Bless the rains down in Africa... and my favourite thing ever.

Hello again!
It's got to be an uber fast post this time cause I'm off on evening drive (and possibly a wild dog darting!) in about 30 min... Normally I write during my day off since most people go out on trips or whatnot that I can't really afford so I don't have to compete with them for internet time. Well this time I went on a trip! YAY! Before I start with all that, I have to answer Laura's questions from my last post...

1) I'll be back the 21 June... although I really really really want to go travelling with some of my mates here for a week after the expedition is finished, I don't think it'll happen cause changing plane reservations is expensive. :p
2)So far I have eaten some ostrich, Kudu, and later this week we are having Nyala on the braai (fire pit). I could have eaten some croc but I could never eat them cause they are too cute. Also I have an awesome recepie for bobuti which I'll make for you all upon my return. :D Give Pooh my love and I'll see you both in a few weeks.

Ok, so rewind to last Wed...
It is the last day of the week (Thursdays are off days and Fridays start the next week) and has thus been dubbed "Party Night". This party night we were going to the Blyde Club which is an outdoor bar with a huge thatch roof over it and a pool... complete with a sound system, big screen tvs (which seems strange after not seeing tv for so long), and pool table. Awesome place.
Unfortunately Wednesdays I also am on Telemetry duty. Which means I get to stand on the back of the truck in the freezing cold weather trying to make myself as tall as possible, holding a metal antennae, in order to attempt to pick up some beeps from the animal's radio collars. As you can tell I'm not a fan of doing this but it's totally worth it when you drive up and see the lions with the cubs or the elephants at the water hole. So Wednesday was going on forever and we were out on Elephant Focus (watch Eles for 6 hr shifts and record their behavior) and couldn't find the Eles anywhere. AHH! For 20 hugangous animals, you think they would be a lot easier to find! Anyways, just as Lo (the staff member driving us and the camp director)pulled up to see two males fighting across the (dry) river it begins to rain. He calls into camp saying "It's raining, half of my right arm is getting wet! I'm coming back!" all the while I (and my fellow team members in the back of the truck) are getting soaked. He speeds down the dirt roads in order to get back to base faster but it only makes the rain hit us harder and my mates hide under the seats in a vain attempt to stay dry.
... I on the other hand find it utterly wonderful (if cold as all heck) that it is raining during the dry winter season and sing "Africa"in the back as we speed home. Hehehe. You can't be in Africa when it's raining and not think of that song... so even though I am getting sick now, it was totally worth it.
Party night was nice if uneventful. Some of the staff from a nearby reptile park (that we visited my first week) were there and so I talked with them most of the night and was content with rum and coke or waters while some of my fellows spent the night downing shots and spending more money then I would care to imagine. Meh, to each their own.
Thursday, Mark (I call him Shaggy cause there are three Marks here)and I were up early because we rented a huge van (10 seater!) and organized a group of people to go to Hazyview for some sight seeing and horseback riding!
Happy Happy Happy.
Only six of us went riding, the other four went to a nearby mall, and yet I find it obscenely funny that I was the unspoken leader of the group. Perhaps because I've been riding the most? Who knows, I just think it's funny when people turn to you to figure things out when you have just about the same idea of what is going on as they do. :p
Riding was lovely, mostly slow walk and trotting because there were people in the group that have never ridden becfore, and we went through farms and rivers (mostly dried up) and I even ate an orange right off the tree. The best was at the end when Kirsty and I stayed back and let the group get a few hundred meters in front of us... then we all out cantered up to them. ~Happiness~ :D I missed riding so much and was worried about falling off. I think a combo of my previous skill resurfacing and pride at not to be embarrassed in front of my mates held me in and I regained my seat in no time.
Hmm, I wonder if anyone wants to go riding next week?
Meh, if not then riding when I return... Pooh bear, I'm looking at you!
Ok, I'm off now for drive.
All my love from the bush,
Mia

ps- there are a few pics on facebook that I put up when I was in town so check those out if you can. xoxo