Life at Thanda

Hello World!!! The first week in Thanda in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa had been amazing! Because this is my second visit here, the photography workshop was a great refresher. Like everyone else, I was anxious to get into the field. We've already seen so much. The best part of the week was seeing the mother rhino and her one-month-old baby. I was literally stuck under a tree, but more on that later...

In this post, I thought I’d share a little information about the basics of life in Thanda. There’s really not much water here. We collect rainwater to be used in the toilet tank. Some days we have water for showers, some days there just isn't any water so showers are out of the question. We do have bottled water for drinking and cooking, but we're careful with that too.  

There’s no Wi-Fi at the camp/lodge. Cellphone service isn't great either. And, of course, we don't have cable TV. That's OK because, once people get here, we really don't have an interest in online entertainment or keeping up with the rest of the world. This is a simpler place. Our entertainment is conversation or observing nature or simply enjoying the peace.

The weather here is very different from when I was here 7 months ago. It’s hotter and a lot more humid. It's often cloudy and it rains a lot more. As a result, the land is so much greener than last time I was here. The greener it gets, the more alive it becomes. Yes, there many different bugs, and a lot of them are much bigger than the last time I was here. 

I cannot believe it’s only Week Two and I have so many stories to share!!!  (Despite what I said about technology, I did get a USB modem so I'll be able to post a little more often than last time.)  For today, I just want to say that I'm having a blast!  I feel so lucky to have found Thanda.  I feel so lucky to be here again for a longer stay.  I'm living my dream, and I'm very happy.  To be continued!!!