Disclaimer: This was an assignment for my Travel Writing course. Prompt: In this assignment, you'll describe your impression of a scene, in Africa.
Connect to AfriCam. Select a cam view that sparks your imagination. Study the image. You may want to print an image because it changes every few minutes. Pretend you're planning a book or travel adventure around that scene. You can pretend it's the location for your memoir, a short story, or a novel. 400 words or less.
Visiting the South African savanna is like looking at human nature through a primal lens: vast spans of nature with little to zero influence of humans. There aren’t any interstates, houses, city centers, or shopping. That might be a turn off for most people, but can you imagine visiting a place so peaceful, yet chaotic in its simplicity?
Every creature’s movements are decided by the sun. It is currently September and Spring has just sprung. The sun has just set and the temperatures are in the 70s. All of the animals are beginning to fall asleep to the sounds of the crickets and frogs. Hours later, as the sun peeks over the horizon, the savanna slowly begins to come to life. You never know what you are going to see. Antelope? Rabbit? Lion? Chimp? There is no way to know what is waiting behind the next tree, rock, or bush. In Olifants River, the chimpanzees open their eyes and begin their day by jumping between branches. A mama chimp goes through the same struggles as a human mother: corralling her children for their morning routine. In Tau, a lion comes out of hiding and lays down to survey his land and look for breakfast. In Tembe, antelopes approach the watering hole for their morning sip of water.
Are we really so different? After all, humans are animals too. If you are looking for a trip that will get you back to your most basic roots, then there is no place quite like the African savannas to spend your holidays. It is a place that will open your eyes and certainly keep you on your paws.
The picture below is a screenshot from AfriCam.
Comentarios