The weekend didn't quite pan out as I'd hoped....I had been looking forward to spending the weekend at Mkhuze reserve, however I awoke on Friday morning to find that those around me had generously passed their flu onto me.

We arrived at Mkhuze Environmental Camp on Friday evening, and by Saturday morning an ear infection had also set in, which meant I couldn't hear anything in my left ear. Then my face was chewed up my mosquitos. We progressed from cold water only, to no water at all by Sunday morning....so I have to admit that by Sunday afternoon I needed confirmation that there was water at Somkhanda for our return, otherwise I was ready to check into Ghost Mountain Inn and indulge in a hot bath and fluffy bathrobe!

All that aside, it was a great experience and humbling to spend the weekend with local people who were all so interested in and enthusiastic about making a difference to conservation issues in their own neighbourhood. We spent a morning on a game drive in the reserve, including a walk in the fig forest (I stayed in the vehicle and slept instead of the walk), and some great discussions about conservation issues of importance to the local area - such as how to gather wood sustainably (for cooking and heating, as they don't have electricity).

I didn't get my camera out whilst I was in the camp as I was using all the energy I had to remain sociable, and take part in the discussions and activities. So unfortunately I don't have any shots to share with you of the kitchen...and the dead impala (shot especially for our camp) being cut up on the worktop with a pen knife. There was certainly no dettox in sight! Half of the impala went on the braai and the rest was cut into hunks and boiled, and boiled, and boiled. The camp participants then took a lump of the boiled meat home with them at the end of the camp, which they were all very happy about.

Back at Somkhanda the water was working (it wasn't the next morning), and so I showered, put on 7 layers and went to bed!