Wednesday, June 16, 2010:
I finally got to go on a safari!
Last year, during my temporary retirement, I’d found this renewed appreciation for natural landscapes and the wilderness. With plenty of time off, I figured it was the perfect time to go explore a new place that could offer incredible scenery and views.
I had researched and planned an 8-day safari in Kenya and Tanzania, only to find out that I couldn’t use my frequent flyer miles. That’s when I knew I’d for sure going on one when I got to South Africa for the World Cup (so I went to Australia last year, instead).
On Tuesday, the seven of us drove from Pretoria to Pilanesberg National Park, which was about a two-hour drive northwest of us.
We had done part of this drive last week on our way to the U.S. game (Rustenburg is past the park). As you drive along the highway, large hills can be seen in the distance, as can platinum mines and factories. It’s kind of desolate, with a lot of open space. If there are cities nearby, they’d have to be small.
When we pull off the highway, we begin to drive down a rural road with signs that read: No fences, watch out for wildlife – with a picture of an antelope. How cool!
A little further on, we see people with machetes chopping down the tall grass that grew high near the roadside – or at least that was our observation without knowing if they were in fact doing something else.
We passed by tiny shanty houses, some built out of aluminum, it appeared. On multiple corners we passed people that had set up stands to sell fruit and other goods. We really are in the middle of no where.
As we approach the Park, now with fences separating the large expanses of green and trees to both sides, one of the guys sees some spider monkeys in the trees to our left. Damn it! I was looking the opposite way. The guys in the car behind also saw them.
We pull into the park. The initial idea was for us to drive the two cars through the park – which is permitted – and apparently inexpensive. However, we also kind of wanted a guide, and would prefer to stay in one group.
No one would flat out say it, but I think there were at least a few that felt more comfortable being higher up in a vehicle with a guide that would hopefully carry a gun in case we were approached by a dangerous animal. (Some guys admitted to this after the fact). We found out we could get a personal safari vehicle for about $35 each. Done.
We meet Justin, our driver, who had been working in the safari guide business for 17 years. As we begin, we’re told the rules. Absolutely no one out of the vehicles. No worries here! Also, no loud noises or attempts to startle animals, should we see them.
It was pretty damn cold – maybe 35-40 degrees – and the wind was brutal. Our vehicle was an open-air safari truck. After laughing at the guys that were clearly not ready for the cold, we all accept the blankets that were passed around.
We’re on our way.
Right away we notice the massiveness of the reserve. And right away we see our first animals. A bunch of Impala antelopes bouncing around the side of the road. We stop for photos – and see them on both sides. We’re on a real safari!
A little further down, Brett spots something moving in the trees: warthogs and a lone wildebeest. They are barely visible through the trees, but we snap away.
Far up a hill we see zebras – too far for photos. We keep driving and pull off the paved road onto a dirt path. About 100 meters to our right, Brett again spots something. Justin puts the truck in reverse – and we all jump over to the right side: beyond the four foot tall waving blades of yellow grass, and slowly moving near a tree, is a white rhino. Awesome. The first of the big five.
We begin to pester Justin with questions. Have you seen any kills, do cheetahs live out here, what about giraffes, or elephants. He has a bunch of answers. There are so many lions out here, in this 55 hectare reserve, and they are so dominant that they have nearly killed off a bunch of animals. As far they know, there are only a handful of cheetahs even still around, less of other animals.
I’ve forgotten the exact order of the animal sittings. One reason is because we saw so many wildebeest. You could often see them far into the park. I also kept wondering what all is out there that can see us, but perhaps we can’t see them.
We see a watering hole – next to it are two hippos, a momma and baby.
Then, we come across a larger open area near the bottom of a hill where a bunch of wildebeest and zebras are playing around. In front of them are springbok, another type of antelope. Two impala behind them, noticeable because of the horns. We stopped the jeep and watch.
Suddenly the antelope take a few quick hops forward before stopping to continue pecking at the grass. The impala are in a trance. They are fixated on something behind them, so they stand in attention and look back.
We look in front, trying to figure out what they are looking at. We see nothing but tall grass with sprinkled in trees that stretched for thousands of feet onto the bottom of another hill. Something is out there, the driver tells us. The impala can sense it, which is why they are acting like this.
I get excited. Will we see the beast?
We keep driving, slowly. We’re all quiet, seven sets of eyes surveying the entire all around us. What is out there?
The driver hits the breaks. We jump. What, what is it? Where?
Our heads are spinning around. He puts the truck in reverse and jumps out. He takes one step and with his hand circles a footprint on the sandy path. It’s a lion’s paw. Holy shit!
Adrenaline is kicking in. We continue driving and I can see 6-7 more tracks before they fade away. I can’t stop looking up and out, somewhat expecting to see the tall grass moving. I see nothing.
Further along, after more wildebeest and zebras, we come to a large lake. As we find our way closer to the lake, we see at least four more hippos on the opposite side. On the near side, we see three waterbucks, and, laying behind them, a crocodile.
We begin our drive away from the water and spot a giraffe, eating a bone, for calcium we're told We are so close, and to our left are at least four more, eating off the trees.
We’re now a little over three hours into our drive and begin returning to base. We see the rhino is still in it spot. After another turn, we see a family of elephants – including a tiny baby. They stay a bit away, somewhat behind trees, though they are too big to hide completely.
We’re on the last stretch and we see the impala jumping across the road again, so we slow down. A few meters later, there are a bunch of baboons playing around.
For as much as I’ve written, I think it’s difficult to describe in print how cool it is to be in the wilderness like this. To see these animals in their habitat – not in cages, not staged, not placed out here for tourists to see.
The pictures may not be as close as I’d like, but in some ways that is better. It is real. You are lucky if you see these animals in their daily routine, especially in a place as massive as this is.
We didn’t see any cats - no lions, cheetahs, or leapards - but we know they are out there, hiding from their prey and looking for the right opportunity to hunt. The idea that perhaps they could see us made it an even better experience.
