Nomad issue #26

NOTES FROM THE BUSH
AND SO
IT BEGINS…
As we settle into the New Year, Samantha du Toit
wonders why we like to think of it as ‘new’. Out in
the bush, from the zebras on the plains to the hyenas
whooping near the tents, today is just another day.
The time has come to reset
the calendar, make some
resolutions for the next year
and take stock of 2019. It
seems we call it a ‘new’ year,
but this time, as we sipped tea
and watched the sunrise over
the unusually green, grassy
plains behind camp, I found
myself wondering why we like
to think of it as ‘new’. What is ‘new’ and how
does it apply to the things that surround us?
To much of the immediate world around
us, from the zebras on the plains to the
hyenas whooping near our tent, and the
Egyptian Goose who has recently appointed
himself our early morning wake-up call,
today is just another day. Yes, it might be a
warmer day or a cooler day, or a day where
food is plentiful, or indeed a day when it is
not, but ultimately it is just another day. And
to some things, like the thousands of different
types of caterpillars which have appeared
as a result of the rains, their lifetime is not
even close to a year, and a single day is a
significant portion of their lives.
When discussing this with the children
it gave me the opportunity to explore what
a year really is, and why it is the length
it is. Delving into the world of our solar
system for the first time since leaving school,
it was fun to share with the children the
story of our planet earth in relation to the
stars and planets they see in the sky every
night. At the moment, Venus shines brightly
down on us from the west as we sit by the
evening campfire. Their eyes grew wide with
amazement at the idea that our earth and
other planets orbit the sun, and how some
very clever humans a long time ago worked
out that it is possible to calculate the length
of these cycles, and that is how we have
arrived at the length of our year.
Despite all of this though, I have found
myself thinking about what is ‘new’ and
looking at the months ahead with fresh eyes.
To appreciate the cyclical nature of things
is reassuring, and to be able to press pause
every now and again to re-assess things is
refreshing. So what is new? Well, there is
new life everywhere thanks to the incredible
amount of rain we have experienced over
the past few months. Grass species not seen
in years have sprouted, and caterpillars in
shapes, colours and sizes that I have never
seen before are munching away on all the
bushes. We also invented a new solution to
our internet struggles – a phone ‘hotspot’ in
a plastic bottle which we hoist up the thorn
tree next to our office tent much like hoisting
a flag. It works surprisingly well for a lowtech
solution. And perhaps this will form
some of the resolutions for this year. Keep
everything as simple as possible, and keep
remembering that every day is a new day
but at the same time, it is just another day.
Samantha du Toit is a wildlife
conservationist, working with SORALO, a
Maasai land trust. She lives with her
husband, Johann, and their two children at
Shompole Wilderness, a tented camp in the
Shompole Conservancy.
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