The last few months have gone by in a blur, in fact the last two years have seemingly flown by. Months blend into each other, and before you know it, we are into our 3rd year of Covid and vaccinations and PCR tests. In the blink of an eye, we are already into March! It is Marula season once more, when we have elephants around every corner, making their way from one fruiting Marula tree to the next.

We have seen so many changes around us, and just when we think things have settled, we see new changes arising. New waves and new variants. New rangers joining our team, and new systems put into place. It seems there is no consistency, because change is inevitable, and yet we as humans are so adaptable, that we take it all in our stride, because it is natural to experience change, and for the sake of survival, we adapt. When the seasons change from summer here to winter, and resources are not as readily available, the lives of the animals will also change.

We, as creatures of habit, sometimes struggle with change, we fight it because it makes us uncomfortable, but we never let it stop us, we “go with the flow” and keep pushing forward until the changes become the new norm. Wearing masks, sanitizing, social distancing, it all seemed so foreign at the start, and yet now everywhere you look people are doing this without even thinking... new habits have formed.

This natural ability of ours to acclimatise to change is surely part of why our species is so successful. Of course, our advanced brains play a big part in our success, but we also adapt so well to all challenges and changes that come our way. Technological advances, scary at first have now become a way of life. Phones have replaced big bulky cameras, making capturing moments as easy as touching a screen. Most of the children coming into the lodge can use a computer or iPad better than I can (not that it takes much). With lockdowns and restrictions, online schooling and virtual meetings have meant children can continue to learn, and companies can continue to function, even thrive in the absence of human contact and office space. People have been able to work while watching giraffe come down to the waterhole in front of the lodge, business meetings with colleagues from across the globe from their suites at Sabi Sabi, because why not?

Adaptation is an integral part of survival. Impalas are possibly one of the most numerous mammals one sees on safari at Sabi Sabi. They become something that people get tired of hearing us rangers point out, “oh, another impala”, “what’s that? Oh, just an impala”. And yet we have so much in common with these beautiful little antelope. We too are everywhere, one of the most numerous creatures seen throughout the world. We too are incredibly adaptable to our environments, and able to handle changes around us without falling to pieces. We could have fallen to pieces, and we have had plenty of opportunities to do so in the last few years and months, yet like the impala, we prevailed.

The recent years we have experienced life like how the bushveld experiences a drought. In the absence of our usual resources, we have had to turn to alternatives. Shopping online instead of being able to go to the store. Items we used to get so freely are now unavailable because they are imported from who-knows where, or they have been banned, then un-banned, then banned again, seeing people resort to new extremes, like making pineapple beer.

The clouds have built up, and teased the world with rain, with the relief of a storm that puts an end to the drought, only to vanish before a single drop has fallen. The lockdowns have ended, and restrictions lifted, people have made the choice to travel, only to be blocked from reaching their destinations, or returning home. Just when things look like they are settling, something changes. You learn not to trust the calm, and yet you still cannot help but to enjoy it, to seize the moment and go out into the world the moment you are given the chance. The tortoises and terrapins waste no time when there is a hint of rain in the air, because they know as soon as the dry seasons come again, they will be much more restricted.

And why shouldn’t we enjoy it, in the knowledge that, as the rains eventually soak the bushveld, and the animals experience the welcomed seasonal changes, we too will receive our solace. As we have already seen, the most constant thing in nature is that there will be change. The rest of the animal kingdom also deals with change, and just as we do, when things go wrong, they take some time to lick their wounds, and gather their strength and then do what they need to do to keep going.

We have faced a challenging few years, and although we know that change is inevitable, there is no denying that there has been some consistency through it all. We have consistently overcome. We have consistently proved to ourselves that no matter the challenge, we can survive. We are consistent in an everchanging world, and as hard as the last few years have been, we have refused to give up, and are consistently ready to tackle that next challenge, head on and stronger than before.