I have been involved in a scientific study of the vegetation in the Hwange national park, Zimbabwe. Our measurements required wet conditions, so we went at the heart of the rainy season. I spent hours crouched in the grass, accompanied by the compulsory armed ranger (a safeguard against the dangerous animals that roam the park). Unfortunately it had not rained for three weeks and the experiment was, well, not conclusive. On the other hand, there always was some animal or other in sight.