Where I live, cattle and goats roam freely, often presenting hazards as the
Magoebaskloof, Limpopo, South Africa. At a conference, this monkey and his friends teamed up to steal
our sandwiches during tea time outside the conference hall.
taxis race down the rocky mountain roads. It is not unusual to see mule-drawn carts transporting
the locals to their nearby farms. I always encounter monkeys and baboons during my voyages
through the Venda mountains to my nearby town. When staying at nearby camps, it is an
absolute requirement to keep the windows locked and the food stored away to prevent being
ransacked by hungry monkeys and sneaky honey badgers!
I have been lucky enough to spend a great deal of time roaming with the
Blyde River Canyon Lodge, Mpumalanga, South Africa
wild things! I recently stayed at Blyde River Canyon Lodge, at the world’s third largest canyon. It
is renowned as one of the most stunning and spiritual places on the planet. A local shaman says
one of the nearby mountains of the Drakensberg Mountain Range is where God lived when he
created the world. The energy of the place is electrifying, and after three days there I felt a sense
of ethereal connectedness that I haven’t yet been able to describe in words. Each morning, I
awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed, and as I drew open my curtains and exited my room, I was
greeted by wild zebra. Near Blyde River Canyon is the land of Timbavati, which is home to the
mysterious white lion, which only appeared in nature in 1970! There is a movement to save the
white lions as they have become nearly extinct since their discovery just over 40 years ago. Their
existence is still a perplexing mystery to nature experts worldwide.