Imire 101

       I always find it disorienting to the point of oblivion when arriving at a place I've been anticipating and imagining for some time.  Arrival always seems SUDDEN, and the number of people and, well, STUFF that approach you and seem to require instantaneous recognition is overwhelming.
       But I do remember that the intital  impression of Imire was very positive.  We'd driven across gently rolling plains that were green and pleasant.  We'd already seen substantial herds of zebra, impala, blesboks, and wildebeest, and we'd gotten a glimpse of four of the resident elephants.  
     Lantana  trees and bushes were in full bloom all over the place and phenomenally beautiful.  Later I would find out that lantana, despite its beauty, is a serious invasive threat to the area.  Plus, it's poisonous to cattle.  Elephants, however, enjoy it, and it was funny to see them walking along munching on a beautiful bouquet of lantanas.  "Beauty" to us.  To them, "lunch."
       Eventually we pulled into the shady yard of the "volunteer house."  So welcoming.  We learned later the volunteer house was once the home of the brother of the family who has owned Imire for generations.  Sadly, but undeniably interesting, was the additional fact that he was killed by a cape buffalo.

The window you see with the partially drawn curtain was the bedroom assigned to MBG and me.  
       You can see in the background what in Africa is referred to as a "dam."  We would call it a lake, or when we were being more precise, a "reservoir."  In fact, it is a man-made lake created by a dam built on a river.  There are several of these on the Imire property, testaments to the hard work of the British settlers who altered the landscape in order to make it more friendly to agriculture and development.  
       Here we met the two people who were to be our minders the remaining two weeks.  Though probably neither of them thought of  themselves as "minders," that's what they were, alright.  All seven of the volunteers were women, and I can't imagine how these guys, both Zimbabweans, managed to keep us safe and productive and for the most part united.

I asked both these guys if they were familiar with the expression "herding cats."  They weren't.
Then.  But they are now.  
       Yes, these are my heroes:  Bright, on the left, and Mike, on the right.  And yes, you guessed it, that's my dirty finger on the far right!