We arrived 7 weeks ago to what looked like a desert, a few trees and scrubby bushes dotted around in plains of flat baked mud with no grass. There were some depressions which must have once held water. A surprising number of birds flew overhead, mainly Egrets a type of water bird heading to the River Chari that flows through the capital and north to Lake Chad. Cows and camels are driven past our home each day heading to get water. Nights are still and quiet apart from the braying of the donkey in the nearby village. The only wildlife around the house are the numerous lizards and occasional chameleons.Things began to change, but not immediately for the better, the humidity rose, thunder rumbled in the towering clouds that came and went for more than a week. It was hot and sticky. The winds that fill the house with dust each day became stronger and we had to close all the windows despite the heat. Then driving Rebecca home one day the sky darkened with an enormous dust cloud that reduced visibility to about 50m, just as I was about to stop the car a few large drops and then heavy torrential rain. The windscreen wipers couldn’t cope and neither could the tyres as the sheets of baked mud became like a tropical ice skating rink. The car thermometer registered 39C as the rain began to fall, 20 minutes alter back at the house it had fallen to 26C. What a relief!
Realising what was to come we purchased a new set of windscreen wipers and 2 new front tyres with off road tread to replace 2 much worn tarmac tyres. We would have liked to buy 4, but having scoured the markets and garages that was all that was in stock. Next delivery estimated mid July. Our compound came to life with 3 species of butterfly including many beautiful swallow tails, crickets abounded and the first small green shoots appeared in the newly baked mud. Two weeks later we have had the second rain, even heavier and longer, deep wide puddle filled the space between the two houses. Next morning it had dried, but we woke to a chorus of frogs croaking at 6am. Roy told us to go and investigate before breakfast and we found that the depressions had become large ponds about 50m across and that they were full of hundreds no thousands of mating frogs. As there was no vegetation they were clearly visible and very noisy. Believe it or not they hibernate deep in the baked mud and wait for the rain. Dogo our driver arrived late as his car was stuck about 1km from our house.
Later at midday we took our 4x4 to tow him out, the frogs had disappeared but storks had arrived for their lunch. Slowly strutting around and plunging their long beaks into the muddy waters and down holes in the mud searching for frogs. They were stood amongst large flocks of egrets and graceful herons but are quite ugly bald headed and huge, standing 1.5m tall with a wingspan of 2.5m , and looking like a vulture as they circle on the thermals overhead . An absolutely amazing transformation ‘desert’ to wild life park, just add water.
