Weekend in the Bush

September 23 – 25

Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy my job, thrive in a learning environment, love interacting with my students, and feel good at the end of the day for the difference I have made. However, tell me I have a long weekend, and I will never complain! Thanks to the South African holiday Heritage Day, we were granted just that – an early release on Thursday and no school on Friday. PERFECT! 

After a three and a half hour drive, culminating with nearly 30 miles of dirt road driving, I cruised my dirty white Jetta through the gate at Madikwe Game Reserve. Beware! You have now entered Big 5 Country – the brown and yellow sign signaled the beginning of what we hoped would be a successful game viewing experience. About 10 minutes past the gate, we came across a watering hole on the side of the road. The surreal beauty of lanky giraffes, skittish impalas, and a few passive zebras surrounded us on both sides. Immediately the cameras started snapping. As the driver I was limited to my cell phone camera – why hadn’t I remembered to take my camera out of my bag?! Inside the car we remarked on the incredible reality that was our life in that moment – our innocent intrusion into the life of these gorgeous animals. Outside the car, the giraffe looked at us as if we were flies – nuisances they wished would disappear – but not dangerous enough to flee from faster than a casual stroll. The zebra barely looked up from their meal of parched grass.

Sixteen of us travelled the distance from Jo’Burg to Madikwe, which resides near the border of Botswana.  Separated in five cars, we began as a train of four, with one couple set to meet us at the park. What began as a cohesive unit quickly broke into two smaller groups as our leader, Kaitlyn, took a wrong turn! The four of us in my little Jetta stuck like glue to Sandy and Fred in their massive SUV. Marcus in his little Pugeot remained with Kaitlyn and Kurt. Thankfully, GPSs are a wonderful invention, and we all managed to reconvene at the Park Administration car park with enough time to enjoy a cold beer. Our excitement grew with the possibilities the weekend dangled in front of us as we looked at the dusty dirt roads, blowing grass the color of a lion’s mane, and the acres of bush that camouflaged nearly all of Africa’s amazing creatures. 

When all were accounted for, we put away our car keys, threw our bags into the back of an empty safari jeep, and climbed into the two other jeeps that were waiting to take us to the center of the game park – our home for the next two nights.

Mosetlha Bush Camp was an adorable camp nestled in the middle of the entire game reserve. With only two wires strung around it’s perimeter about eight feet from the ground, the camp was completely vulnerable to the African bush and all it’s inhabitants – from puff adders to spiders, elephants to giraffe. “But what about the lions – can’t they come into camp?” a friend asked. “Yup.” came in response. In fact, come to find out, the second night, while we all slept soundly, a male leopard entered and explored our camp. Had he wanted to, any one of us could have been his midnight snack. It was an uneasy, yet incredibly thrilling experience to be so exposed. As we entered camp, we were given a tour of the amenities, which despite the lack of electricity and running water, were actually quite nice. The “dining room” boasted an enormous, beautiful wooden table. It easily sat all sixteen of us with a little room to spare. We all split into pairs to share sleeping quarters. My significant other, AKA Chelsea, and I bunked together for the weekend. The cabins were cozy. Twin beds, a single table, two lanterns, and a three walls. The front and back walls were only half walls – allowing for exposure to the outdoors. Despite our susceptibility, the thing I feared most was not the lions, but rather the possibility of spiders and snakes sneaking in the nooks and crannies of our humble abode.

Although I remained pretty grimy all weekend, there were shower fascilities in camp. They consisted of a fenced off area complete with a shower stall, as well as a bathroom (a raised hole in the ground with a toilet seat on top). The shower was a steel bucket rigged to a pulley system, with a spout built into the bottom. If you desired to shower, you first must fill a bucket with water, pass it through the donkey boiler (real name!) to heat it, and then carry it to the shower stall. Next, you would pour the water into the steel bucket and then control the output with a lever attached to the spout. Quite frankly, I regret that I cannot say I experienced this.

At 4:00pm we gathered our layers (the nights get chilly), cameras, hopes and scrambled into the two Land Rover Jeeps, eight in each, ready for our first of four game drives. My guide’s name was Johnny – without so much as a smile, he placed his shotgun into its place on the dashboard, started up the jeep, and away we went.  Immediately, we were met with the chatter of the radio – filled with mentions of animal sightings (mostly spoken in Afrikaans). It felt as though we were on a mission – a level of intensity settled on our jeep – but in a way that made our hearts race and smiles increase with excitement for what was possible. Suddenly, Johnny stopped the jeep and hopped out. Where was he going?! He bent down and pointed to a fresh paw print in the dirt – lions! In that large paw print, possibility grew!

 

The other jeep had pulled off onto the side of a trail we were on. Johnny, clearly establishing himself as the more take charge of the two guides, pulled off the trail as well, but continued to drive through the bush a ways until he stopped and pointed. Ahead, hidden slightly behind the trees, but in clear enough view, were three or four Cape Buffalo. Again, they stared back at us with our flashing cameras and excited whispers, as if we were pesky, uninvited guests. In the way a woman might flip her hair and turn away, the buffalo took one last look at us and then meandered on their way – out of sight. Now, all I need to see to complete my Big 5 sightings was a lion. Game on!

The writer in me could sit here and recount every moment of that first and the next three game drives; however, my words could never do justice to the sights, sounds, and rushes of emotion I experienced. In the same way the photographer in me exerted so much energy to capture the perfect shots, every ounce of me wants to make you feel the emotions of my life this weekend: the pristine beauty of grazing zebra, the quirky habits of a warthog, the unique sounds of 30 elephant splashing and playing at a watering hole while the sun sets behind them. Mostly, I wish for you to comprehend how grateful I am to have these opportunities to exist side by side with the animals of Africa – the animals I once saw in National Geographic and dreamed (but dismissed the possibility) of connecting with in their natural habitat.

Hearing the snort of a rhino as he sleeps cuddled up next to his mate, the rustle of the grass as a wild dog shifts its weight, the trumpet of an elephant as she threatens to charge our jeep for disturbing her family in the middle of their evening stroll, or the menacing growl of two lions as they warn off a hyena who is about to steal their fresh kill under the cover of darkness reminded me how beautiful life is.

Our final game drive began with loads of hope. After the successful sighting of lions and angry elephants the night before, we all desired a finale of Independence Day proportions. The sun was rising in a cloudless sky, the chill of the morning hung in the air, and we all were huddled in our jeeps wrapped in blankets with cameras ready. Johnny, unfortunately still lacking a personality, spotted fresh lion tracks immediately. We were on the hunt. Four hours later – we completed the hunt without a single sighting of lions. It was difficult not to be weighted down with disappointment; however, I worked hard to see the day for what it was: a new kind of game experience – tracking! For those of you who have seen the TV show LOST, I felt like John Locke! In an attempt to remain positive, I look back on that failure of a game drive as a chance to say I have tracked lions!

Many times as I was sitting on the raised seats in the back of the green Land Rover with nothing but air between me and the splendors of the Bush, I found myself asking you all back home: “So what did you do this weekend?” In response to no one, I would say: “Oh nice. Me? I camped with the wilds of Africa.”