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  • Foto van schrijverVera Praet

The rains have come!

Although Dutch people are generally a bit fed up with all the rain, we need it. And you will definitely start appreciating rain once you’ve lived in the Lowveld after a long dry winter. I certainly was looking forward to rain, as it brings life – and because it sometimes cools down the crazy Lowveld temperatures. I would like to share some rainy moments with you, which I found back in some (excited) Whatsapp messages.


September 26 I’m driving with Robin towards Hoedspruit for the very first time. I have just been at Dinokeng for a week, and noticed it was very dry there. Apparently the Lowveld area, where we’re heading now, is also very dry still, and even hotter. But the rain season is about to come, so there should be a drastic change then!

Drought on my first field day

October 4

We expected rain, and I was so excited! I even saw the clouds on the Drakensberg in the distance. It’s still very dry, so some rain would be greatly appreciated for the vegetation and the animals. And I wouldn’t mind the temperature to cool down a bit either. Sadly though, the rain didn’t reach us. It did cool down for a little while though.

October 18

Finally some real rain! It wasn’t much, but wow, that was so welcome. The downside is that we didn’t have electricity in our rooms for a little while, but as far as I’m concerned that’s worth it.


November 6

The weather is rather unpredictable. It alternates between nearly 40 degrees Celsius and seriously cold days (yes, long trousers, sweaters, and jackets), and we are getting some rain now and then. Tonight we are on guard for some elephants that are gathering too close to the fence at the Olifants River. In order to prevent them from getting out we place chili-dung balls, which we smoke to deter the elephants. Although we welcome rain any other day, this special night we are grateful it didn’t come and kill our smoke balls.

November 21 IT RAINS AGAIN! I think this was the day that we were so happy with the rain that we actually went outside to do a little rain dance, and then decided to do a meeting outside. It cooled down nicely too, which was a good timing, since we’re doing honey harvesting tomorrow and it helps if it’s not too hot during the harvest. This week, when there is slowly more green coming everywhere, we are also seeing the first impala young. The impala’s usually all give birth at the same time, when the rains kick in, but they waited long this year!

The reflection of the tree is completely different now

November 28

After days of about 40 degrees I greatly appreciate some amazing thunder, lightning, and rain. Instead of dancing in the rain, I did some fitness outside. That was really nice. We are slowly beginning to see some change in the greenness of the vegetation, with occasionally some local regions having some real green leaves. It’s nice to see the leaves coming back, and some flowers here and there. In general though, it’s still pretty dry.

December 2

Again, thunder, lightning, and rain. I love these African thunder storms. Often the thunder is so loud that it actually shakes the floor. Some areas are getting pretty green, other are still dry. I can’t wait for the changes to continue when the rain reaches the roots of more and more plants. The plants and the animals need it… In the meantime though, we are slowly seeing more and more young animals jumping around.

December 10

I’ve been away for less than a week, and came back to a transformed Lowveld! Although there are definitely still some dry places with little cover, most bush are getting green now, and it looks like a complete change of surroundings! The dams start to fill again, the rivers get bigger, and there are even pools of water forming randomly. More and more flowers and herbaceous plants are coming up, and the place just looks and smells different. The animals are finally getting some fresh water and, equally important, some fresh green vegetation to nibble on. That must be so nice after eating all that brown and yellow vegetation during the winter.

It's green!

The rain has brought a smile to our faces. With the bush getting greener and greener and the impala young ‘exploding’ all around us, I consider this blog finished!

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