It has started to get very cold out here in the bush, and nights consist of fire places and sherry. The good thing about being able to build fires again is the conversation a fire draws. People forget about their phones and laptops and all huddle around together and swap various stories about back in the day. Each one has some form of soothing liquid in a glass combined with a witty tongue to add to the humorous session around the crackling flames. Hunters swap stories about their different trophies and whose is in fact the largest. In between these very serious discussions, the stories about bush toilets, and involuntary bowel movements sneak a bit of the conversation lime light.
After much laughter and plenty of liquids I get to know each and every individual on a few different levels, and in winter, the layers of each character slowly peel away until it feels as if I have known some of these guests for a good life time.
In fact, right now I have an elderly gentleman, (if a gentleman and hunter can be used in the same sentence) who has concluded to calling me his girlfriend.
It all started one early crisp dark morning when I was going about my morning wake up calls to get the men up and ready for their day. The mornings commence at around 4:00am, and as I got to Craig’s room I noticed his light was already on and he had in fact beaten me at the wake up. To be sure, I took a peek inside to make sure he was up and about and a knock on his door was indeed no longer necessary. Well I did find Craig up, but he was still in bed and it seemed as if he was reading, so I just shouted a friendly good morning to remind him that it was time to take on a new day of hunting.
A chain of events continued as a result of my very innocent duty of wake ups. Craig entered the lodge for breakfast and we started to chat. A few of the other hunters and their Professional hunting guides were already up and about indulging in their first cup of coffee for the day. After a few good mornings I said to Craig “I noticed you were up before your wake up this morning, but I peeked to make sure you were definitely awake” well, I could not have given the guys a bigger door to run into and snag me. The comments that followed were PG rated and some serious blush enhancing material. A long story short, I have been labelled the wanted peeping tom of the lodge.
Days like these make me really appreciate every single individual that steps foot into my home away from home. These gentlemen like Craig are businessmen, entrepreneurs, doctors, pilots, family men, grandfathers, fathers and sons, but when they enter our lodge they are just people, people that like to unwind, make a few dirty jokes, share stories and bond over a fire and the bush.
Nature has this funny way of bringing everyone down to the same humble level, it doesn’t matter where you come from, what your title is, or what great things you have achieved. In the bush you are secondary to nature and the guy sitting next to you is just another human being.
I was asked last night if I had a dark side, I was initially a little confused, and when I asked for a further explanation to the rather strange question, my guest elaborated by saying that I am always so happy, in the mornings, in the evenings and generally every time he sees me. I had to admit to him that yes I do in fact have my down days but they don’t last for longer than an hour or so.
When I look around what do I actually have to be grumpy about? I am blessed with surroundings that are not only breath taking but have this magical way of stripping all your layers and burdens and bringing everyone back down to earth, literally and figuratively. I meet wonderful people every single day, and I get to know them from the core. In fact a grown man left us a few weeks back and there were a few tears at his parting.
Nature shows us cruelty and some heart wrenching things, but it is combined with extreme appreciation and understanding of a balance between cruelty and compassion. This lesson alone will help you grow in leaps and bounds.
How can I have a dark side in a place where fires burn and people bond, in a place that comforts you and accepts you, that blesses you every single day with sunrises and sunsets, with new births and regretted deaths?
“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining. They just shine.”
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