Today I had probably the most fun I have had in a long time. The day started early, as usual (I think my uncle has some disease that compels him to wake up at the crack of dawn and get everyone else in the house up as well. blooding annoying, but hey) and we all began to pack the picnic lunch. Our destination for the day was Tala game reserve park. A game reserve is a place, usually a couple hundred miles or so, that is a sort of sanctuary for all the wild animals one expects to find in Africa: rhino, giraffe, zebra, springbok, buffalo, lions, hippos, etc... These places allow people to come and they can "go on safari" and treck through the bush or what have you. But, if you knew my uncle you would know that he likes to do things in style, so instead of walking through the park or riding in the open top convoy vans he hired each of us (6 in total) 4 wheelers and we went on a 3 hour 4wheeling adventure through the under brush looking for animals. It was amzing! We saw almost every kind of animal the park had to offer. At one point I pulled up around a corner and a huge giraffe was standing maybe 5 feet away from me, just staring at us, completly as ease.
Riding around that huge reserve with the African sun beating down on you, the smell of the trees and the grass brushing against your legs as you zoom through the brush really makes you feel alive. Mostly I think that everyone (including myself) is too caught up in stuipd things that, at the end of the day, don't fill your life with meaning, just a hollow feeling and nothing to show for yourself. Today gave me a chance to just connect with myself again and remember whats important, and whats not. The guy who lead our little group was very interseting. He's a full time microlight pilot and gives lessons etc, and then as a second job he works at Tala with the animals and leading people on mini tours. I asked him how he got into this stuff and he said it had been his passion since he was very young. He's lucky in that respect, not many people get to make their passion their career. He said that even though his two jobs may not pay the most amazing salary ever he said he would never trade it for anything. He said that he's seen to many people who save "living" till after they've made their money, only to die young of a heart attack or the like. He decided to live every day as it came, and make the most of it doing what he loves. So I guess I should say that he's not "lucky" by chance, he went out and made his own luck, and to me that is quite inspiring.
After the ride we found a gorgeous pool in the game reserve surrounded by hundreds of trees and tables in a remote part of the park, with great views of the hippos swimming in the river. We set up our lunch and ate and relaxed in the sun just enjoying ourselves...what can I say? It was the perfect day.
