Dispatch 30 - Crooks Corner

Up early, breakfast in the Chief's Hall is polony, hot chips, baked beans, boiled eggs and Baker's Biscuits, then we're back on the red dusty road, a ranger in the lead vehicle knows his way around the landmines, we turn off the main road, white pieces of paper stuck onto a thorn bush marks the route, a beautiful fever tree forest to our right. More white paper and we turn once again, the track getting very narrow, bushes scratching the sides of the Landies as we follow the guide through the mine field. "It's anti personnel mines," he warned. A tawny eagle glides low over the Landies as if he scouts for danger. Then the track opens up onto a dry riverbed. "Guys, soft sand ahead," comes Ross' voice over the radio, "we're going into a riverbed, low ratio and difflock please, if you feel you're going down, let some air out of your tyres." The Elephant dung and tracks in the river sand is a grave reminder of the little boy's drawing in the art competition showing an elephant setting off a landmine.

The journey continues as with our shoes off and terrified of crocs we wade across the flooded Limpopo to Crooks Corner, aptly named after all the shenanigans and ivory smuggling that took place in this little corner of Africa where South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique meet at the confluence of the Luvubo and Limpopo Rivers. Sandra Basson, section head Pafuri, draws a map in the sand to show us where we are. Armed ranger Sergeant Daniel Chavalala is there to keep the crocodiles and hippos at bay, we dip the symbolic Zulu calabash to add another small amount of iconic water to carry across Africa and the Scroll of Peace and Goodwill for Conservation is filled in by Chief P.J. Makuleke and other dignitaries, and so the journey continues to cross the continent. We'll keep you posted.