AFRICA ON FOOT MAY 2018

[COSMIC RHINO]

my report continues  after a bit of a break 

 

on  the  morning hikes it is not necessary  to take  a whole lot of jackets  , I take only 1  as you warm up as you  walk

 

I take  a small backpack  to put it in when  I take it of

 

the  hikes are a wonderful way to connect to the  land 

[COSMIC RHINO]

the camp  is of grid , the laundry service  is do it yourself

 

I come with laundry soap and coat hangers  which  I put in a tree branch , things easily dry  with the sun and wind 

 

it was  a bit cooler on my first day  so  I put my shirt out for a few hours on day 2 to  get it fully dry

 

one of the guides reminds me to leave nothing out overnight as hyneas  may decide to eat it

 

well I check things  and bring them in as soon as they are dry

[COSMIC RHINO]

it was noticeably  cooler in the area than during my 2017 visit  which was almost  at the same  time

 

that being said  it was not that cool , on  the last  night  just to test  things  I slept  most of the night  on top of the bed just in a shirt  and  boxer  shorts 

 

I was not covered  by the  sheet  but still  felt  comfortable

[COSMIC RHINO]

seeing animals in fading light is wonderful 

 

on one drive  I had  an unfortunate  experience  , one  of my eyes  was starting to stream  a discharge  and I could  not see out of it properly 

 

was it dust ,sunscreen, who knows  but  not the best thing to happen 

 

well I tried  just water , which did not work

 

I even tried  some melted  cooler  box water, which did not work either , thinking perhaps  I need more water 

 

later the manager  advised  me  against this , the cooler  box  has  years  of residual  diluted  drinks beer, wine, soda ,G and T etc , best to avoid

 

the camp did  not have  eyedrops , so  I made  up some saline  solution  which  worked  quickly to  bring my eye back to usual  clear  condition  

 

after this  I kept  a small container  of saline  in my camera  bag , a pharmacist  has since advised me to change it daily

Edited August 26, 2018 by COSMIC RHINO

[COSMIC RHINO]

one of the other  guests  had a scratch on her hand which was not recovering  with the antiseptic  cream she was using 

 

on a walk  the guide got her to  suck on some sickle bush leaves  ,then rub it on the scratch , things started to improve

 

this is something you should not try  alone for yourself , you must get the right plant, get it wrong and you will get sick

 

then over breakfast  I offered her some 40% concentrated ecalayptus  oil on a cotton ball , things got much better

 

in Australia  it is promoted for topical treatment of scratches and abbrasions

[COSMIC RHINO]

AOF   is  a  consistently  great place to go to  

 

all low key, comfortable with a  great  bush  feel  and good  wildlife sightings