upon a time, a giant took a large rock and threw it away. The rock made a great hole where it landed. When the giant looked around, he saw a white surface, and he exclaimed: “Look, a white lake!” This exclamation is quite literally the meaning of the Mongolian name for Great White Lake: Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur.
The real story behind the formation of this beautiful fresh-water lake in the Khangai Mountains in central Mongolia is not so very different from the legend: the spewing of lava from the nearby Khorgo Volcano dammed up an old river. The lake remains frozen much of the year – hence the ‘white’ part of its name.
The water was not frozen when I was there last September with a group of photographic enthusiasts organised by Within the Frame and local guides G and Segi. We were staying in the ger camp at the edge of the lake, and although the freeze had not set in, it was truly cold in the gers unless the wood was well lit; I was extremely glad of the hot water bottles photographer Jeffrey Chapman had given us!
After the long hours in the vehicle from Kharkhorin (see: From Kharkhorin to Tariat), I was happy to explore the soggy lake foreshore upon our arrival late in the afternoon, and again the next morning before breakfast – and even gladder when we got to hike up the side of the volcano!
Both are considered important scenic attractions in the Khorgo-Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park, which in turn is the ‘highlight’ of Arkhangai Province, just west of Mongolia’s centreon the northern slopes of the Khangai Mountains.
View from the UAZ I’m not sure that you’d call it a ‘road’: it was a very rough track our Russian UAZ (Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod) four-wheel drive vehicles navigated to find Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur. (iPhone6)
View from the Truck 0ver Great White Lake Somehow, the drivers found the path through, and the lake and the ger camp came into sight.
Great White Lake – Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur The lake is 20 km long, with a sweeping foreshore.
Waters and Weed of Great White Lake Nestled in the Khangai Mountains, the lake sits at 2060 metres above sea level. The waters are said to be exceptionally pure, and it is a popular camping and fishing spot.
Cairns on Great White Lake A spit jutting into Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur is dotted with cairns of black volcanic rock; the foreshore was too soggy for me to get a closer look.
Mushrooms in the Cow Pats Mushrooms and other fungus revel in the lake’s boggy ground.
Terkhiin Tsagaan – Цагааннуур Camp This is a busy complex in summer; but of course, when I visited – so close to winter – there were very few tourists.
Restaurant and Mini-Market A simple wooden building houses a shop and a restaurant. (iPhone6)
Sunset We have brought our own cook with us, so even though the season is over, we can enjoy dinner as the sun goes down over the lake. (iPhone6)
Foreshore – Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur The next morning, I picked my way carefully across the driest bits of land I could find.
Cairn The cairns of rough lava-rock have an offering and a prayer inside.
UAZ and Guide on the Mountainside After breakfast, we set off for the volcano. Our guide G, wearing his traditional Mongol deel, races back to meet our UAZ. The ‘road’ is more like a series of wandering tracks that meander across the hillside and head nowhere in particular. (iPhone6)
Ovoo or Obo An ovoo or “magnificent bundle” is a sacred pile of rocks or wood. Intrinsic to Mongolian folk religion or shamanism (also called Tengerism), the piles are homes for the local master spirits. Before continuing up the hill, we conformed to local custom and circled the ovoo three times in a clockwise direction.
Walkers on Khorgo Volcano The walk up to the crater’s edge is short, and most of the path is quite gentle.
View over the Taryatu-Chulutu Volcanic Field It’s a rugged landscape, with its volcanic rock, very little soil, and the needles of the scattering of larch trees turned yellow by the crisp autumn weather
Red Bush on Khorgo Khorgo Crater reaches only 2240 metres above sea level at its highest point, but the extremes of temperature have led to some hardy shrubs.
Basalt Rocks on Khorgo Volcano
Inside the Khorgo Cone The Khorgo crater is quite small. The last active volcano in Mongolia, Khorgo’s final eruption was some 8000 years ago.
Walking down the Khorgo Volcano
Signpost on Khorgo Volcano The artist’s impression of the scene in front of us gives some indication of the colours the volcano might wear in summer.
It was a great way to get the circulation moving a little before we returned to our UAZs and continued the long, bumpy drive west.
[…] Uul, a volcano in the Tariat district in the mid-western Arkhangai Province (see: Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur), then pointed the trucks west through the steppes and forest-steppes of […]ReplyCancel
Melk Abbey from Below The charming Austrian town of Melk is under the watch of the 11th-century BenedictineMelk Abbey, which, together with its 18th-century Baroque abbey church, sits on a rocky promontory overlooking the Danube.
It was Day Five of our canal-boat cruise down the Danube River:
Early in the morning, our boat docked in the tiny city of Melk (population: 5,257) in Austria.
Melk is is best known for it’s magnificent Benedictine abbey, first established in 1089 when Leopold II, Margrave of Austria, gave one of his castles to a group of Benedictine monks. Newer buildings on the site were built between 1702 and 1736 following Baroque designs by Austrian stonemason and architect, Jakob Prandtauer. The most famous monastery in Austria, Melk Abbey is known for its frescos and the countless medieval manuscripts in its library.
After a second cup of wonderful coffee with Austrian croissants – yes, croissants originated in Austria. The story is that 300 years ago, at the time of an Austrian win in ongoing battles with the Ottoman Turks, a French chef in the employ of the Austrian Emperor made flaky breakfast bread-rolls in the crescent shape seen on the Turkish flag so that all Austrians could ‘eat their enemies for breakfast!’
Anyway, after that breakfast of coffee and subversive croissants, we were bussed up the steep cliffside for a tour of the ornately decorated 900 year-old abbey.
Melk Abbey As we leave our shuttle bus, the Melk Abbey grounds come into view: attractive, tidy, and surrounded by green. (iPhone6)
Entrance Gate – Melk Abbey The arched gateway into the grounds bear the coat of arms of Melk Abbey: St.Peter’s crossed keys.
Main Entrance to Melk Abbey The date of completion (MDCCXVIII or 1718) is marked over the arched entrance to the inner courtyard.
Prelate’s Courtyard A fountain takes pride of place in the inner courtyard, the Prelate’s Courtyard.
Saints on the Abbey Roof
Local Guide Stephen A local guide gives us a run-down on the building, and prepares to lead us through the monastery.
Stairwell Inside Melk Abbey
The Emperor’s Corridor There are endless corridors in Melk Abbey. The 196-meter-long Emperor’s Corridor (Kaisergang) is lined with paintings of Austrian monarchs.
Historical Displays The Imperial Rooms (Kaiserzimmer) are now home to the abbey’s museum. The blue room houses precious manuscripts and artworks symbolic of a Benedictine monk’s task to ‘Höre’, the German word for ‘Listen’.
Benedictine Treasures The green room in the abbey’s museum houses ecclesiastic treasures.
Admiring the Golden Cross
Treasures of Melk Abbey Called by one blogger a ‘House of Mirrors’, the Mirror Room in the museum …
Treasures of Melk Abbey … contains chalices and eucharists of great antiquity and value.
Golden Mitre – Melk Abbey
Ancient Song Sheet Melk Library is renowned for its extensive collection of religious manuscripts and music.
Spiral Stairwell The Baroque architecture leads to surprises at every turn.
Lock and Key A single key, with very fine grooves made with a jewler’s saw, fits into the lock of this 16th-century steel strongbox; the wards then clang and bang as the whole mechanism tumbles into place.
Ceiling Fresco – Marble Hall The Marble Hall once served as a formal dining room. The ceiling fresco, painted in 1731 by Paul Troger, shows the Greek goddess Pallas Athena on a chariot drawn by lions. The surrounding trompe l’oeil painting by Gaetano Fant makes the flat ceiling look as if it rises up much higher than it does.
View over Melk from the Abbey
Inside Melk Abbey Church The pinnacle of Melk Abbey is the Stiftskirche (Abbey Church). In true High Baroque style, the church is ornately decorated in marble and gold.
Melk Abbey Church Organ
Down to Melk It’s a short, easy walk down from the abbey …
Melk Town Centre … into the charming little city of Melk.
Quirky Shops I was really glad we had left enough time to browse the shops properly! Melk is in an apricot-growing area, and their apricot liqueur is wonderful; we stocked up on apricot soap, chocolate, and miniature liqueurs as souvenirs and stocking-stuffers.
Melk Abbey from the Town The town is layered with history: the Abbey, where Napoleon stayed during the wars, watches over us, and just down the river at Willendorf, the 30,000-year-old fertility symbol, the Venus of Willendorf – the oldest-known piece of European art – was found.
Flowers on the Walk We walk back to our boat on the Danube River through the wildflowers along the pathway with our bags full of shopping.
That’s how I like my history:
Built into the streets, buildings, and artefacts; and sandwiched between breakfast coffee and croissants and afternoon apricot chocolate and liqueur!
The local guide, the old bearded dude, that’s me 🙂
Finally after ten years of doin’ that job, I found myself posted on the net, thanks so much!
I hope you enjoyed your visit and my performance as well 😉
Salute from Austria,
StephanReplyCancel
- Performing the Ganga Aarti from Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi
- Buddha Head from Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar
- Harry Clarke Window from Dingle, Ireland
- Novice Monk Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, Myanmar
Packets of 10 for $AU50.
Or - pick any photo from my Flickr or Wanders blog photos.
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They stand alone, so I’ll save them for another day.
[…] I spent hours and hours, across four days, just sitting there, on a bench behind the fence, with my camera on a tripod and the remote in my hand. The air was soporific, buzzing with heat and insect noise, tranquillising me into a dreamlike state as I watched the animals come and go (see: A Day at the Waterhole; Birds and Beasts on the Veld). […]