| Our First Safari |
| Written by Phillip Greene | |
|
Having traveled only from Johannesburg about an hour by plane, we were ready for our first safari that first afternoon. We, and several other guests, gathered at the Land Rover where our guide, a strapping South African, and our native Tsongan tracker were waiting. The guide placed a rifle across the dashboard of the Land Rover as a precaution. The tracker took his seat on the left front fender so he could see the animal tracks in the dust in front of the vehicle. He had an uncanny way of spotting tracks and knowing how old they were. He could even spot a gecko in a tree as we drove by at 15 to 20 miles per hour. As we left the camp the guide announced that he had a surprise for us.
We drove through the bush along a dirt road that was really only a pair of tire tracks in the grass. The guides were not allowed to drive off the track unless they spotted members of the African Big Five near the road. The Big Five are Elephants, Rhinoceros, Cape Buffalos, Lions and Leopards. After traveling just a short distance we spotted a family of wart hogs in the road. They are pig-like creatures that are squat, ugly little fellows whose thin little tails stand straight up when the are frightened. They have sharp tusks and, in spite of their amusing appearance, are not to be trifled with. I've seen videos on TV where a lion was trying to attack a baby wart hog. The lion was converged upon by a whole herd of wart hogs who proceeded to give the lion more than she bargained for. The only escape for the lion was to jump straight up in the air and run across the wart hog's backs. She decided that the tasty little wart hog was not worth the trouble.
It wasn't more than 15 minutes more before we encountered two White Rhinos grazing next to the path, not fifty feet away. We watched them intently and they paid us no heed. With our attention focused on the rhinos, we nearly ran into a female lion lounging in the middle of the path in front of us. She was as unconcerned as the rhinos about our presence, but not because the animals are tame. They definitely are not. The animals have all become so accustomed to the Land Rovers full of people that they regard them as part of the landscape. The animals are never fed or helped in any way, regardless of whether or not they are an injured member of an endangered species, such as a white rhino. We were cautioned never to call out, whistle or stand up in the vehicle or in any way call attention to ourselves. We were also cautioned never to get out of the vehicle. People have been killed doing this, trying to get a better picture.
Lioness lounging in the road Rhinos? What rhinos?
The Rhinos were also unconcerned about the lion. Their sharp horns, brute strength and size make them normally uninteresting to the lions as a food source, unless they become sick or injured.
Just having seen the cute-ugly wart hogs and the lion lounging near the rhinoceros pair the first afternoon thrilled us. We still hadn't seen our surprise that the guide promised us. We couldn't imagine that it could get any better.
(Read more in "The Surprise" published 09/06/2007) |
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