The best of the best

After a holiday we all reflect on the special moments....

In the case of Africa it wasn't so much a case of what was beautiful or amazing , although of course with such wildlife and sweeping surrounds that was a given .

It was more a case of what I learnt ...the moments that passed in a fraction of time but were most confronting or profound .

Why have one wife when you can have four ...

I found out rather abruptly that in regional Kenya ( the Mara in particular ) polygamy is still a practised thing. My guide in fact was one of 27 siblings . I needed to go to a village to see this for myself .

The tiny village i went to at the base of the Mara river was a farming one where the women did everything from beading jewellery for sale , looking after their children or mending the metal roof tops of their huts .

I was fighting myself to keep an open perspective but its reality slapped me in the face .

The brides were no older that 16 years old , some as young as 14 and there were 4 of them to the one man . I lost count as to how many kids were running around . The thought that kept pestering me was that my niece back home is 14 and she still enjoys playing with Lego from time to time .

An enormous impulse came over me , which was to whisk these beautiful young girls away and send them to school . I longed for light and curiosity to be put back in their expressions. Instead i gave them some money and asked them to use it for their kids' schooling .

I wonder what are the chances ?

On the way back to the lodge a melancholy set upon me and I could' nt help but express my sadness to Vinnie, my guide .

He couldn't understand my attitude .

Its the way things are , he explained .

Who am i , in 15-30 minutes , entering another world , not my world and wanting to see things change . I m a mere observer and yes ... its the way things are.

The young brides are standing by my side . The mother in laws are seated. The little kids were of course cheeky and obsessed with my i phone .

Love has no bounds .....

Throughout my post i 've shared with you my love of the wildebeest : their thunderous crossings and the raw energy that their sweeping movement created .

I was also privvy to one of the tenderest moments that i have ever seen and it rose from two wildebeest which i had the luck of noticing and the honour of sighting .

Vinnie and I were in the middle of a powerful stampede of wilderbeest . Within the dust and the the roar we both noticed two wilderbeest which weren't charging . Our observation was that they were partners and one had fallen. While the rest of

the herd kept crossing to the higher plains one of the pair stayed with the fallen other . He prodded , cajoled and made every effort to raise her . He often looked up at the herd that was quickly leaving him behind - tentative at times in the dilemma of whether he should also go . Nonetheless he stayed with his other half until the herd had all passed .

Probably 40 minutes passed by where he constantly was attending to his fallen partner . The excruciating decision finally overcame him and he walked quietly by himself to meet up with the others.

Anyone who tells you that animals don't feel has not seen the bond Vinnie and I witnessed in these two beautiful animals . It was mesmerising and humbling to feel such a connection .

Loyalty , care and connection are traits not only assigned to humans .

The enormity of Africa...

The vastness of Africa will stay in my mind's eye forever.

The 4 wheel drive or the mekoro boat can travel for miles yet the unending plains, the reed filled water ways are infinite .

We are reminded , yet again , that we are fleeting specks in this fathomless but glorious space.

Thankyou to everyone who were involved in giving me such memories , in particular to Julia and Lauren #iconicafrica

Hope you've enjoyed these posts , thank you for taking the time to look....x