I’m in the Matambeni bird hide in South Africa’s Kruger Park, sitting out a heatwave. It’s late morning, and after a long, hot game drive, the cool shade of this simple wooden shelter is a blessed relief. Wildlife-wise, though, there’s nothing’s happening. I peer out at an apparently lifeless landscape. Drought has reduced the Letaba River to a few weed-choked mud holes, and the sun-bleached sand beyond – complete with ominous buffalo skull – looks like a desert. Time to move on.
As I’m about to leave,
