Bonfire of the Manatees

Friday and our last working day on the Reserve. Of course it could not be a relaxed last day. The 4 volunteers had to split up and do separate walks along the fences of the reserve to check for breaks, cut wire etc. I get antsy walking alone in the wild with only a crude map to guide me. 'Walk for 5 kms then look for the power substation' they said 'You cant miss it'

Of course, while I saw a shanty house with homing pigons and made a locust friend:

...I saw no power station. No wires or transmitters or whatever. The fence ended at a house with a dog and an African who spoke no English. Cursing the fence I ducked back and jumped some barb wire, ran through a private plot, scaled another fence and made my way to another fence which luckily led me to a landmark I knew, from where I could make my way to my pick up point. 'Oh yeah we should have told you about that house and how you have to go through a gate then another gate then round it etc etc etc'

Getting back to base, Francoise was long overdue from her fence walk so we had to drive out on a search party, leading to me scaling more fences looking for her. I found her covered in prickles, looking beat. She had no watch and had no idea what time we were supposed to be heading home. I impressed on her the need for a watch. Freaking fence walks.

The arvo was more fun. We got to burn -using diesel- the umpteenth piles and piles of grass and dried out weeds we'd cut over the week, then beat away at it with rubber broom like things:

Beat, beat, whack, whack

(It was more satisfying to me than a previous bout of sanctioned arson I was asked to do incinerating expired bird medicines at the bird sanctuary...that made some NASTY smoke)

Anyway, I decided to beat the fire from the wind whipped smoke billowing side...eyes running with tears, unable to breath I forgot whether you were supposed to stand above the smoke or get below it (30 years of stop, drop and roll was forgotten) Finally I clicked, got below it and raced out to fresh air, just as panicked neighbours and a rural fire fighter turned up to see what the burning strip of flame beside the fence line was. 'nothing to see, return to your homes' We stayed out till dark beating out embers, then went in for our last cooked meal curtesy of the maid who works here Mon-Fri...(I must look into getting a maid back home, her food-even the vegetarian food- is tasty.)

Oh well, its 8pm now, better go gussy up as we are supposed to be taken out tonight clubbing in Pretoria by a permanent worker here, that should be fun.

Manfred