Bush Gangster

Every morning we wake up early, most days even before the crack of dawn has woken up, and start fumbling about still half asleep while we make coffee and pull on our boots. Now as you may have read in an earlier blog of mine, the Ganda has no windscreen, which means that while cruising through the Kalahari scrub one may catch a few insects between the teeth. It also means that every morning you receive the full force of the Kalahari 6am chill on your face which inevitably turns your nostrils into ice-cold panpipes and, on particularly chilly mornings, may lead to a brain freeze similar to that of gulping down an ice cold slushy-drink on a warm summer’s day.

Now how do I overcome this problem? Simple. I wear a scarf around my face to prevent such sub-arctic effects from totally destroying my composure as I drive past the good looking female rangers as they make their way to the lodges. However, picture the scene: a well-tanned 25 year old wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, scarf and uniform driving a beaten up Land Rover with no windscreen while he winds his way through the bush towards a bunch of meerkats. All I need is some heavy bling around my neck and a pit-bull in the back and hey presto! Instant bush gangster!!

Now I realise that this may not be the most fashionable bush-look that I could have chosen, however I feel that the age old Lawrence of Arabia costume really needed a make-over and I am proud to say that I do believe I have done just that! I have replaced the sword with a camera and the camel with the Ganda, and as I bumble through the Kalahari to complete “Mission Meerkat” I cannot help but smile at the fact that I am very tempted to shift this look to include a leather skull-cap, a white scarf and a pair of World War II fighter pilot goggles! That will give the rangers something to talk about!

I am beginning to worry about how much more my mind is going to wonder over the next few months.

Rob’s song for the day: Straighten Up And Fly Right – Nat King Cole

Keep in touch

Rob