A new way to waste time at work

Actually, it's an old way to waste time at work, taught to me by Bec, a frequent visitor to this blog, good friend and arch skiver.

For those of us stuck half a world away from Africa (or for you Africans inhabiting the urban or suburban jungle), there is the virtual safari.

There are a number of webcams covering waterholes in private game reserves and national parks in South Africa. These broadcast images - usually updated every 40 seconds - 24 hours a day.

It's not as exciting as the real thing, but you're also less likely to get mauled by a lion, stressed over the odd grinding noise in your Land Rover's gearbox, or bored witless by a safari guide's lame jokes.

There's a whole website devoted to this voyeuristic animal version of Big Brother, called Africam but I've just found its login procedures to be extremely tiresome and inefficient.

You can also check out cameras covering water holes at Orpen and Satara camps in the Kruger National Park, without having to think of yet another login name and password.

Permission to waste time. Carry on.