It was an early start this morning. Not due to any particular discipline or motivation to get up on my part but mainly because our two trainee black mafia spent the night ensuring we didn’t get a wink of sleep. My main recollection as I stuck my head under the pillow at 2.30am and prayed to whichever god was listening at that unearthly hour was of Lucy saying over and over again “get the f**k off me’. She was speaking (I hope) to Sarafina who seemed to have taken an overload of ecstacy and thought she was all-nighting at some baby baboon rave. Whatever the case, she had no intention of sleeping and made sure that nobody else did either.
It’s a beautiful morning though (as it has been everyday) and still I appreciate sitting in the Lappa in the sunshine eating my rice krispies and having a cup of bush tea. I wandered over first thing to see Bloomie and Mowgli in their cage to share the apple I’d saved from yesterday. I have a bit of a soft spot for Mowgli even though he can be a bit wild sometimes and so when I chat to him I know to keep just far enough away from the cage not to get grabbed. Baboons are much smaller than us but much, much stronger and faster and I’ve witnessed the results of their attacks on other volunteers and it’s not very pretty. So far I’ve managed to avoid any injury (not counting Turkey and Alfred) and I’d like it to remain that way.
I’m ready for a change of scenery. I am getting quite bored on the farm with the repetitious tasks and activities and I’m glad I didn’t apply for the wildlife side though perhaps the research side might have been interesting to do for a week or so. I’ve started to think about my week in Swakopmund and what I might do there. Swakop is the activity mecca of Namibia and my choices are relatively extensive. I’ve made a list in my head at quieter moments and it includes so far; hiring a light aircraft and flying up the Skelton Coast, doing a skydive, sandboarding and taking a short riding safari. Oh, yes, and I need to finish my book which was the whole reason for staying out for an extra week. I found myself entertaining thoughts of coming home early last night as I lay in the darkness with Sarafina’s full and oderous nappy on my head while she stuck her fingers up my nose. But in the warm sunshine this morning those thoughts seem to have dispelled and when I get back later I will pack my bag and look forward to the new part of the adventure in Epikuro.