Where to begin?? We just finished our month in the bush, and had an absolutely incredible time. Our camp was situated in the northernmost part of Kruger National Park – a place where few tourists wander into. It is still the true wild up there. We stayed in a camp, but not as rustic as one may think. Our ‘tent’ had wooden floors, a thatched roof, and a bathroom complete with running water! But it had canvas sides, so still qualifies as a tent, I guess! We did the class with 15 other people of all nationalities, backgrounds, and ages, and met some fantastic folks. The daily routine was quite rigorous and went something like this: Wake up at 5am to beating drums (except for every eighth day, when we were ‘on duty’ and had to wake up at 4:30 to set up breakfast, boil water for tea, and do the drum beating at 5), have some cereal and tea and head out at 5:45 for a 3-4 hour walk. Brunch at 10. Lecture at 11 until 1 or 2pm. Some free time until ‘high tea’ at 3:30. Drive out in the bush looking for animals from 4-6:30 or 7. Dinner at 7:30. Collapse exhausted into bed before 9:30 (most nights!) We alternated walking and driving in the mornings and afternoons so that you could experience both times of day on foot and in the vehicle. Adam and I went out every chance we could get – rain or shine. We learned to drive the 4x4 open land rovers, got to sit on the ‘tracker seat’ on the hood of the car, and learned how to shoot a rifle. Adam was the best shot in the class – how scary is that? And I can even shoot a bullseye on a 7 inch target at 10 meters, when I have enough time to aim properly (which is the one thing you don’t have when being charged by an elephant!). It was not your typical holiday. We had to take three written tests, one field evaluation, give two presentations, and also a game drive evaluation. But we both passed with flying colors and learned a whole lot too.
As far as animals go, we saw a ton. Elephants, lion, leopard, buffalo, hippo, hyena, kudu, nyala, eland, impala, bushbuck, steenbok, grey duiker, klipspringer, rock dassies, scorpions, crocodiles, warthogs, zebra, baboons, vervet monkeys, bush babies, genet, civet, one wildebeest, a porcupine, an elephant shrew, lizards, geckoes, dung beetles, termites, and even a black mamba! We saw awesome birds of prey – they have so many different types of eagles, hawks, vultures, and we even saw a bird called Pel’s Fishing Owl, which will be a point of envy for any avid birder. And some other beautiful birds too. One of our teachers had a big soft spot in his heart for birds and so we had one day devoted to seeing as many bird species as possible – we wrote down every bird we saw and in the end had 105 different species on the list. Think of how many different birds you see in one day – is it anywhere near 100? It says something about the incredible diversity of life supported in the area where we stayed.
I don’t even know where to start telling about our experiences. You’ll really have to sit down and talk to us about it sometime. I’ll just pick out a few of my favorites. One of the first few days there, we came upon a big bull elephant who was in musth. This means that it is prime breeding time for this guy and he therefore has very raised hormone levels and is a bit more arrogant and irritable than normal. We met him at a water hole and at first he seemed fine to have us there, but then started being a little aggressive – coming slowly at the car with his ears flared out, tossing his head. He stopped at a tree, about 20 feet away, and started to rub his head on the trunk, staring at us the whole time. Every once in a while he would stop and just stare. Our guide, Brett, would tell us to hold still, but we didn’t need to be told. When he stopped rubbing his head we would all freeze and hold our breaths, hearts pumping, until he relaxed and started scratching again. It was a very close encounter with a very big elephant, and was awesome. Eventually he had enough of us and advanced a little more, at which point Brett starts talking to him, telling him we were sorry to bother him and that we would be going now. And so we drove off and left him alone.
One night Adam and some of the other guys were sitting around the camp fire when an elephant approached (the camp was unfenced) and browsed from the tree right near where they were sitting. They just carried on the conversation and he eventually wandered away – he had just been over to say hi. A few nights later he reappeared in camp during dinner and our other teacher, Garth, had to go out and shout at him and convince him to leave camp. About an hour later we were both out at the campfire with a few friends when he returned. This time he was obviously interested in us and approached without the ruse of being hungry. He came quite close and we had to again shout at him to convince him he was close enough. This elephant continued to visit our camp on most nights. I really think he enjoyed the company, or something. I mean he has the whole bush to wander around in, why else would he hang out around our camp? On the night of my birthday, an elephant woke us up as it was eating from the tree right outside our tent (not sure if it was the same guy or not). We got out of bed and went to stand on the porch, and he passed by, less than 10 feet away, pausing to sniff at us – he knew we were there. It was a moonless night and he was so close that we could still see him in the darkness. He continued around the side of the tent to a different tree so we climbed back in bed and pressed our faces up to the screen window of the tent to see him. While we were sitting there he was only a few feet away, and he passed his trunk over the canvas on the tent, right in front of our faces, smelling us, before carrying on with his feeding. It was the best birthday present I could ever imagine.
One day there had been a lion sighting and we wanted to go find him, so we drove out to the area where he was last seen. There were lots of vultures in the trees nearby so we suspected he had made a kill. While stopping for a smoke break nearby, we heard him roar at the vultures who were trying to sneak in on his dinner. So we all hopped back in the car and drove the road again, searching for him. Still couldn’t find him so what do we do? Park the car, load the rifle, and jump out to search for him on foot! Crazy!! The bush was too thick though, and we still couldn’t find him, and weren’t stupid enough to wander into the thick bushes, so we hopped back in the car for one last try. Adam was driving and as we passed by a certain point, the girls in the back saw him peeking through the brush on the side of the road. So we reversed and got to see him. He was almost hidden in the bushes, and just stared at us. Then he decided he didn’t want us there and growled and advanced towards the car, but the thick brush prevented him from coming much closer. It was pretty spectacular though, to get growled at by a lion!
When you walk in the bush, you walk in a single file line, guy with a rifle in front, and in silence so you can hear everything going on around you. We were walking one morning and Adam and the guys at the back of the line noticed something so they snapped their fingers to get Brett’s attention. He stopped and turned around and Adam asked if this stuff on the ground was fresh blood. As soon as the question was out of his mouth, there was a loud rustling in the bushes next to us and the thunder of hooves. Brett immediately loaded the rifle and was on full alert. Two buffalo bulls had been lying in the heavy bushes right next to us and we never would have known it if they hadn’t been spooked by the sound of Adam’s voice. They ran away from us, however, luckily for us and them, but it really got our heart rates up, and was the only time the rifle ever had to be loaded and ready in the month we were there.
One evening it had been rainy and not many people wanted to go out for an activity, but some of us piled into a car anyway and headed off. We stopped to try to remove a tree that an elephant had pushed over onto the road, and realized that we were in the game drive vehicle without working headlights and that we had also forgotten the spotlight. Darkness was approaching so we cut the drive short and headed back towards camp. It was getting darker and ahead on the road we could see the lights of another vehicle so we pulled over on the top of a hill to let them pass. It was a vehicle from one of the two lodges in the area and as it came around the corner at the bottom of the hill we hear the trumpeting of an angry elephant behind them. The car comes up the hill and stops – the guests were laughing and saying “we just got chased by an elephant!” Our teacher, Garth was driving and asked the other car to carry on, just as the elephant appears in the road at the bottom of the hill. So they drive away and we sit there, engine off, waiting for her to wander away. But she comes up the hill, and about halfway to us, walks off the road and into the trees on the other side. She keeps approaching and it was getting darker and darker. She had only one full tusk and we could just see it almost glowing, white in the fading light, as she walked through the trees. We could hear rustling behind her and guessed that it was a herd of elephants with young ones, and this was the matriarch of the herd, just trying to protect them. We tried to sit quietly and not move, hoping she would just go, but she was pretty angry and wouldn’t let us be. She was level with us on the hill now, just off the road in the trees, when she let out an incredibly loud trumpet and charged. Garth shouted at her and banged his hand on the door of the car to try to drive her off. She stopped and regarded us for an incredibly long 30 seconds and then charged again. Again, more shouting and banging and she stopped; incensed and staring. Finally, she turned her back and moved into the woods with the rest of the herd. We started up the car and moved off and could see the herd in the trees, circled around the calves as we drove away. This was a truly frightening experience that happened because we were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Incredible to think back on but I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. Everyone in that car was seriously scared! I already respected elephants, but some of the experiences we had with them just underscored it even more. They are so powerful and can be so gentle, but don’t ever cross one! The elephants in this area reacted so differently to cars and people than any other elephants we have seen in our time here. Our camp was about 2 km south of Zimbabwe, an unfenced border, and the elephants roam freely across the river that divides the two countries. Sadly, hunting and poaching occur there and this explains a lot of the elephant’s over-protective behavior. One night we heard over the radio that a bull elephant had been spotted with a snare wrapped around his trunk. When we left, the park staff still hadn’t found him, but the guides in the area would spot him every once in a while and report him. When they find him they think they will probably have to put him down, as the damage will most likely not be treatable.
Another aspect of being close to Zimbabwe was the influx of people across the border. We would see footprints on the roads of people who had been passing through. One night we actually came across a small family in the middle of the park. A grandmother and grandfather (too old to be the parents, I think) a boy of maybe 6 years and a small baby. We stopped and talked to them – they claimed to be South Africans visiting their daughter in a nearby village and had just gotten lost and taken a wrong turn into the (heavily fenced) park. They were carrying two suitcases, and the little boy was barefoot. We had to radio them in to the park headquarters and someone came to pick them up. I am sure they were sent back into their deteriorating country, only to try again another time. It was quite sobering to see. My country would have to be in pretty bad shape for me to take the chance of walking through Kruger National Park with my grandkids to try to make it somewhere better.
Well, this is getting quite long, and my fingers are starting to ache from typing, so I’ll have to end the accounts there. It was a fascinating place in so many different aspects and I enjoyed almost every minute I spent there. We got to camp out one night in the dry Limpopo riverbed, and swim in the Luvhuvhu river with elephants and baboons wandering nearby. There are so many more stories, but you’ll have to get those in person some other time.
For now, we are back in our village – tying up a few loose ends and saying one last goodbye. On Monday, we head out towards Namibia and the next part of our journey. I don’t know what our internet access will be like from here on out, but we will try to update this as often as we can. Stay tuned…
