At last! Our first day of the Bundu Bus safari consisted of much travelling, but we finally arrived at the Malalane entrance in the late afternoon; eagerly anticipating viewing some wildlife despite the late hour. We took a slow ride towards our rest-camp, on the lookout for any sign of life in the bush. Being the rainy season, the vegetation was particularly green and dense, and made the sightings considerably more difficult. We had a fair share of luck, as we were extremely excited to see what was soon to become rather dull; the impala - we must have seen literally thousands over the 4 days! I think most of us were happy to arrive at our rest-camp; having a chance to freshen up and relax. Our campsite was right alongside the fence, and a troop of impala were grazing right on the other side oblivious to the intrigued tourists!

After unpacking and preparing our tents (which were surprisingly comfortable, with mattresses and sleeping bags provided) Nico set about making supper; I was pleased to see that he was preparing a traditional South African dish, cooked over a slow fire in a 3-legged dutch-oven type pot; called potjie-kos. The nature of this type of safari required (rather implied) that everyone lend a hand; and soon we were just waiting for the chicken potjie-kos to cook. The typical highveldt weather had other ideas for us, however, and soon a major thunderstorm was off-loading buckets of water on us. Luckily the tents were waterproof; everyone jumped in and made the most of the occasion to get some shut-eye. Everyone except Nico, who carried his potjie to the kitchen area to continue cooking the meal on a gas burner. We awoke from our nap refreshed and famished; the chicken potjie was ready and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal and conversation. It was the perfect occasion to learn more about our fellow tourists.