I promised in my last post I would post some photos; here is the first one, just a taster, a sampler. The picture was taken in the Kruger Park in mid-December, near the Kruger Gate; Rob and I were on a three day tour – picked up at the door, in Johannesburg, transferred on arrival onto a SANParks lorry for an evening game drive, and then game drives the following morning and afternoon and so on until we left, pretty much sated, for the drive back to the city.

We saw quite a lot, actually – leopard on two occasions, the same pride of juvenile lions twice, more elephant than we could count, and of course kudu, bushbuck,  impala, and all sorts of other stuff.

The tour was pretty well organised, overall, although the guides taking us on the drive were not up to SANPark standards – a little gauche, show-offy (there were lots of young women on the tour) – and the food was pretty horrible. But we were in the park, which was the main thing, and it was kind of fun to be in a group, and we met some interesting people, and were out in the bush, under open skies, and it was all pretty fabulous, actually, despite the shortcomings.

How could you not love being home, in the wild, shaking off work and the city? And how could you not be thrilled, by something as simple – and magnificent – as a leopard up a tree?