At last the rains have started! After weeks of searingly hot temperatures (well over 40 celsius) the clouds thickened and delivered huge great drops of water this week. The word pula in Setswana means rain but it is also the name of the Botswana currency, so the importance of rain in this arid region is underlined. Although the rainfall is very localised, with some areas getting a great deal and others only a few millimetres, it has already transformed the landscape. The brown, dusty bush is starting to turn green as the trees burst into leaf and the grass emerges in the most unlikely places.
The rain, and how much you got, is the subject of everyone's conversation and the wildlife is already starting to move away from the guaranteed water sources of the dry season.
Although the rain can cause problems for doing research, especially looking for spoor, it is very welcome and I hope there is plenty more to come.
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