GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!
Into the African night...
As light fades across the landscape, the sky transforms into
hues of orange, gold and yellow. It’s a beautiful moment ...
I cannot help but consider
the great words in the book of Genesis:
“God saw all that he
had made, and it was very good. And
there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day” (Gen 1v31)
There is something so deeply spiritual about taking time to
watch the sunset transform the African landscape. Being surrounded by all that is natural, offers a unique connection to our own purpose on this fragile planet. As the day transforms into night, our
thoughts change too. We are one with the
animals in this setting.
“And there was evening, and there was morning – the first
day.”
Our vehicle stops and we climb down from the vehicle. Our feet touch the ground.
It’s at this moment that we recognise that we
too are so vulnerable. In this setting
perhaps the playing fields are levelled. Suddenly everything in this grand
landscape becomes important; we become conscious of lurking predators and how
far we are willing to venture from our vehicle?
“…and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters …”
As the rangers unpack our drinks and the nibbles, the moment
also touches us in a deeply visceral manner – all our senses are heightened and
alert to our own instinct for survival:
our ears take in the buzz of cicada beetles, screeching
francolins, night jars, hippos. Not far
off impalas bark…there are ominous rustles in the thicket.
Our eyes take in the heavens – the emerging
darkness and first stars; the darkening sky, silhoettes and strange shapes.
Our senses heighten to the smell of the bush too;
the dust, the dung, the fragrances coming from the thicket. We feel the drop in temperature and zip up
our jackets. In this setting, the spiritual aspect of my life is deeply touched:
“Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky, and let them
serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years… (Gen 1v14)
..the lesser light to govern the sky”… (v16)
A beautiful peace descends as we huddle together. Assured,
we reach for our refreshments and take in all the beauty. One can’t help but share the thought:
”…and God saw that it was good”
---xXx---
My grateful thanks to the rangers, trackers, management and staff at
May you, too, be blessed abundantly in the week ahead.
With love
6 comments:
Unbelievably inspiring and remarkable. You are living in Heaven.
Thanks for sharing your amazing adventures.
How beautiful to watch the sun go all the way down! I don't often see that in the holler, what with the hills in the front and in the back. I was struck and STUCK on the last picture of the sunset. See the clouds at the bottom lined in gold/silver. I wonder if that's where the old saying comes from "every cloud has a silver lining.?"
Caryl, you have done a marvelous job and I thank you for taking me along on your trip. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
God's richest blessings to you my friend,,,from the holler to you
We sure do enjoy this. It feels like we are there
Benny & Lily
Love the video. For ten minutes I was there in the bush with you. And those lions are so tame, and have such expressive faces. Didn't the male look pleased with himself after his (very brief!) mating?
Cheers,
Gail.
Dear Gail (Bouncing Bertie) :)
I simply had to reply to your comment about the lions being seemingly 'tame'...
Don't be fooled! Lions are wild, opportunistic creatures and will take down anything in a split second. Indeed, I watched that particular female morph into a primed killing-machine while we were on that sighting, only to revert back to the lazy, lounging kitty when she'd assured herself that it wasn't worth the effort.
Lions have an uncanny ability to sum up a situation and instantly decide whether it is worth spending the energy on it.
The beauty about open, game-drive-vehicles in the bush is that the animals respond the the entire 'silhoette' of the vehicle and don't notice the people inside. Lions fall into this category too, thus making it possible to drive up really close to them and to observe them in their natural environment.
The danger comes in when people disturb the vehicle's silhoette by, for example, standing up, or waving their arms, or screaming, or putting their limbs out of the vehicle. Anything can happen in this scenario.
We must NEVER forget that these are WILD animals in their NATURAL environment where the game of 'survival of the fittest' is paramount. They will kill you instantly given half the opportunity.
Don't be fooled by them seemingly looking 'tame'. It is a very clever ruse!!!
Sending lotsaluv,
MAXMOM IN SOUTH AFRICA
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