Mana Pools is a great place to go for a walk, and we do so for several hours every day, usually taking off in the early, cool morning and walking until lunch, by which time it is rather hot. We normally drive to our destination, then leave the car and walk from there.
Our guide, Mike Scott, instructs us to walk in a single file and to be quiet. We are not immediate experts at either of these behaviours. We are all curious and not only wonder but wander, sometimes in different directions.
After a while, we get the hang of it and take turns at being at the front of the line, just behind Mike and his excellent tracker (and cook), Bernard.
One of the joys of walking is having the feeling that you are a part of the landscape, not just an onlooker. You can leave the track, feel the ground under your feet, touch the plants, hear the sounds and see the minutiae, such as bones, footprints and insects. Besides, it is nice to get exercise.
A large hole in the ground grabs our interest. Bernard inspects it more closely before letting us approach. It could be a leopard den, and who wants to stand face to face with a tangle of claws, fur and fangs? Apparently, though, the hole leads to a burrow that is empty, so Bernard signals that we may gather round for a closer look.
