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For all her modern adornments, there are still glimpses of the old Africa to be found. Tiger fish will take you there. 'The camp staff will have been up long before the dawn, and the remains of last night’s fire fanned back to life. The darkness is still heavy as you sip a coffee, and from it come quiet voices and the occasional soft laugh. Depending on where you are those voices could be Zulu, Shona, Sindebele, even KiSwahili. There’s a muffled clank of gear being readied for the boat, and … [Read more...] about Life on the river

Blessed are they who have earned the love of an old dog. 'The truly great times with a field dog tend to be short. By the time they’ve learned a few things a couple of seasons have come and gone. When they finally come into their own they have a handful of years — no more — before old age starts to creep in. It passes in what seems like an instant. Like all of their kind, gun dogs are brief. It’s their only real fault. I do my best to be with them when they go into the twilight, even though it’s … [Read more...] about Old partners

Argentina, I think I love you.  Blackbuck ram in one of the deep morning mists that transform the palmetta country into a wonderland. A nice stalk but a doe off to one side caught me out in the end. Happy days. Peter P. Ryan www.faraway.co … [Read more...] about ¡Hola!

'It's the eyes you see first. Not that great muddy cape, not that muzzle twisted in rage or the nostrils flared and ready for battle. It’s not even the antlers. It’s the eyes, wide and fixed on you and nothing but you. It all happened very quickly. We were forced to bash through tight scrub and had no choice but to make some noise. It produced an unexpected result — out of nowhere a rutting red stag charged into view just a few metres in front of us, his head held high and face framed by wet … [Read more...] about A Book of Days

Cape buffalo, Kalahari Desert 'It’s hot now. The bush doves began their insistent throbbing before sunrise. Now, four hours of steady walking into the trail, they are drowsy in the shadows. The two old bulls moved away from water last night at a steady pace, covering ground. It surprises nobody that the bush is growing dense, the spoor winding through thickets of thorn. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve done this, the clichés will run through your thoughts. M’bogo. Inyati. Hemingway, Ruark … [Read more...] about In the moment

'They don’t just want game: the great ones burn. They want it not because of lessons but because it’s who they are. They’re not robots following orders, but arch-predators listening to voices we will never hear. Sometimes that makes them seem arrogant. Watch them when they hit scent and it’s clear that they work in a trance, the instinct of generations unfolding without thought. The truth is, the great ones are difficult and demanding. All we can do is put some structure to it once the genie is … [Read more...] about In the eyes