I Dreamed of Africa Page #2

- Ready, Duncan?

- Yeah, let's give it a go.

Damn!

There's another at Laikipla.

- Good cattle country.

- OI Ari Nyiro.

It's owned by a consortium of bankers.

It's in terrible condition.

It's been on the market a month or so.

Ready?

Go.

Good shot.

God, it's good to be back.

OI Ari Nyiro.

Look, Ema. Over there.

Behind those hills.

That's the Great Rift Valley.

- It's almost derelict.

- I'll say.

That's why it's such a good price.

The work it needs!

What a view.

Look! Wildebeest!

Look.

Impalas.

Very good.

- I'm going to explore.

- What a view.

Paolo says there's a waterhole.

Kuki Gallmann.

Emanuele.

Simon.

I am Mrs. Gallmann.

Wanjiku.

Wanjiku.

Second ball, all right? I'll come in.

That must be Declan.

The ranch manager.

- 'Morning.

- 'Morning.

Paolo Gallmann.

- How you doing?

- Fine.

- Are you Declan?

- Yeah. This is Mirimuk.

My wife and son.

- Could you help me with that?

- Sure. Come in.

Can you put the map here?

It's an old map.

The cattle stations aren't marked.

Here and here...

...is even better water.

I think he wants us to come with him.

Let's go see.

No one's put any capital

in the place for years.

Hurry.

We've arrived.

- How many places have you seen?

- We looked at the place at Kipini.

- Yes, the Stroud place.

- I think so.

Well, that's quite a sad story.

Why?

They were a young English couple.

They got into a lot of debt.

Things got very bad.

They shot their two children

and then they shot themselves.

You're lucky to have Simon.

He's a Turkana.

He turned up four years ago

out of the blue.

Something makes him stay.

This just isn't a place for amateurs.

Looking into the night,

I can see eyes staring back at me.

In the dark, something is moving.

I am afraid, but I am also happy.

I have never been here before,

and yet I feel like I have returned.

I am at peace.

I hear noises.

Come in.

Come on.

Listen.

We call that the go-away bird.

And that...

...nightjars.

Elephant.

Hey, Pep. Snake.

- What is it?

- Get away from it!

It's only a python. It's not poisonous.

Can I keep it? Please, Pep.

I'll call him Kaa...

...like in the Kipling story.

Remember, Pep?

Touch it. He'll like it.

Paolo, you be careful!

I'm fine! We'll have fresh water soon!

Finally.

You're looking very godlike this morning.

Me?

My beautiful wife. Kiss me!

It's Duncan.

I'll go and meet him.

I packed a few crates of scotch.

Should be enough for a week.

Duncan, don't forget my.375.

- We won't keep him long.

- It's not him we want.

It's Luka.

He's the best tracker in the country.

You'll be okay?

Of course. We'll be fine.

Thanks for all the supplies you brought us.

- It's the way life's lived here.

- It's a different rhythm.

Take care of your mom.

Takes some getting used to.

Simon and Wanjiku

will take good care of us.

Well, let's get going.

Come on, Romeo.

Easy, boy.

We'll be back in a few days.

- I'm going to catch some frogs for Kaa.

- Luka, come on!

This is Kaa, my python.

Where?

Stay there.

Come back!

He was just trying to protect us.

Go to bed. I'll be there soon.

Paolo's been gone five days now...

... and there is still no word from him.

Ema keeps asking where he is,

and I keep making excuses.

What have I gotten myself into?

What have I gotten my son into?

What happened?

Ema, no!

And then you shot the wart hog.

Two shots to the back of the head.

Bam, bam.

- And where did you go after that?

- Up north, to Lake Turkana.

We hired a boat and did some fishing.

Paolo caught some Nile perch.

Huge great thing, 100 pounds,

maybe more.

Don't start, please.

- The meat, do we hang it like venison?

- Not in this climate.

Yes, thank you.

Wonderful coffee.

Great food, Kuki. Just the job.

Yes, magnificent.

- You're a lucky man, Paolo.

- Next time you and Emanuele must come.

Yeah, please?

You were gone 10 days, Paolo.

I'm sorry.

What happened to checking out

the ranch like you talked about?

Come on.

- Well, look.

- What?

No watch.

Took it off when the plane landed in

Nairobi, and haven't put it on since.

Things have a different rhythm here.

You'll get used to it.

So I keep hearing.

There are things to do here.

This isn't Italy.

It takes time. You can't just pick up

a phone and make it happen.

I didn't know where you were.

Fine. I'm sorry.

Next time I'll get word to you.

I'm sorry.

You have two minutes to get dressed.

We're going fishing.

- We'll go down to the coast.

- Fishing?

How many did we lose?

- About four this week.

- And six last week.

They're picking up infections somewhere.

I'll check the waterholes.

I'll tell you what. We'll dip them tonight.

Wow! Look at the size of those horns.

You must be especially careful of Kaa.

Mapengo will help you.

You mustn't overfeed them.

I wish I could take them with me.

- Are you going to be all right?

- Sure.

And you know what else?

Charlie says there's a lake for rowing.

You'll be great at that.

I'm going to miss you, too.

I hate it. I hate it.

I know Ema has to go off to school.

I understand we can't give him

the education he needs on the ranch.

I've known it since we decided

to come to Africa.

But that doesn't make it any easier.

Come here.

He is my son.

He is my friend.

Just be the person you are.

Choose your friends.

Don't let them choose you.

Emanuele, come on!

He has been the one constant in my life.

What makes it worse is...

... he wants to go.

Why does love cost us so much?

Why won't they let us visit

on the weekends? It's inhuman.

It's the British way.

It makes a better man, apparently.

It's ridiculous.

Delta 2-8.

Same problem as last year. Only worse.

I'll speak to you on the sked again tonight.

Delta 2-8, out.

- I was going to bring those over later.

- Thanks.

Paolo sent word.

He's going to be another couple of days.

I saw Pokots today with their cattle

near the waterhole.

Yeah, well, they're welcome to the water.

Or they were.

It's just that their water supply

dries up sooner than our lake.

- Your lake.

- So, it's not a problem?

Well, it is. Their cattle are

carrying diseases. They're infecting ours.

We're loosing about 10 head a week.

European?

Yes. From Italy.

When I was a boy...

...the missionaries

taught me your language...

...and told me many stories

about European people.

Now at night,

I tell my children the same stories.

My father did the same

with me as a child...

...except his stories were of Africa.

My people know OI Ari Nyiro

for a long time.

Without its water...

...our cattle will sicken and die.

OI Ari Nyiro cattle pick up disease

from your cattle.

Without water,

the diseases will become much worse.

We have to solve this problem.

What is she doing?

What are you doing?

It's a deep hole, huh?

Building a dam,

that's quite an undertaking, Kuki.

In a couple days, you should be done.

Want us to stay and help finish the job?

We're fine.

It's quite some thing you did for them.

It was for us all.

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