COWBOYS AND INDIANS

After the course we moved into the bus and camped at Combrtum Park for a few days letting our brains readjust from overdrive to chill mode. We wondered what we’d do next, where we would find a job, got our CV’s typed up, made some enquiries and sat around the fire bursting with new knowledge and a beer or two to wash it down with. We weren’t allowed booze during the course so 2 beers and a whiskey had me thinking the world was my oyster and that I’d found God and my clitoris.

Man, life’s good but now what. It’s funny, I just can’t seem to shake the urge to want to plan ahead knowing from experience over and over since we left home that things inevitably don’t go the way you intended. One day when I’m big, I’ll learn to live for the moment and in fact I think when I can do that then I can honestly say I’ve reached the next level. At the moment my excuse is I’m a traveler who needs employment.

So anyway, there we were, qualified, grinning from ear to ear and unemployed. Our plan (there’s that word again) was to cruise down to Tzaneen, cos they’ve got lekker avos and pawpaws and nuts and greenery around there, park off for a bit while applying directly to all the game lodges in the Hoedspruit area for lodge management couple positions.

We’d spent a coupla days going in to Modimole, the local one horse town nearest Combretum Park and I just loved the vibe. It’s in the middle of a hunting farm area so you can either buy rifle bullets from Oom Piet in his PT shorts, or next door they’ll stuff your trophy zebra head to be mounted above the fireplace to peer at your visitors, or you can buy tyres for your landie. There are also a few Chinese and general dealer shops selling to the mostly black people in town and I loved the African feel to the place as everyone seemed in no hurry and many of the black women stroll along happily with an umbrella as part of their dress code. This whole umbrella thing is new to me since in Cape Town you’d lift off in the wind so mostly doekie and moisturizer is your protection against the Cape elements.

Our laptop is giving problems, all three ports are down so sorry can’t post pix which by the way are awesome but you’re just gonna have to imagine what the bushveld looks like. Impala carcasses hanging from trees for midnight munchies, leopards who prowl the empty camps at night, on foot, and in fast pursuit, these are the creatures of …..the night. Which by the way reminds me, so far the only thing to fear out here are scorpions hiding under every rock and thorns the length of your hand in every 2nd tree ready to poke your eye out if you’re not careful.

We popped in at the local bushpub, like any red blooded South African would, while waiting for the computer guy to call saying our laptop was fixed. That never happened but what did happen is we got offered a job. Turns out the owner of the bar has a game farm 50km away and was looking for a couple to manage it.

So we put our plans of going to Tzaneen on hold (should have known) and after a trip to the farm, we accepted the job, although I had my doubts about this guy. He is half American Indian, half Asian Indian is extremely arrogant, likes the sound of his own voice and I wondered how truthful all the money talk was. He spent too much time talking about sex and prostitution, not the normal get to know people chit chat. Either he’s preoccupied by sex or he was just checking our reaction. Next time I see him I’m gonna talk about my bowel movements and watch for his response. He drives the latest Merc or BMW or something and the heavy gold chain swinging in his chest hairs and matching watch and rings with you guessed it, rubies the size of puffed popcorn didn’t come out of a lucky dip but neither did they impress me much. We weighed up the odds, decided we had nothing to loose since we were prepared to do shadow guiding (work for food and lodging) for a few weeks if necessary up at Hoedspruit to gain experience and get into the job market.

The farm is awesome. We’ve moved into our own 3 bedroomed thatch house which has a stunning view. There’s a rat in the kitchen what am I gonna do but so long as there’s no Indian in my cupboard, with a video camera, who cares.

A family of warthogs and 20 Impala visit the bottom end of the front garden daily, Nyala come down to browse in the backyard at night and the obligatory troop of monkeys in the back, always on the look out to steal food. There’s loads of birdlife and 2 horses who spend most of their time grazing on the driving range which is next to the pool and the jacuzzi and the big braai lapa. All this is spread out in front of our house, except the 15 chalets running down the side and we are the only people here, expect for 3 workers who come in daily to clean the place.

Kelvin plans to move here with his family at the end of October, build a massive, fancy 5 star development on the other side of the farm now that after 3 years the environmental impact study is finally approved. In the meantime he’s happy that we orientate ourselves and once he’s moved here he said he will advertise the place and make a buck or two from the 15 chalets and bar and restaurant while the big moola development takes place. Whether we’re still around if and when his dream gets off the ground is unimportant, right now were having a jol here