MAPUNGUBWE "Middle Earth"

Travelling with my guide, Ali Chauke, in Mapungubwe taught me a number of practical lessons. Do not drive over elephant dung, the thorns within it will puncture a tyre. Do not carry citrus fruit in the car, elephants are said to smell it instantly and may come looking for it. In wild country, such knowledge matters.

On the morning of this photograph we waited for Nimbus to gather above a koppie that seemed almost prehistoric in character. Around us the veld moved with life, wildebeest, zebra and an extraordinary number of birds, while Ali spoke about the preparation of mopane worms, a recipe passed down through his family.

Then the animal sounds quietened and the landscape seemed to hold itself still. In Mapungubwe, where deep history, wildlife and myth all seem close to the surface, even silence has presence. Into that silence came only the sound of the Hasselblad shutter.