Why technology geeks don't belong in the Bush

As some of you may know, my conspicuous absence from the blog these past few weeks is owed to my extended holiday in South Africa, where I had VERY limited access to email.

What email was available ran at painfully slow speeds and just when a page had finished loading....BAM, it would crash.

Apparently this is was due to something called "dial-up". Does anyone know what that is?

While this was more than mildly annoying, after a week or so, I started to get used to being disconnected from the world--just.

Out in the bush it was just me, the lions, the rhinos, the panthers, and the bushmen (and bush women).

Who needs Internet when you've got nature and vast skies chock full of stars? Let's face it, the only "stars" I ever see are the landing lights from planes coming into Heathrow.

Alas, the novelty of my technology gap-week was short-lived.

Whilst relaxing in my camp one morning waiting for my next safari, I picked up a copy of the local newspaper and there, on the cover of the business section, was an article about Google.

I suddenly felt homesick.

I yearned for my laptop.

I wanted to search for something. I wanted to file-share. I wanted to mash something up.

I WANTED TO CHECK MY BLOODY EMAILS!!!!!!!!

Thankfully, my partner, also a technology geek, shared my pain.

We vowed that the next time we were in the Bush (yeah, right), we'd be armed with a satellite.

After all, what good is a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience if you can't email all your friends, who are trucking to work in the snow, to tell them what a fab time you're having?

That just spoils all the fun, doesn't it?

Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer, Travolution