The vehicle we took was much smaller than our sunset drive, but a similar design and only the 7 of us were on the tour, with 2 guides - Patrick and City. Both carried long rifles, wrapped in canvas cases and we drove far out into the savannah for a little while. We got excited when we turned into one of the less worn roads marked with a stone 'do not enter' sign, and drove up it for a distance before pulling over. Both guides opened their rifles and loaded them before unlocking the doors to our vehicles and circling up for a meeting about the rules and safety - for us and the animals. They explained that the rifles were only for a last resort, that if an animal charges us, we need to stay together and not run. A single person running will divert the attention of the animal and the animal will go after that person, whereas a group standing their ground may intimidate enough. He said if they ask us to yell, yell loudly, curse, and throw rocks if need be. This might be more effective in getting a charging animal to back down in the wild. We also were to follow the two leaders, single file, and remain quiet while walking until we stopped to circle up and listen as one of our guides described a tree or particular variety of dung to us.
We stopped a number of times to identify poop and trees of significance in the culture and well being of the people in South Africa. One particular tree had very soft leaves; perfect for wiping in the wild. Another bore fruit called monkey fruit which made male elephants act drunk - but our guide explained it had a lot of vitamins in it and actually just made them horny and frustrated. We managed to get a few hundred feet from some rhinos, and took some pictures, attempting to barely make noise with our feet in order not to frighten them away. We also saw a warthog scatter off on our approach. We walked for a few hours, until around 9:20 AM or so.
We took some pictures in front of the vehicle and took off for camp to pack and check out. We had some breakfast before we left and then took off to try to spot a leopard or cheetah one more time before we left Kruger. We saw a lot more elephants and some other animals, but alas, no more big cats.
We had to go through the border one more time, and then stopped at another KFC for lunch before heading back to Malandela’s. It was evening by the time we reached there, and we prepared to go to UWC the next day until we found out they actually could not accommodate us tomorrow. We will meet with them on Thursday only instead (we had planned on both mornings). This means we have a day to spend doing something completely spontaneous!
No comments:
Post a Comment