NIGHT

At day’s end, as the sun sets and the sky darkens, painted black on blue, the stars appear. The Milky Way arches above in a breath-taking display of ethereal beauty. As darkness prevails, every sound, magnified by our instinctual distrust of the night, hearkens of predators concealed in shadow. Lions Roaring, Hyenas uttering their gleeful laughter, Zebras barking, the shrill scream of tree hyrax, and baleful weeping of bush babies merge with the chirping of crickets; a drama unfolds around us, at which we can only grasp with our limited senses, filling the darkened blanks with our imagination.

Hidden under a blanket of darkness a host of nocturnal animals awaken and set out to greet the night; spring hares leave their burrows hopping like little kangaroos. Hunting for insects, Aardwolves and Aardvarks forage on the ground, Bush babies and dormice leap between the spreading branches of gnarled acacias while Bats sweep like stealth bombers grabbing unsuspecting insects from the air. Hippos leave their watery havens to forage and predators head out on the hunt. In many of the concessions and parks, we can now venture out on night game drive for a peek at this alien world. In forests and woodlands, on a night walk, we seek Cryptic Chameleons, Colorful frogs and owls, back at our camp we can sit on a comfortable recliner chair with a hot drink at hand exploring the canvas of the night sky.