7.You could have been forgiven for seeing the cloud mushrooming over the hills behind the lagoons as an integral part of that tranquil scene, with ribbons of cloud streaming across the length of the hills. Most people did not even look up from their mobile phones as the cloud boiled in slow motion.

4. So, it was with sinking hearts that we noticed on the 5th August a large billowing cloud of smoke in the distance as we were wandering along the borders of a salt lake teaming with birds. We hoped the fire was small and containable. It wasn’t.