There are bugs here and as we are essentially living outside, they are our constant companions. There was a infinitely small, bright green praying mantis on my shoulder while on a drive one day. There were the biting ants at the hot springs – we had to move the truck for them – and at the Indian/Atlantic Ocean site. Mosquitoes haven’t been too bad. No need for malaria meds yet, Anopheles mosquitoes are not in the Kalahari.

Witsand had some spectacular specimens. Why would a grasshopper be so brilliantly colored? Isn’t he all that much more obvious to predators? And check out the cricket, he has armor with spikes – how cool is that?

Campgrounds with lights really put on a show. The globe at Sakkie se Arkie had a halo of flying insects. A light on the outside door of an ablution block means running a gauntlet of grasshoppers in order to shower. One night there were scores of praying mantis in the bathroom, then I never saw them again. Where did they go? And why aren’t there more of them, there’s plenty of food.

Ants are getting in the truck and are likely impossible to dislodge completely. We are always seeking shade, and ants love trees. We will transplant them from camp to camp.