This time one week ago I was winging my way home to Austin, from the depths of the Botswana bush. It took a truck, a helicopter, small planes, big planes and well over 24 hours for me to go from my tent under a massive Leadwood tree to the arms of my happy little family. What a trip! What an adventure....
But first, I apologize for the lack of blog entries while I was in the bush. I knew there was no way I would be able to get online to do them, so charged my husband with the task. But he had a lot on his plate while I was gone, not least of which was taking care of our little nearly-three year old daughter. And in the end, all he ever heard of me was a one line email from the film's producer that I was doing OK. So you didn't miss much!
Due to the constraints of my contract for this project, I'm not allowed to discuss much of what happened - you'll get to watch in on The Discovery Channel in due course and I promise to let you know the international transmission dates as soon as I know about them. For now all I know is that the series is slated to air on Discovery Europe in the Fall, and hopefully Discovery America and World Wide around the same time.
So what was it like? Well, (and I'm stealing this phrase from someone who knows what he's talking about), trying to describe what it's like to be alone in the bush is like trying to describe a new color. The experience was so intense on so many different levels, and so unlike anything I've ever been privileged to embark upon, that it's simply impossible to put into words. I underwent mental, physical, emotional and spiritual transformations. My fear of the obvious and not-so-obvious prior to arriving in Botswana were threatening to crumple me, but oddly lifted the moment I set foot in the bush. Perhaps because by then there was no backing out, or because of the safety measures put in place for my experience, but either way my fear (the paralyzing kind) was transformed into fascination - at the place, the experience, and the feelings both lead me to.
I spent 7 nights in the bush. I heard lions outside my tent and saw their tracks in the morning. I saw the sun set and the moon rise at exactly the same time and am still in awe of that sight. I set animal traps and fishing lines, collected firewood and boiled water endlessly. I slept terribly some nights and like a baby on others. I was hungry. Very hungry. I got further from myself and closer to God.
It was all totally, utterly worth it.
