South Africa

An Indian Takeaway to take one’s Breath Away

There is no shortage of eateries and bars around the International Dock to entertain and nourish the new visitor and I watched the vervet monkeys playing on the roof while Rob sat inside K N K Curries awaiting our order.

Back on board we unwrapped the goodies and tucked in and stopped dead in our tracks, hiccupping and coughing. We had been warned by a couple who stopped for a chat by the boat that the curries were hot and they weren’t wrong. But tasty as well and at £2.73 each we weren’t complaining. Not so much as a grain of rice was left on the plate.

The day after that a big 64-foot American design, Swedish Yacht arrived with torn foresails on two of his forestays. The skipper had taken her and her three-man crew into the Friday 13th gale on leaving Reunion and in one of the weather systems for which we were well reefed, Dawnbreaker sailed under main and two foresails, blowing out the two sails in front of the mast and ripping one of the mainsail shanks out of the mast groove and broke two preventers. I was annoyed at the risk he had taken with the welfare of the yacht and the lives of the four men on board but my mood was sweetened somewhat when the vervet monkeys nipped on board and pinched all his fruit that was kept in a net at the stern!

The day after his arrival, on Monday, a catamaran came in that had arrived at the river mouth just a few hours after us but had been unable to enter for 48 hours. We never did find out why. She also was in Des’s group for advice. That same day we had our Covid tests which came back negative on Tuesday and then the wait for Immigration started. Finally on Thursday after a wasted journey to their office a charming officer came to the dock and under one of the sun umbrellas at Dros Restaurant we all cleared in, all except for Ali Cat, the catamaran I mentioned who inexplicably disappeared just as the Immi Officer arrived.

Lines aboard for the short journey to Zululand Yacht Club Marina and less than an hour later we tied up with the help of local hands into our dock at C8 for what we think will be around a month. Most other yachts are keen to spend Christmas in Cape Town but we are keen to keep away from crowds where the rick of catching Covid are greater. This is the best spot for the local safaris on the Reserves just north of here; the club has a reputation for friendliness and is quite rural. Also the weather hopefully moderates a little as the season progresses and better weather windows can be expected from January onwards.

Most of this year’s IO (Indian Ocean) yachts are here now, safely out of the cyclone area but subject to the powerful Lows that romp up from the Southern Ocean. But we don’t have to worry about those for a while.

Mirabella, with Andre and Eva, Jael and Amina aboard, is moored on the next jetty along and plans to join the group at CT for Christmas and it was nice to have a chat with them in the boatyard. Speaking of which, is busy with lots of owners working on their craft. There are numerous wrecks, rotting away, but we have met the Club treasurer who spends some of his time re-cycling the ones no longer wanted by their owners. He pays them an agreed price, sells what he can and cuts up the hulls. So sensible.

On Friday Rob and I went for a wander around the lovingly cared for grounds of the Yacht Club, inspected the dinghies which included Fireballs and Lasers, watched our footing where the crabs had their network of tunnels and took in the pretty views over the waterways that link into Mzingazi Lake, a valuable wetland area fed by the Nundwane and Nkoninga Rivers. Much emphasis is placed on enjoyment for families with lots of play areas, home-made swings hanging from benevolent old trees, individual and communal braie, or barbecue areas and the club building has a lovely bar upstairs, didn’t take us long to find that and discover they show the rugby matches on the big screen tv. So, we are hopeful for the Autumn Nations Cup, Eng v Fr next Sunday!!

As we sat slurping our WindHock beers in the open bar area the vervet monkey group came around for a look see. Many of them carried babies on their fronts and they spun up the trees and sat watching us watch them. One leaped onto a table and grabbed a handful of discarded chips and sped aloft, sharing them out and looking down at us with that “too quick for you lot” look on its face as it nibbled its quarry.

Annelie took us in her car/taxi to customs for the final clearing requirement and then on to a mall for some fresh fruit and veg and safari clothes. Tomorrow she will take us to the airport to collect a hire car for the week and then it’s off to the dentist, followed by Zoonie’s fuel run with the 8 x 20 litre cans. Tuesday, we head North on the N2 and take a left opposite the Baobab Inn for the Rhino River Lodge on the private Manyoni Reserve. So looking forward to it now.

Yesterday our wander took us once more to the bar where we enjoyed Pele’s company for a couple of hours. Nicolaus had gone with the crew of Dawnbreaker on a two day safari but as Pele doesn’t do animals we chatted together instead, while the rugby, NZ All Blacks v Argentina in Auckland, played on the screen.

Rhino River Lodge on Manyoni Private Game Reserve

We knew we were in for a treat when we came across pretty Impala deer in a group beneath the trees near to a pair of Wildebeest (called Gnu everywhere else but not in South Africa) sparring across the road and a family of warthogs in a thicket right beside the track as we drove from the south entrance of the reserve to the lodge in our little white brand-new Suzuki Swift. All that wildlife even before we checked in.

The fine big antelope with the curly upward antlers is the greater Kudu. The reserve was started in 2005 having previously been a cattle farm and it covers 23,000 hectares. All the original animals were introduced and with careful management of numbers using birth control and exchanges with other reserves the regeneration of the natural habitat has been left largely to the animals; they are much better at it than humans, as our guide, Kyle explained to us. Just the right number of elephants for example will knock over a given number of trees so they can eat part of the nutritious root system. The tree doesn’t die, so the foliage is now available to smaller animals and the grass grows in and around the branches creating an environment for a myriad of other life forms to thrive. So, the African savanna and its woodlands were re-instated in this beautiful example of re-wilding.

This mosaic of wildlife, biodiversity if you like, struck us as we stood on our little veranda outside our room listening to the bird song and insect voices. It was as if the birds knew when their performance time would start within the chorus. Just in the grounds of the lodge we had a pair of woodland kingfisher who lived on insects in the trees and grass while the seasonal tributary of the Rhino River that passes by the lodge lay dry but filled with thick lush grass. We were there in the early wet season when all the young are born. The lodge grounds are fenced against elephants and giraffe but everything else is welcomed. While we were there warthogs would often pass through, on a mission, with their tails upright, or just peacefully grazing. Jady told me about the time she was returning to her accommodation one night when she heard a warning growl and backed away from a resting lioness to a position where she could pass the queen from a more generous distance. After dark we were escorted back to our rooms because of the puff adders who live there and other potentially challenging nocturnal visitors.

Lunch of wraps and banoffee pie was from 1.30pm and then we could relax until 4.00pm when our keenly awaited first game drive would start.

Kyle had spotted a rare Golden Pippet visiting the reserve that morning; a visitor from NE Africa and this sighting was only the 23rd apparently; so the phone in the office had not stopped ringing with Kyle’s wife, Clair taking bookings from ‘twitchers’ all over South Africa wanting to fly in to see if they could spot it.

So that was our first target and along with Letitia Cox, a freelance photo-journalist (Lens Traveller) our only other visitor in our vehicle, we sped off to where Kyle suspected it was hanging out. We spotted it very quickly and when it took flight its back looked like a golden disc flying through the air. The tiny bird spent a long time on the ground and was very still but too far away for me to get a good shot of the actual bird so the example on Kyle’s phone will have to suffice. Another vehicle arrived and we left them to enjoy the little bird, brandishing their long trunk-like lenses.

Soon we started seeing babies, baby giraffe with mum and an adult male, not the father but a hanger on waiting for the female to be in oestrus again, and as such a kind of protector for her; like so much here there are reciprocal relationships. Another is the Red-billed Ox Pecker that helps keep hippos, buffalo and rhinos clean while it gains nourishment. There are numerous white rhinos and a few black ones in the reserve. We never did see a black one, with the pointed upper lip but the straight lipped whites were numerous. Both animals are the same colour, the opposing names refer to the Rivers they originate from.

Waterbuck, with the white circle on their bums, as if they’ve just stood up from a freshly painted loo seat, were making their way to a waterhole as were we to enjoy our first sundowners, just the four of us and get to know each other over the next three days. We had ordered our drinks before leaving and Kyle set them on the little table with dishes of beef jerky, cheeselets and tiny home-made buns and biscuits, which we also had in our rooms, with tea and coffee and a fridge full with South African wines and beer.

In the distance grey herons were standing on the backs of the hippos fishing, while their hosts lay submerged occasionally exhaling in clouds of spray just like whales. Cicadas reminded us of the warm climate we were in and thunder and lightning reverberated around the distant hills as it had when we were on the Ecuador Amazon, swimming in Piranha Lake; wouldn’t swim here though, a crocodile ducked under the water as we arrived, but then I thought, remembering Tunnel Creek in the Kimberley, fresh water crocs are shy of us if we keep away from them.

Letitia lives on the hoof, or to be more accurate on her Dubarry boots and in her white Jeep. She travels the world giving her heart and soul to her work and at the same time giving her skills to worthwhile causes including animal and human welfare. Originally from Madrid her father told her he would ‘release’ her when she reached 17 years old provided she had her driving license and could change the four wheels on his Landcruiser. Well with a send-off like that a lass cannot fail to go far. You can find her with her compassionate photos and stories on Lens Traveller.

In the dark we drove back to the lodge, the vehicle headlights illuminating the track ahead and Kyle’s scanning from side to side with his spotlight searching for eyes. We saw our first jackal and valued the timing, because we would witness life on the reserve at all times but midday, when the animals are restful in the long grass and hard to see anyway, and deep night time. Night drives are available and I would have liked to do one, if only to increase our chances of seeing the leopards. But for now, our ambition was to gaze upon some giraffe.

Jady was there to greet us on our return with little glasses of sherry and we sat around the campfire, our chairs so positioned in our group numbers to adhere to the distancing rules. We chatted across the sandy divide with a group of six, three couples from Durban who were neighbours and had been holidaying together for many years.

The thatched lodge dining room, with one side looking onto the fire and the other side an expansive veranda overlooking the slope down to the ‘river’, was made even more beautiful with hurricane lamps on the tables and wall lights peeping through woven reed shades. The food was so tasty and colourful and the staff all mixed in together; one minute a guide, the next barman, and in the shadows our escort awaited to guide us home along the windy path for our first night’s sleep beneath the gently turning ceiling fan and protective mosquito net.

What would tomorrow bring?

An African Bush-Walk with Darren and Rees

(Yesterday was our first day back on Zoonie after our safari and it rained all day after our long night’s sleep. So I got to complete my first safari blog and Zoonie and all her rigging, including her sheets and lines were washed thoroughly clean of salt in the soft warm rain. Today, Sunday 6th Dec I shall feel good once this blog is sent to you and then we will chat with family at home and this afternoon wander along to the YC bar to watch the England v France Autumn Nations Rugby Final. Life could not be better today.)

It was at about this time, 04.50am four days ago that Rob and I made our way to the lodge for our early morning mug of tea in readiness for our walk in the bush with Darren, a Ranger from another lodge on the reserve and young trainee Ranger Rees. It was becoming light when we closed the door of our room and a warthog family had just wandered through, had a drink from the shallow concrete water basin laid in the ground and moved on.

Darren handed Rees his gun from the rear seat of his vehicle and then gave us our brief. On the vehicle tracks we could walk abreast but once we started following the narrow weaving animal ways, he would lead with Rees second and us bringing up the rear, so that if he needed to defend us, he would have a clear view (and shot) ahead and to the sides.

Being on foot one is nearer the ground surface for studying footprints and photographing flowers, dung beetles at work and small insects. Also it was pleasant exercise in the cool of the morning and we could see the country from the view point of the antelope. But as we watched Impala, Giraffe, Buffalo and Nyala dash away from us showing much more fear of us on foot, than yesterday when we were in the vehicle, we knew we wouldn’t be getting close up and friendly with them and we wondered why.

“Even before white men came here with their cattle and guns the wild animals feared men on foot with their spears, the more so when they occasionally stopped and stood still, obviously stalking their prey and making ready for that fatal shot.”

We came to a prickly bush bearing small orange plums, the Sour Plum Tree. The skin of the plum was dry and sour to the taste, but the fleshy interior had the makings of a sweet snack for any passing animal who could reach them.

There was plenty of evidence of animal life. The 400 different species of dung beetle do a fantastic job of recycling 70% of the elephant and rhino poo in Africa, dragging it below ground to return nutrients and solid material to the ground to keep it aerated and nourished. We watched them in fascination as they rolled up the sticky olive green goo into balls and then roll them fast to their destination. Some of the balls are nuptial offerings to be enjoyed by newly united couples and then there are the nursery balls and Darren is showing the hole through which the young dung beetles crawled out of the nest in which they were born, with plenty of food, moisture and warmth around them, an ideal nest material when you think like a dung beetle.

Only rarely did I do a 360 degree look around and see no obvious animals in the distance, they knew we were there but they also knew how far away from us was safe.

Darren showed us the tracks of the rhino and jackal from the night before and then where an elephant had torn the bark from a young tree. Some young trees protect their bark with hard protrusions which they shed as their bark ages and hardens, but not this one. The bark is stripped back to reveal the Cambium layer of sweet moisture, an essential source of food in the dry season. The elephant knows to not strip the bark more than three quarters the way around the tree so that it will continue to live. Great country managers; dung beetles and elephants despite their extremes in size. Also, rhinos play their part; the stick that Darren is holding has been cut from the bush at a 45-degree angle by the hippos shaped incisors, just as horticulturalists graft fruit trees in the same way, so the future health of the bush is assured.

Another lovely thing about bush walking is the sounds of the animals and birds and sometimes the enveloping stillness, the silent sound of a land in perfect balance. That is what has been created here by man and animals in just 15 years. All land that has been tortured by misguided farming methods can recover in a short time when it is handed back to nature.

I remember thinking on our first game drive how nice it would be to photograph the flowers, but there were such a variety I couldn’t ask Kyle to keep stopping the vehicle; so now was the perfect opportunity. I don’t remember all their names but Morning Glory rings a bell and a bush with flowers like the potato and Deadly Nightshade plant.

“I told one group how the rubber sap from this plant can kill a human and disappear from their system before autopsy, a Belgian lass asked if she could take some with her as her neighbour was a chain smoker and his cigarette smoke constantly filled her apartment from his balcony, despite her complaints!” Kyle told us.

The pretty yellow and pink blossom from the Sickle Bush retains it pink colour until it is fertilised and then it turns white and the vicious thorns on the green bush grow to that size only when an insect lays its eggs in the smaller thorns and they grow to create a highly protective nest for the developing larvae inside. Darren said he could wander in the bush all day and I think I could because there is just so much to learn about the clever and intricate ways in which the animals and plants interact to ensure their survival and in turn the survival of the land, the home of man and the animal kingdom for over 100,000 years.

In the far distance was the watering hole we had visited for sundowners the afternoon before, then suddenly three buffalo making their way in that direction spotted us and thundered off in fear so all we really saw was their rumps disappearing around a bend in the track. The hippos were ever present lying on the bottom of the watering hole, their ears and backs all that we could see as they rested, fishing platforms for the herons.

Hawk-eyed Rees spotted a porcupine quill among the twigs on the ground and Darren explained that the animal uses them by reversing quickly backwards towards its predator and spiking it with its armoury of scimitar. It is now tucked in beside Gail’s abalone shell, Charly’s wooden ‘SEAS THE DAY’ spoon and Rose Curser’s Rosewood Tiki from Nuku Hiva all tied around Zoonie’s mast in the saloon.

I glanced at my watch as we strolled on in single file, 08.40am and counting. We leaned over an interesting bush and I remember hearing a distant rumble and thinking, stampeding rhinos coming our way? No it was just Darren’s tummy calling him home for breakfast; we had travelled light and had only water to drink on this excursion so we were all ready for some food after nearly four hours of walking in the lovely early morning.

Our penultimate surprise was the Leopard Tortoise, one of a number we saw while we were there. This species can swim because they have a ‘v’ shape in the shell behind their head so they can raise their head above water level and also the three points of their shell on their back trap air and act as flotation chambers. This was a male with a concave shell underneath so it can mount the curve of the female’s shell while mating.

The female Nyala didn’t move far because she was with a group and her young lamb was nearby, but we moved right back to our dining room, our tummies telling us and our minds confirming that we were very hungry!

After breakfast we sat in the comfy lounge sorting through photos so Rob could get some on to Facebook, we had taken our own modem with us from Zoonie. I busied myself copying mine on to a hard drive and memory stick and cleared them off the camera ready for the fruits of the afternoon game drive!

Ranger John ‘O’ Takes us on our Second Game Drive

Kyle was away with Clair and their little baby at Richards Bay Hospital trying to discover why Annabelle had started shaking earlier in the day, so Johnno was our Ranger from Rhino Sands Lodge, under the same ownership and just across the Reserve from us.

We were discovering the form now and like Kyle, he asked us what we wanted to see in particular. We both mentioned giraffes, Rob’s favourite animal but I knew the risk of seeking a specific species rather than just enjoying what we would stumble upon in that there was a risk of disappointment; we whispered, almost, a desire to see the two male lions that were known to be in the area and had wandered fearless through the lodge grounds just a few days before, check out their Facebook page for those pictures! I’m kind of glad we missed that.

But we were used to risks and were delighted when not far along the track we came across a pair of giraffe and then spotted some more, quietly grazing the tops of the trees. Johnno explained the countless ways in which their internal design compensated for their extremes in height to prevent their blood system flooding out of control into their head when they stoop to drink for example, or back down again towards their hearts when they stand up; these anatomical checks in place ensured they could reach their food supply and it was exclusive to them at their great height, until Jumbo comes along and fells the tree that is.

Our Rangers were constantly talking on the radio to the others driving in the reserve and relaying what they had found. Sometimes we could follow what was going on elsewhere but not necessarily what was going on in our ranger’s mind as to our next step. However Johnno picked up on my desire to photograph the distant views of the scenery and mountain range so he said he wanted to show us the area from a high viewpoint and while driving around a hill to get to the top we came across a giraffe lying down, not a common sight in the daytime. Even less common was catching in my photo his curving head and neck as he groomed himself.

The Zebras had a long think before they moved off the road for us, giving us a good opportunity to study them. As soon as something of interest pops up on these drives the Rangers stop the vehicle and turn off the engine so immediately we were with the wild animals, sharing their moments in the quiet country, surrounded by life in the bush or on the open savanna, and those moments were precious because the atmosphere rolled in accompanied by birdsong and the distant sounds of a jackal calling or hyena barking their whereabouts. The reserve has recently instated a group of wild dogs but they found a way through the perimeter fence and as the female is very pregnant, they will not bring them back until her pups are of a reasonable size and age.

On a rise in the distance a large herd of buffalo grazed with a big male amongst them. Animals often rest on rises where they can see the comings and goings around them, both predators and prey alike.

But those nearer the bottom of the food chain like the plentiful Impala and Nyala stay more hidden as they are the most vulnerable especially when they have their young lambs with them.

We sped back down the hill wondering what would come next on this exciting ‘treasure hunt’. The ride through the countryside in these remarkably comfortable all terrain Toyotas was great fun in itself. Sometimes the track separated into deep troughs where the tyres had shot the soft muddy road surface aside after some rain and I’d be thinking, ‘I wonder how Kyle or Johnno will deal with this one?’ Or the track would rise so steeply they and Leticia would suddenly be above us instead of the other way around, or it would disappear steeply downwards but because of their skilful driving we were never in any danger, from the track at least.

After a while we turned around a red soil knoll to see a waterhole and two sleeping lions almost at the same moment. They were flat out as you can see but I wondered how deep was their sleep? They do well to not mince with rhino and elephants for example and must share their status with animals bigger and much heavier than themselves.

Johnno pulled up the vehicle just above them where they lay on their own rise, commanding a clear view of the waterhole and before the evening drinking session that might bring with it an opportunity for their next meal.

After a few minutes three white rhino arrived at the bank on the far side and wandered slowly, cautiously around towards us. I’m not sure who spotted who first but the male lions became alert and watchful. The further male is 11 years old and is the uncle of the 4 year old nearest to us. They appear to accompany each-other most of the time. Another vehicle arrived on Johnno’s prompting so we moved down the hill to give them a vantage point, down the hill closer to the lions; I was less happy about this arrangement. We were now no more than 10 metres from them. A few strides down their slope and a leap and they’d be on our laps, I thought. We spoke rarely and in whispers and I worried that Leticia’s rapid fire shutter would distract them. Wouldn’t you think the camera designers would have developed soundless shutters by now? But ‘no’ they weren’t in the least bit interested in us, instead lions watched the rhinos who were now moving up the slope towards them in a brief stand off – just re-affirming their position in the animal hierarchy for future reference!

After a few moments they turned around and left the area up a different slope and were gone. We sat soaking up this extraordinary experience for a little longer and then followed them out and around the hill above the waterhole to where a lioness was lying in the long, soft grass. For the few minutes we were there she never averted her gaze in our direction. She was watching the two males and had moved away from their company earlier in the day. She was close to giving birth herself and was fearful of the threat these big males posed to her unborn cubs once they saw the light of day. Adult males will often kill male cubs to eliminate competition for the females and I wondered why she didn’t move right away from them, maybe a case of keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

One of the rangers, I cannot remember which, mentioned the harm that ‘Keyboard Warriors’ can do to the balance of nature in parts of Africa. “They are cash rich and knowledge poor.” Folk in first world countries happily donate their money to organisations that then use their political clout to, for example, ban controlled culling of elephants. Here in this reserve specific male elephants are given prophylactics to prevent them from siring young for a period of time to help keep their numbers in balance, but where such action had been banned elephants are so numerous they are destroying their environment for themselves and many other species. This suggests that small scale projects like rhino de-horning that is a protocol in this reserve to effectively prevent poaching are a much better prospect for the armchair environmentalist such as I will be when we get home.

We left the magnificent lions to their evening beside this waterhole and drove to a different one, complete with warthog and another vehicle with three visitors on board like us, for our sundowners. Coffee with chocolate and Amarula liqueur, very nice.

Driving back the light was fading fast and Johnno was swinging his spotlight from side to side to see what he could find. A Spotted Eagle Owl on a post which I miraculously caught in the speeding light more by luck than judgement I can tell you, then a black backed jackal being chased by a wildebeest; you’ll have to believe me on that one but I did wonder what the jackal had done to cause the affront. And a tiny deer, a steenbok ran across the track and many Fiery Necked Nightjars were lying camouflaged on the red track surface ready to fly up and catch the insects passing overhead, or escape the vehicle about to descend onto them.

Other species we could well expect to see on a night time game drive that starts after supper would be Aardvark, Porcupine and of course the most elusive of the Big 5, the Leopard, but then as I’ve said before on our travels there has to be something to come back to.

Just a Tick; Miniscule unexpected visitors join our Safari

Clair told me yesterday that Annabelle is now back home and her usual happy, bubbly self, Mum and Dad are keeping a close eye on her until the test results come back. On the morning of our third day Kyle was getting some rest so we were with Johnno once more, leaving behind our cosy, insect proof bed and very quickly discovering birds new to us and old friends now.

Before we started on the safari, I secretly held the wish that I had my big Canon camera with me with the 300mm lens and I could have done with it for the bird pictures as you can see. But it is impractical to carry it on board in the moist salty atmosphere when I normally use it so infrequently.

The day was lovely and fresh to begin with and I wanted to capture the first sunlight on the grasses, the mountains you see in the distance in their cloak of slate grey are the Lebombo Range, the longest range in South Africa, so Clair tells me and the black bird is a Red-winged Starling. Johnno left the vehicle to show us hyena tracks from the night before and drew the print on his hand and then we came across another relaxed family group of giraffe, who posed for us beautifully I thought and I was finally able to ‘shoot’ the pretty pink lily that dots the bushland. We really did come at the right time with all the flowers and young animals. The pretty female antelope is a Kudu, the males have magnificent curled antlers pointing upwards.

We sat in blissful silence to watch the white rhino and her baby grazing. They de-horn them here to protect them from poachers, but as the horn continues growing they have to repeat the procedure. The rhino are darted from helicopters and then the ground crew can come on quad bikes, with guests if they want to, to carry out the procedure as quickly as possible. As Leticia quite rightly said, in what other part of the animal kingdom do you have to disfigure and disarm an animal to increase its chances of survival?

We watched as the rhino mum moved behind us and across the road and then the baby decided we needed some attention so very cautiously, moving from side to side and nibbling grass on her way, she came closer, being very bold, until she frightened herself by getting uncomfortably near, jumped in the air, turned and sped back to mum.

We were moving onto open savanna now with fewer trees and the broad variety of grasses swayed with the gentle breeze. Johnno explained that some of the grass species are unpalatable to animals including the single stemmed one he is holding and I asked him if there was any Sweetgrass growing. He confirmed there were sweetgrasses there which are valued as food and very high in protein. In case you are interested I have recently been reading books written by indigenous authors from Australia and North America including ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a member of the Potawatomi Nation who lives in Syracuse, New York. She writes passionately yet scientifically about her own inherited indigenous knowledge of the environment blended seamlessly with modern science. The knowledge she gives freely to her students is essential now and will be even more so in the future as we face human created environmental challenges.

We saw the pretty little Red-backed Shrike on numerous occasions and as we rounded onto the track Rob and I had travelled in on from the gate I spotted nine vultures spiralling upwards on a thermal. The sun was beginning to show itself and these big birds wait for the land to heat up and send warm air upwards to help them fly, an otherwise energy consuming activity.

Right next to the track atop a spindly tree a white-headed vulture was rousing himself. He obviously wasn’t quite ready to take off. In the distance Johnno picked up a bigger Lappet-faced vulture, so we sat silently taking in their behaviour waiting to see what would come next. Well our nearby one defecated and shortly afterwards regurgitated a crop full and as Letitia suggested, freed of that weight he was now ready to go. Fortunately, I did manage to capture his take-off on film.

We stopped by a waterhole for our coffee break before continuing and you might wonder what the dung beetle did with its dungball as it came to the twig lying across the track – we did. Well he rolled his golf ball sized prize over the grass on the right and back onto the soil. Staying put until he was clear behind us, we didn’t want to sit in the face of progress after all.

The bush and savanna are kept very clean and we only saw one two-week-old carcass of a wildebeest, its head and top ribs were all that remained because of course there is much nourishment in bones. I have already mentioned how the dung is disposed of and what is left dries out in no time in the heat.

Once or twice, we surprised a herd of impala by coming suddenly around a bend where they were grazing. This time was quite impressive and the group comprised forty or so adult males who leapt and grunted as they sped away. My photo doesn’t do justice to the frantic scene and it was exciting to see how agile they are, especially when some kicked their hind legs high into the air as if to say “Don’t mess with me buddy.”

The last three photos show a pack of Baboons in the distance, again oh for my other camera. Johnno mentioned how they are about the most disliked animals around and he has special cause for his feelings. His aunt was carrying her young son with a coat over him when a baboon ripped the coat away thinking she was carrying food. The little boy fell on his head and has never fully recovered, going into a paroxysm of fear if anyone mentions the ‘B’ word.

To end on a slightly less tragic note, I had chosen to wear light-weight trousers that morning and did not realise the risk I was taking with the loose weave of the fabric until I noticed a tiny black object about the size of a pin head clasping onto my tummy. I scraped it off to discover it was a tick; one of quite a few that Rob then kindly proceeded to scrape off my back, bum and legs, my having dealt with the ones on my front, and they got almost everywhere, I kid you not. I found the queue of more on my trousers waiting to leap onto their host and gave them a good shaking out of the door. Jady knew straight away what they were, the nymph stage of the tick and research tells me that a single dose of antibiotic will reduce the risk of Lyme disease which is little known here in SA. So I have taken the single recommended dose and will be watchful for any symptoms over the next few weeks. Ticks carrying Lyme disease attach to the skin for 24 hours before they start feeding so as these were only on me for three hours or so I think the risk to me is small.

I’ve often thought there are far more hazards to a land-based life than living at sea.

Elephants Galore

Kyle returned for our fourth game drive and we had heard whisperings about the elephants, guarded radio messages and vague comments that they had been near the camp, along with the lions, days before but were now moving west. Would we ever see them we wondered, catch them up and experience up close their enormous presence and controlled movement? Also, a young male cheetah had been spotted on a termite mound not too far away, so these two factors determined our route for the afternoon.

Tick free and wearing a different pair of trousers I walked with Rob to the vehicle, a warthog giving us a friendly send off and again, within minutes we were soaking up the beauty of new birds to us, two Wattled Lapwing picking along the shore of a waterhole, not a ‘desert’ as a multitude of lapwings are called, just a pair with Yellow Billed Stork preening themselves in the trees above. The little yellow bird I believe was either an Oriole or a Weaver bird. He wasn’t the Golden Pipit who was becoming increasingly illusive so that Jady was thinking they would have to start cancelling twitchers’ reservations if it appeared the rare little fellow had moved on.

Suddenly Kyle brought us to a stop as a Spitting Cobra started out across the road ahead, we waited until it decided to continue and disappear into the bush. On our bush walk Darren had told us about his step granddaughter who loves snakes. She has watched her grandad handle them and learned to do so herself, without fear. She would even go so far as to kiss one until it thought she was being over familiar and bit her tongue. She is a little more respectful of their wildness now.

Numerous radio exchanges with other rangers resulted in our hunt for the cheetah and very soon Kyle spotted him lounging without a care in the world on his little hill. He was so chilled it was difficult to get a picture of him with his eyes open. We came with an open mind to this safari, more than grateful to see whatever was going on and we remained so, but I can see how easy it is to get more particular and want the cheetah to get up and move so we could see his whole beautiful body, to hope the eagle would take off for a view of its flight feathers and the hippo would take a trip ashore so its whole rounded body would be revealed to us, but we were just grateful to be witnessing our own encounters with the lovely like-minded company of Kyle and Leticia.

The rangers that morning had been disturbed by the news that a young male cheetah had gone to a waterhole the night before and been taken by a crocodile. This was indeed a shame as there are not many on the reserve and the loss of this one as a reproductive male would alter the balance for a while until the latest cubs grow up. We watched ‘ours’ ignoring us completely for a few more minutes before moving off to allow another vehicle to come and take in his relaxed beauty. As the night drew on this chap took down an impala for his latest feed.

Yippee we were heading westwards to where the elephants had been seen. Downwards towards a valley of thick lush grass that would be up to most peoples’ knees, and my waist, and in which there must have been lots of small fauna. There was an air of excitement in our bouncing vehicle, were we at last going to be in luck?

Emerging from a corridor of grass and round a bend and Rob and I exclaimed in unison, “Elephants!”

They were crossing the same dry riverbed that eventually runs by the Lodge and the ‘tail’ end was being brought up by a male, it seemed to be his role as he stayed behind throughout our encounter. At one stage he became sandwiched on the track between us and another vehicle but was very calm about it, and to pass us he just wandered off the track for a few paces and rejoined it ahead of us.

The sun was well down by now and with it behind us and shining directly onto them they looked magnificent; charcoal coloured in the shade and light oak brown in the sunlight against the rich green grass that they grasped in clumps as they walked and fed into their pointy lipped mouths. They are on the move most of the time, grazing and drinking copious amounts of water to keep their great bodies going.

The matriarch was busy pushing loiterers onwards to keep the herd moving and give the two young one’s space. Then they came to a temporary stop and so too did we at about a fifty metre distance. There was a little argy bargy going on between two of them and then one turned briskly around and effectively chased the other one back towards us. Things suddenly became very interesting and fortunately I caught it on film. They were heading straight for us. When the chasee arrived he peeled off to our right but the chaser just kept coming. I think maybe it hadn’t registered our presence because when she saw she was practically on us she let out a terrific trumpet alarm, ears flared and then calmed down instantly. Exciting stuff. They could so easily harm us but their angst seems to be reserved for their own kind, here where they are free to roam and nowhere near human habitations.

It’s interesting how we can be so misled by the media as far as animal numbers are concerned. I was led to believe that there would in the not too distant future be no elephants left the wild in Africa, as indeed there are no leopards left in the wild. Then there were the 350 who died having fallen forward, tusks still on near a waterhole, and that was thought to be an immense tragedy for conservation. They died from blue/green algae poisoning. As Darren said, a tragedy yes but out of 100,000 elephants hardly a threat to their future survival.

We moved on a little way and stopped again to see one of them reaching high into a fig tree to pluck both fruit and leaves for an alternative meal to grass. Some of the figs are unripe and will pass through the elephant undigested. The food an elephant eats is digested and passed out within 20 minutes(!) so they have to keep grazing. Other animals and birds like their droppings because they are still packed with goodness. If ripe figs are discarded it is a good way of spreading the seeds; another way in which elephants help maintain their habitat.

They were now re-crossing the dry river bed and climbing up the very steep bank on the other side. Kyle told us that if we wanted to escape a rampaging elephant then climbing or descending a steep hill was the best way as they slow these big creatures right down. Just not be there in the first place was a better bet I thought.

This was the entire herd of 35 elephants that live on the reserve and they were on their way for a drink. Most of the waterholes were dug when this was a cattle ranch and of course the wildlife know exactly which ones have water in them all year. The hippos rarely budge from theirs where they act as fishing islands for the grey herons, as you will see.

The youngest baby loved the water and ambitiously reached further than the others for his drink. Then I noticed something on the pictures while preparing for this blog that none of us had spotted when we were out there communing with the gentle giants. Take a look at the next picture of the four elephants re-joining the track with the baby in the middle. Just above the little one are two hyena watching the proceedings, but we were so distracted we didn’t notice them at the time. Giraffes kept their distance too, wary and watchful and two of them were play fighting, swinging at each other’s necks with their own, ready for when they need the skill for real.

Most of the herd had moved off by now over the grassland but we couldn’t continue down the track because a male was walking slowly towards us, trunk swinging, ears splayed, footfalls precise. We all wondered what was on his mind. He came right up to us, sniffed around the front bumper, rolled his trunk across the bonnet, somehow satisfied he then turned left to join the others.

The two antelope are a male and female Nyala, the most dimorphically opposed animals in the animal kingdom in that they look as if they are from completely different species.

We spotted an ostrich pair with their three young just before we pulled off the track for sundowners and to help Leticia with a project she had been given by a client to publicise the green, thermos insulated food box provided by ‘Wild’. There, I’ve done my bit too.

The light was fading fast as we sipped our complimentary beer and wine, munched on cheesy puffs with dips and beef jerky (for some) and chatted and posed for photos around ‘the box’, so we hadn’t noticed that our big afternoon companions were making their way up the hill in our direction. Kyle was in mid verbal flight when his expression suddenly changed. We were on the ground and some elephants were walking directly towards us. We packed away in haste and climbed into the safety of the Toyota, the elephants now dark encroaching shadows barely discernible in the enveloping dusk.

Jady was awaiting us with three Sherries and guided us to the lodge for supper after a truly incredible game drive. It must be nice for the staff to witness the reverential joy visitors feel in being up close with big wildlife. The experience was certainly giving me optimism for the future of African wildlife as there are countless reserves like this around, teeming with animals living their natural lives in a protected place.

 Communing with a Crash of Rhino, on the last day of our Safari

Yesterday at breakfast I mentioned to Rob that the tiny red spots I could see on my front left by the departing nymph ticks were getting smaller which was a relief and he then asked, “How are the two on the back of your knee?” “What two on the back of my knee?” Queried I.

I was shocked at what I saw “Oooh I haven’t seen those,“ and now my thoughts about whether I should visit a doctor or just await any symptoms were changed into a decision and a Whats App message to Tasha and a call to Annaley our friendly taxi driver was quickly followed by a seat in front of Doctor Roodt who gave me a colourful description of what effects I could experience over the next few days, having instantly said “Ah you have tick fever my dear….” He concluded his description with “I know all this because I have had it myself!” That was very re-assuring and I knew I would once again survive a scrape with a potentially dangerous health issue. “Can I drink while taking the Doxycyl?” I asked “Yes no problem, I’m off next week myself for a break on a winery near Cape Town, and the only place I want to see you again is maybe in the local wineshop selecting the best!” Armed with a prescription we headed to the pharmacy and in no time I had seen the doc and got the cure, all for just £29 (£25 for the cons and £4 for the drugs,) with no waiting involved; remarkable when I consider the UK’s excellent but over stretched NHS with its long waiting times.

It was a mere 6 days ago that my ‘visitors’ arrived and the morning after that was our last game drive, again with Kyle and Leticia’s lovely company. We spotted a tawny eagle all regal in his brown plumage and then a chunky Gnu or Wilderbeest, I prefer Gnu but we are in SA so the longer name applies, a few buffalo and then a real treat, a Crash of Rhinos. There were five in all, of various ages and grazing a little way off, as we came to a stop and started soaking up the bush atmosphere. We watched them peacefully grazing and moving ever so slowly towards us and the track behind us. I wondered if they navigated their way around the reserve from their knowledge of the tracks. Then after a few minutes of trust building on their part they each one in turn came and gave us a thorough inspection before deciding we were cosher and then moving by and across the road. Maybe they even remember the different vehicles and appearance of the Rangers.

To me the two male Kudu in amongst the shrubbery are the African equivalent of the grandeur of Edwin Landseer’s The Monarch of the Glen oil painting.

A little further along the track we came around a bend, this time startling a group of impala lambs walking down the road. When a single female Impala drops her lamb during the night of a full moon then all the other females do the same within the same hours of darkness. Whether this is because they were all covered by the males at the same time or because it is easier to protect them when they are all born together and remain of the same age and the herd is not held back by successive births, the effect is the same. I loved the way they group together with the other young ones just like sheep lambs.

As I think I have mentioned, the reserve has thousands of them and they are an essential food source for other animals further up the food chain, in fact ‘our’ cheetah took one just after we saw him.

A Southern Yellow Billed Hornbill gave himself away when we saw his black and white plumage as he moved from one tree to another. Another species plucked from the picture books of my childhood and placed firmly back in reality.

We were again back by the waterhole we are now familiar with from our breaks and from the bush walk, maybe that’s where I picked up the ticks, who knows. We sipped another one of Kyle’s mocha coffees with Amarula as we watched the grey herons on the backs of the hippos. As the hippo poops quite often and flicks his tail across his bottom to clean himself so the fish in the water come along to see if there are any tasty snacks on offer. One of the funniest animal relationships we saw. Unlike the Red Beaked Ox Pickers who clean the buffalo of ticks and other parasites, the hippos gain nothing from the relationship it seems.

We got a better view of the Yellow Billed Stork this time and the yellow and black weaver birds were busily working on their own personal island, building and improving nests and feeding young. The males build the nests with great care while the female sits and watches. Then when all is ready she inspects the structure to see if it is acceptable. If not she snips the few strands of grass that attach it to the branch and sends it plummeting downwards. So the male starts all over again. She may do this a number of times until she is satisfied and I wonder if she knows how many eggs she is carrying and therefore the size of nest she needs. Nothing in nature is without a reason.

The buffalo were enjoying their wallow in the red mud and we watched their behaviour for a few minutes before moving on around the shore and seeing another thirty or so just around the corner that we’d missed.

I thought you might like the details of the Lodge for future reference. This is a wonderful place to introduce children to big wild animals and the principles of conservation told to them by knowledgeable and passionate Rangers, so I recommend Rhino River Lodge and I really hope you enjoyed our experience there.

www.rhinoriverlodge.co.za    info@rhinoriverlodge.co.za