My Africa

I just so love being in the bush. I love the solitude, the early morning game drives and the afternoon sleeps! What I don't like is the trek to get there, the shopping for the food you have to cart there (because you cant just pop down to the grocery store) and the feeding of the animals (yip, the hyena's in particular) whilst you are having a braai. Of course, it's clearly marked everywhere that you shouldn't feed any animal, but people still go ahead and do it. Yip...it's a pet peeve of mine..... I guess there is the view that the "tourists" get to see a hyena up close, but what part of "this is a wild animal and it will eat you if you're not careful" don't you understand??? 

I am unashamedly a purist when it comes to animals. Especially wild one's. I don't like visiting a zoo. Perhaps it's me seeing things, but the lions and monkeys just look so sad to me caged in their pens. I guess I am also incredibly lucky as I was born and bred in Africa and had parents that took my sister and I to most parts of South Africa before I turned 18. So..I got to see lots and lots of animals. I guess if you live in NYC or London, this would not be the case so a Zoo would be a treat. I just love seeing animals in their natural habitat because it's quiet and so very real. Overall, I guess I feel most South African when I am in the bush.

All photographs taken by myself.

Why today?

A little while ago I was keeping friends and family in the loop via a group email when a friend suggested to me that I blog as she so enjoyed reading my news. It's taken me a while but here I am...finally venturing out into the world of blogging! Not that I really have much to write about or that anyone out there in cyber space would really be interested. But here goes nothing.....

I have never been much of a writer. In saying that, I love to read and read anything I can lay my hands on. If I don't like what I'm reading, I close the book and promptly move onto the next book. I love and admire the ability of writers that make me laugh, cry and giggle while I am usually ensconced in my own cuddly bed. Books are pure escape for me. A safe haven of other peoples lives and experiences. 

I have always had an innate fear of putting all my thoughts on paper because it's so "out there". There is something quite scary about putting all your intimate feelings about things onto paper (or in this instance onto the computer). I guess that's because sometimes I just don't want to share all the dirty laundry that goes on in my head with anyone except myself. 

So today is quite a day. I have overcome a major hurdle in my head and started to write. I know I can. I've always known that. I just needed a little push which mainly came out of boredom but also because I am on a desperate quest to discover what I am truly passionate about in life so that I can make it into some kind of career and hopefully earn some money. How I got to this point is for another day, but today is the first day of the rest of my life!