environment – Michael Reid Books

Johannesburg, January 2026 — Drama on the Road

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January 17, 2026 We sat on the tarmac waiting for passengers to arrive from their lodges. Ours’ was closest to the airport, with only one road to traverse. It remained passable. The other reserves were further away, and the rain had suddenly returned with a vengeance. All the grass visible in the picture (below) was soon to be totally…

Sabi Sand, January 2026 — Rivers

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January 12, 2026 We are having “significant” rainfall today. The experts predict well over 1 inch – which, when added to the accumulation from yesterday, and the projections for more rain tomorrow; it’s suddenly quite wet here. This morning, Bill and I were surprised to find large puddles on the floor of our unit – leaks in what before had seemed like an impenetrable bubble. Bath towels…

South Africa, January 2026 — Attention

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January 8, 2026 A two-inch southern-foam-nest-tree-frog (its’ official name) was sitting in a branch, and caught the attention of our tracker as we drove past it. We were actually looking for a family of cheetahs thought to be nearby. Bill and I were amazed that Sipo was able to see such a small creature from high atop a…

South Africa, January 2026 — Rewilding

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January 6, 2026 Before returning to Africa, I had become familiar with the concept of “rewilding”. It refers to landscapes and the reintroduction of animals and other living things that were formerly driven-out or exterminated. But I wonder now what this important phenomenon for environmental conservation and the preservation of species in the natural world…

Serra Cafema, February 2025 — The Season of Milk

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February 28, 2025 On our last day at Serra Cafema, I asked Michael E (one of the staff who happened to also have my name) why there seemed to be less flies around at night. He laughed and said, “It’s dark at night! They can’t see!” We continued on with an interesting discussion about flies.…

Sossusvlei, February 2025 — Return

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February 26, 2025 Shaun – an astronaut in the book, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, wonders why he is …Trying to live where he can never thrive? Trying to go where the universe doesn’t want him when there’s perfectly good earth just there that does. He’s never sure if his lust for space is curiosity or…

Serra Cafema, February 2025 — Surrender

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February 22, 2025 We are now at Serra Cafema, Namibia, on the banks of the Kunene River. It creates a border between our Wilderness camp and Angola. The Kunene flows brown and into the Atlantic – only 30 miles away, carrying the earth to the ocean below. While keeping an eye out for alligators, we…

Convento São Paulo, January 2025 — Austerity & Silence

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January 30, 2025 He couldn’t stop singing about the day we had in Estramoz. He wanted to go back outside and revisit the places we had seen. But we explained that every day would be different. Every destination would offer its own lesson and unique charm. We had to move on. The narrow road to…

Imerovigli, October 2024 — Wordle

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October 19, 2024 I’ve started doing Wordle with Bill every morning. I’m not usually one for puzzles and word games, but If you haven’t Wordled yet, I recommend it. Bill says, “It keeps the cobwebs out”. Who knew that coming up with 5 letter words could be so much fun? You get positive and affirming…

Santorini, October 2024 — Context

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October 16, 2024 During our tour of vineyards in Santorini, we heard a lot about context. Second to tourism, agriculture is the most active industry on the island – producing rare whites and sweet desert varieties. Wines are known to us by their taste, viscosity, color and smell – all shaped by their particular surroundings.…