Author diaries

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31 August 2004 Entry: "Message from Africa"

This diary entry is being typed in darkest Africa – well pretty dark anyway. I am staying at Balule in South Africa’s Kruger Park, which is one of the rest camps that has no electricity. So it’s the moon, the light from my lap top and a paraffin light.
This is our third week in South Africa, a trip that started with the luxury of Cape Town, continued to the beaches of Kwa Zulu Natal, with a quick stop in Jo’burg before heading for Mpumalanga and Limpopo in the north, which is where we are now.
We are staying in rondawels, little huts with no windows and thatched roofs. We have just finished eating and are now sitting outside, reluctant to go into the heat (it has been about 36 degrees today) and we are watching the hyaena which is pacing up and down on the other side of the fence, just a few feet away.
Having my laptop with me means that I’ve been trying to catch up with some writing, ready for September. I’ve been asked to take part in a National Poetry Day event at Newcastle’s Lit and Phil, with the theme of food, so am working on two poems. Also managed to finish some radio play treatments for the BBC Ignite programme, but still have a second draft of a play to finish when I get home.
I am still working on short stories. To read one with a South African theme, visit www.pulp.net where my short story Not the English Margate is one of August’s stories (by the time I find a network connection to submit this diary entry it will probably be in the archive!)
I have started working on a short story set in Balule, but I don't think I'll finish it before we leave. We are up at about 5am, when it is still dark, to get ready to head out of the camp at 6am when the gates open. By the time we get back, it’s almost dark, so there’s not much time for writing. Also, I love sitting listening to the animals and enjoying the night, so it seems a shame to waste these evenings when we’ll soon be moving to a very modern camp for our last two nights in the park.
So, it’s time to transfer this to my memory stick, close down the computer and enjoy the sounds and smells of the African night.