African Travel Articles
Guiding with
feeling Just before first light - the
time of unanswered hyena whoops - just before the francolins wake and as the
first lion greets dawn with shattering voice my day begins. A waking
realisation that my actions today will increase my opportunity tomorrow, and a
simple understanding that I, like all the other inhabitants of the African
bush, will go about my business with an innate evolutionary cause - survival!
My actions in daily routine are written in the air and in the sand - my
smells, footprints and noises tell stories of my behaviour, my development and
my function within this place of greatness, of great sadness and joy, of fear
and compassion. This place is called home, and within it - my life.
Observation is unequivocally the first rule of interpretation, and then
like the first light of dawn, a clear picture begins to brighten around us, and
with it, an opportunity to interact and communicate, to re-establish the
instinctive mechanics of our behaviour - our physical and emotional security,
our physical and emotional status, our position within our environment, our
wants, our needs and more importantly our past lessons - just like all the
other animals in the bush.
The first things we do when we get up are
self-assessments. We yawn, fart, rub our eyes, etc. Some of us shout "Good
Morning" like the francolin, and some of us remain silent like the Leopard.
After that, individually, we have routines - and after those, some sort of
social bonding or territorial display occurs - just like all the other animals
in the bush.
On safari - coffee and tea in the morning can be a
fascinating observation. The amount of re-establishment that goes on by way of
question like;
"Good Morning, how are you?"
"Did you sleep
well?"
"Did you hear that noise during the night?"
The
subsequent answers to those questions, and then the induced conversation - the
discussions we have about the new day, our itinerary, etc. All make up a
behaviour amongst us that will provide a basis for how we communicate and
interact with each other during the day. How we will see and hear and interpret
our encounters with the other animals around us, and will tell a lot about our
individual boundaries and personal needs within this interaction - Just like
all the other animals in the bush.
External or peripheral danger, a
sense or feeling of instinctive trust or mistrust and our ability to register
stimuli that we do not necessarily perceive are all sensations and intuitions
that have evolved with us for millions of years - just like all the other
animals in the bush.
These feelings are all processed irrationally
until they are coupled with our ability to recognise signs, to process
information from these signs and then when we are truly watching, listening and
feeling where we are in any particular situation, we are able to interpret,
anticipate and predict a startling amount more than we thought was possible -
just like all the other animals in the bush.
All this is only possible
with continual practice, re-affirmation and acquired knowledge through
supported reading and physical observation. Relying on one's intuition without
this knowledge and practice can land you, as a guide, in an uncomfortable
situation - "I sense the presence of a lion!" or "Will you marry me?" Without a
reasonable and fundamental understanding of why you uttered the remarks may not
have the desired effect.
I continue to sit quietly under the stars with
my guests in order to 'see' what communication we can recognise, and what
stimuli we can process while life 'talks' to us.
Written by Neil,
a professional safari guide in South Africa
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