Back in the Saddle

I'm hoping that this post will kick off another prolific period in this blogs' life. I was tempted to call it a Golden Age, but quickly realized that it was just the episodes of Rome (which I been compulsively watching) talking.

There are so many things for me to put up here in the coming days. Wonderful pictures from our trips to Cape Town, Hluhluwe Game Reserve, and one of the big Townships around Durban; articles from the New England Journal and the Times about relevant public health issues; reflections on life here in SA as I realize that I only have a few more months left to spend; musings on exciting new music that I've stumbled upon in the past few weeks.

So, I guess that this post is just to let you know that I am back. From the number of unhappy e-mails in my inbox, it seems that I was missed - but I will do my best to fill in the missing pieces.

I'm sure this won't be the last you'll hear from me today. Please keep your Google Reader (or whatever RSS reader your prefer) refreshed and hang on, as a torrent of posts are headed your way.

And as a teaser. Two pictures from yesterdays' graduation party in Umlazi:

What time is it? GAME TIME!

addendum:
I think the picture problem has been fixed. But please let me know if you're still having trouble viewing the pictures. And, as always, there are more pix posted up on my Flickr page. Thanks for bearing with me through technical difficulties!

Hey All -

This past weekend was spent with Junne and David in the the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve (that first word is pronounced 'shuh-SHLOO-wee'. oh, that crazy zulu language.) in the northern part of the KwaZulu Natal province. For those interested in the geography, here is an excellent map of where the game reserve is located relative to the rest of the country.

We saw many spectacular sights and managed to get many nice (and a few excellent) pictures out of it. However, I was frequently struck by how the process of taking pictures can seriously detract from original experience. Spending time looking through a viewfinder - or at an LCD screen as is the case with most digital cameras - means that you're not spending time taking it all in with you own eyes. This is problematic, to say the least, but I tried not to let it get me down for too long.

So, without further ado, some pictures from Hluluwe.









And one picture of your intrepid traveler, just for good measure. How pensive! How brave?!



I'm out for today, but I'll be back for more soon enough. Until then...