Sitting here in the lounge at the lodge drinking tea reminds you of the colonial days.  I almost feel as if I'm one of those adventurous British campaigners who travelled into the heart of Africa in their ox-wagons, but maybe without their courage and tenacity.  I mean what a schlep aren't we lucky that most of these camps are already set up so we don't still need to bring all the equipment with us.  Their tent was probably not that dissimilar to mine and looking at the old pictures they took all sorts with them like writing desks and four poster beds and trunks of clothes; as one of those Victorian outfits would probably fill your back pack now.  That's what really gets me is their clothing.  I'm wearing a pair of shorts and a vest each day and I know it's not a nice topic but I'm sweating all day long.  I cant even imagine how they got through the day in this heat wearing full skirts (with petticoats) and long sleeve shirt and socks and boots.  I bet they actually wore tights as well, insane!!  Let us say I am extremely thankful for their persistance and dedication, which led to the disovery of the interior of Africa and which developed into the safari industry as it is today.

I've been on a few safaris around Africa but they were your usual drive through the gates and when you spot an animal if you were to look the other way there would be a few more vehicles behind you also watching the same animal.  They're still a great experience as you get to see plenty of animals but it does feel a bit like you're just driving round a big Longleet. 

Here it is different, as I said before, our flight from Pemba to Lugenda was pure bush the whole way.  Lugenda is situated in the Niassa Reserve which is pretty much as far North as you can get in Mozambique, the Reserve borders on Tanzania.  It covers 42 000 square kilometers and is twice the size of Kruger National Park, in South Africa.  Because of the late war in Mozambique, the safari industry is fairly new here but with careful conservation the animals are slowly and surely coming back to the area.  But the animals here aren't used to people and cruisers driving round so they're very skittish.  Not like Hluhluwe, in Zululand where the animals actually look like they are posing for your camera.

This is one of the reasons why I'm a bit scared about being here, these animals are completely wild.  Coupled with the fact that they have a big problem with man-eating lions in the area.  No it maybe wasn't a good idea to watch "Ghost in the Darkness" before we came out but I did.  Even though it is a ridiculously cheesey movie it still makes me very nervous when I walk back to my tent at night.