A walk in the dark
After a long day of First Aid (for Willem) and handover notes and administration (for Matthieu and me) we decide to go on a drive towards Riguiek, the area where we will set up Camp Nomade next month. The last bit of road is not open yet, but we get close.
On the way back we take a different road. We stop at a muddy patch of about 10m in a river bed. The tracks are deep and there is water in all of them. We can easily take the road we came, but the boys inspect the crossing. It doesn’t look that bad, but there are clear signs of others that have been stuck here. We decide against it.
Willem and Matthieu inspecting the crossing
‘We have no high-lift jack, no shovel and the tyres of this car are weathered to the canvas...’.
‘And we don’t have a radio to call for help...’
‘The nearest camp is a 5 or 6 kilometre walk’.
‘Let’s give it one try.’
Truth is, you only get one try. Ten seconds later we are bogged down, four sticky muddy wheels spinning. We do one attempt at finding wood and sticking it under the tyres for grip, but there is none.
Bogged down.
We decide to start walking, to get as much out of the last bit of daylight. The moon is near full and will provide us with some light. This is lion country, and they are the least of our worries. The elephant herd of 400 is not in this area at the moment, but there are lone bulls... And the buffalos I’ve seen in my 4 days here are brutes and I don’t like them. They’ll snooze under a bush and if you don’t see them in time, you’ll startle them and they’ll come at you. Outcomes of those collisions are hardly ever in the human’s favour.
We walk the sandy road almost completely silent, I meditatively follow the bouncing lightbeams of the torches. We cross a few open spaces, great for visibility but useless for cover - if needed. Other parts have high grass and shrub right next to the road. A watering place right next to the road is the high point of our adrenaline.
It’s funny how much you appreciate life when you’re seconds away from losing it.
That night, unsurprisingly, the beer tastes extra good.
Love,
Iris
