Across the still-high Save River by boat, and into the Park, past the parks reception and found skulls…

this small warthog skull speaks to me, I love the funky shapes and moods of bone and skulls, and have just finished some skull paintings, (watch for my next blog!)… here is a sketch meanwhile…

the adventure begins… endless big skies…

Safari chairs on the edge of wilderness await the happy guests….as endless elephant cow herds shepherd their babies to the Runde River to drink- here are two photographs from a previous trip, by fabulous Zimbabwean guide, story teller and photographer, Garth Thompson…

To be hosted by legendary African Guides Garth Thompson and Clive Stockil- who could ask for more!?

Warm welcome home to our returning guests..basket hand-made by the mahenye ladies…

mahove tent interiors are simply decorated, bush-wise and welcoming…

At this time of the year, end of the Zimbabwean rainy season, the baobab and Kirkia leaves are turning yellow, drifting down across the red earth in washes of egg yolk. Albida trees shine on the far bank in the late afternoon sun as evening spreads its wings and far away jackals, songdogs of Africa, begin to sing…..

The dark and starry night brings multiple lion roars, the quintessential raw sound of Africa. Two lions call close and constantly on our side of the river as we have a dinner of tilapia fish…and two call the other side, a duet of tremendous power that floats us to our tents and backs up our dreams through till the early hours…

A morning game drive finds many vultures perched on baobabs near our camp, lion kill very likely but hard to spot the Shumba in the dense vegetation…

Then comes a huge Dustbin-lid sized terrapin, trundling along on the dusty road, destination must be a preferred pan somewhere, unerring instinct directing the heavy body on the alien earth. Wow…are those lion bite-marks on his shell? I wonder….

Tembweharta Pan is stunning, a picnic spot par excellence and the promising rain clouds are inspiration for me-another Big Sky painting growing in my mind…….

Here is a waterlily painting diptych that I completed last year during the rains season at Mahove…the pans this year are yet again filled with these white beauties…

Mahove baobabs are spectacular anytime, but best at sunrise I think, to be enjoyed with a cup of fresh brewed coffee, the promise of a new day beckoning…..

and the Lala palms are a graceful reminder that so much in the Mahove camp is owing to their amazing fronds, woven into place mats, baskets and wall panels…truly creative plants and food for grateful elephants as well…

the flood plains near Mahove are parklike, with precisely topiaried trees gracing the view, refuge of eland and wildebeest and hunting ground of African wild dogs…

these big skies are killing me, canvas and paint is needed!

I am building work and ideas towards a Skyscapes exhibition, somewhere, sometime….here is one completed piece: