‘Home Alone’ at our Tsavene house in the Save Valley Consevancy, I lay awake a long time last night… the two jack Russell dogs, Mhisi and Nchila, lay at the foot of my bed as usual-was it Nchila who was gently snoring? I hoped so, because if it were not she, it was a lion breathing. Close by.
I sat up and leaned towards her…no, not her after all-the sounds drifted through the open window of my room perched high on granite boulders. A lion, close, and muttering under it’s breath….then the tell tale whine, rising to a whoop, of a hyena..and another….
As I drifted fitfully in and out of sleep the whoops and mutterings continued.
A long night, not much sleep, so that this morning when I rose and wandered outside to the fire pit in the dawn light, to check the samp which had been slow -cooking on the Mopani coals outside all night, (no electricity, again), I was drowsy. Missed seeing properly the form of the spotted hyena that skulked around the base of our deck, and who quickly retreated down our stone driveway. Saluted him (her? hard to tell).
Samp-semi crushed Corn kernels, soaked in water for many hours the day before, and simmered on hot coals during the dark hours, now soft and creamy, needing only chopped onion and garlic and the small red chilli I had harvested from my dear friend Bronwen’s herb garden in Mutare the week before.
Time for a cup of coffee brewed on the coals and then back upstairs on to discover the joys of blogging, once I had switched the inverter on to power up my old laptop.
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Lin Barrie
The Save Valley Conservancy stretches along the upper reaches of the great Save River in the south east of Zimbabwe. The Gonarezhou National Park laps against the southern banks of the Save River and between these two nestles the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. These three celebrated wildlife areas form part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, (GLTFCA)- a unique wilderness jewel which is home to the “Big Five” (endangered Black and White rhinos, elephants, buffalo, lion, leopard) and the ”Little Six” (Klipspringer, Suni, Duiker, Steenbok, Sharpe's Grysbok and Oribi). Endangered African wild dogs, Cheetah, Brown hyena, Bat-eared foxes and a host of special birds and plants contribute to the immense variety of this ecosystem. Communities around the GLTFCA contribute to innovative partnerships with National Parks and the private sector, forming a sound base on which to manage social, economic and environmental issues.
This is home to artist and writer Lin Barrie and her life partner, conservationist Clive Stockil.
Expressing her hopes, fears and love for this special ecosystem with oil paints on canvas, Lin Barrie believes that the essence of a landscape, person or animal, can only truly be captured by direct observation.
Lin Barrie states: “Through my art, and my writing, I feel an intimate connection with the natural world, and from my extensive field sketches of wild animals, people and landscapes, I create larger works on canvas.
Lin's work is in various public and private collections in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, England, Canada, Sweden and the United States of America. She is represented by galleries in South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Kenya and Florida, USA.
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