It’s unbelievable what Orapa, our little boy-kitten, experiences. A few days ago, she met a large dog, an even larger pig and a few cat colleagues. Then last night she met a train with a hundred carriages pulled by three diesel locomotives. These trains, which are probably over a kilometer long, bring iron ore, manganese and other mineral resources from South Africa to Port Elizabeth. (From there the freight probably goes to China by freighter and we then buy the scrap that is made from it!)

We heard the freight trains rattle past our camp twice during the night, which was only a few hundred meters from the tracks. But that didn’t disturb our sleep because we were pleasantly tired after the long journey. However, that didn’t stop Orapa from interrupting our sleep three times. In contrast to the two sparrows that we raised in Swakopmund, she also wants to be fed at night. Once she is awake, you have to play with her for at least a quarter of an hour before she slips back into the nest that Brigitta houses in her sleeping bag. (There’s no room for me there anymore!)

PS: If you want to know how cute Orapa looks, you can see it in this photo! She totally had us both wrapped around her paws…