03:45 and the alarm goes off. Today is the day myself and eight fellow rangers have been waiting for. Today is the day of the famous (or infamous, depending on who you’re talking to) Sabi Sabi trail!

04:30 and after a short meet up with the Safari Manager, we were as ready as we’d ever be. We had carefully selected our most comfortable shoes and I think it’s safe to say that in the few days leading up to the walk... I don’t think any of us had discussed the varying levels of comfort provided by footwear more. However, in case of the dreaded bubble-wrap foot i.e. blister infested feet... we were ready. One would think we were all headed off to conquer Kilimanjaro with the amount of pain killers, plasters and energy tonics we were packing! Points for preparation I’d say.

As we set out from Bush Lodge with the sun rising behind us, our first cheerleaders, of the feathery kind, eagerly sang us on our way. Everyone had told us morale would be high in the first few kilometres but it was clear everyone knew the journey which lay ahead... 42 km’s was no joke. We walked the first stretch in silence and it wasn’t until our first marker that spirits lightened, sore feet ALREADY but we could do this!

The next stretch all the way down South to the Sabie River was filled with chatter and laughs, despite a wardrobe malfunction here and there. Jazz hands in the air became a thing in a bid to reduce our fingers from pork sausage status to something of the more Vienna kind thanks to the increased blood flow. Work it rangers! We reached the river and so had our first little break. We were aware that the blessing that was the clouds wouldn’t hang around long and as many of you may know... the African sun can be relentless.

Sore muscles rubbed, some energy replaced and rifles swopped, we continued our journey. The next few kilometres started really testing us and we realised that it is in fact possible to sweat... from your earlobes! The beautiful first flowers of the summer season were welcome distractions, as was the little dung beetle crossing our path.

Fast forward about ten kilometres and we had reached our halfway mark in pretty good time. We rested a bit and met Terry, our knight in khaki uniform, for some sandwiches and replacement water. After some foot TLC and refuelling we were off... blue sky peeking through the clouds and the sun was hot on our tail.

Midday heat hit hard as the temperature quickly soared well over 35 degrees Celsius... and we felt it. Words of encouragement began making rounds and feeling like we all belonged in a home for the aged we dragged ourselves along. Just around the next corner we had our largest supporters yet... not one, but two white rhinoceros! We briefly observed the magnificent creatures and detoured around back onto the path. A few hundred meters further and a journey of giraffe watched us pass by in the distance. With energy stores severely dwindling we reached our last marker!

This last stretch was the toughest yet, some rangers had the dreaded bubble-wrap foot and others just plainly felt broken. Home was only a handful of kilometres away. As kudus and impalas darted across the road with such power and grace, we fantasized about hitching a lift with them. No, we had this!

Ten hours after we had taken our first steps from Bush Lodge, we were back. We approached the entrance some more red than others but everyone with a smile and huge sense of accomplishment. Lodge staff and management were there to welcome us... clapping and cheering. We had made it!