Evans and the Cobra

Writing this from the viewing platform which stands in the river in front of the house. Erected on 30ft long poles sunk into the river bed, it looks like a POW camp watch tower. The view (see left) from it across the Kwando flood plain is spectacular, especially at sunset. Out there in this vast field of long reeds and tall grass, are hippos, crocs and more wetland bird species, than you could shake a twitcher's stick at.

Went to Katima yesterday for supplies. The heat and the hordes doing their shopping after the Easter holidays was enough for me. Caprivians, generally walk in a slothful manner. If you are already irritated, the sound of hundreds of people, slowly shuffling round a supermarket while simultaneously blocking the aisles, can push you to the limit.

Elle's feet are still in a bad way, despite liberal daily applications of Cortisone cream. The itchiness torments her at night and nothing less than long scratching episodes, provides any relief. The good news is, we think we have identified the culprit. Larval mites or ‘chiggers’ which inhabit the long wet grass through which she walks in the mornings. The insects, which are too small to see, latch onto the skin, injecting an enzyme (which causes the itchiness) which breaks down the skin cells, which nourish the larvae apparently.

Bit of a drama this afternoon when Evans who was working in the garden, started shouting for Elle. It seems the poor guy had a close encounter in the vegetable patch with a very large Egyptian snouted Cobra, last seen entering the garden shed. Evans was clearly quite excited by this and wanted help to chase it out. I was bit miffed that Evans thought that Elle was better equipped for this task than me. In the end, we couldn't find it, which was probably a blessing. A large pissed off, poisonous snake is not something you really want to deal with.