The Editor
Reveals a profound fear of balloons
Early one morning in June, my wife, Sarah, and I woke to a strange sound. Crack! Crack! Crack! As we stumbled out of bed, the room was briefly lit by flashes from the window. Peering out I realised the electric fence was arcing on a giant number two. Thatʼs not a toilet euphemism, you understand; a metallic-looking party balloon in the shape of a ʻ2ʼ was tangled in our tree and was bouncing against the wire. It wasnʼt only our sleep that was disturbed... there was a miserable child somewhere lamenting the loss of their inflated second year. Pop!
A couple of days later we were on the Franschhoek Pass photographing the valley and mountains for a magazine feature. Sarah looked up and exclaimed: ʻVerreauxʼs eagle!ʼ Sure enough, a black wraith rode a thermal above, coursing along the rock face. The eagle was close enough for us to see its bright yellow beak and as we marvelled at the sight, another figure appeared in the sky not far behind: a golden number six, riding the same current. The party balloon had a string of smaller balloons trailing it.
We watched helplessly as it cruised up the cliffside and disappeared over the summit, perhaps destined to snag in an eagleʼs nest on a remote crag, or in the ocean, tangled around the neck of a seabird.
Driving down the pass we pulled over again to train our binoculars on another dot in the sky. Hoping to spot the Verreauxʼs eagleʼs mate; instead we found the balloonʼs mate – a golden number three.
There were clearly a lot of birthdays being celebrated in June. We counted back and realised the birthday boys and girls would have been conceived in spring. Like the blossoming of flowers and the sprouting of new leaves, the warmth of spring is also known to fan the flames of love. That glorious season isnʼt far away now and we hope youʼll enjoy some of the ways we like to celebrate it: exploring the colourful blooms of the Cape, diving the warm waters of the KwaZulu-Natal coast, rafting the Orange River and adventuring in northern Namibia, when the nights arenʼt too cold and the days arenʼt yet sweltering.
Whatever your fancy, we hope you enjoy the season by getting outside and soaking up the wonder of the wilderness. And like our Namibia feature writer did, be sure to take your little ones along to experience it. You might inspire in them a love for the environment thatʼs truly grounded, and not loosely tethered to the Earth.