As the plane descends and I first see the grass and trees of Africa I have a mild epiphany. My ancestors came from this continent - the cradle of humanity. Australia is where I was born but my roots only go back four generations. I am aware that the lands history belongs to the Aborigines. Australia has adopted me. It is my land, my home my future. If I remain for ten thousand years will the sun claim me and turn my skin black?
But in Africa there is a sudden stirring. A long deep forgotten connection with the past. Here is where my ancient ancestors learned to hunt, formed communities, told jokes around the fire.
At the airport I rent a mobile phone SIM card for $1.50 a day. I get picked up and transferred to my accommodation - a small family run hotel. In contrast to Nepal, there is no in house restaurant. There is a kitchen that guests can use. I get a lift to the supermarket for supplies. For lunch I make myself bread rolls with tomato, avocado, cream cheese and mushroom. It is nice to make my own sandwich and have fresh food for a change.
In the afternoon I go on a half day tour of Johannesburg and Soweto.
We see the sights. Not much to write home about really. A good way to spend the afternoon.
For dinner I make myself a pasta with tomato, avocado, cream cheese and mushroom.
At 8pm I lie down briefly and fall asleep with the lights on. I wake at 10pm and decide to get up but I don't. I get up at midnight and pack my bags for the next day. The tour company is due to pick me up between 5 and 6am so I am up and ready by 5am. They arrive just before 6.
Kruger
Back home in Melbourne the temperature has dropped from unbearable mid forties to a more reasonable stinking hot mid thirties. Children start their first day at school. Across the globe, the great powers turn from war and discuss peace and prosperity. The poor nations of Africa lend money to the US hoping for a good return on their investment. There is a saying in Africa; when elephants fight each other the grass gets trampled and when elephants make love the grass gets trampled.
We drive and drive with two petrol stops. Along the way, our driver John tells us the recent news which has shocked the tourism community. A lioness entered a tent at night, dragged out one of the two anti-poachers, killed and ate him. This has not been heard of before - a lioness entering a tent.
At 11am we arrive at the greater Kruger National Park. The park was surrounded by farms. The farm owners found they could make more money from tourism by converting their land to private reserves. They brought down the fences between the private reserves to allow the animals to roam freely. This area is the Greater Kruger National Park. Private land permitting camp sites. Tour operators pay concessions to the owners. More recently the fences have been brought down between the park and the greater park allowing the animals more freedom.
We transfer to a large land rover and head for our first campsite. There are six of us on the tour plus our two guides and two cooks.
Jo and Tom are our guides. Jo is a 6'2 South African amazon - tall, tanned, confident, competent, good humoured. She does all the driving, guiding and provides the explanations. Tom is English, quieter, friendly, helpful and has a keen eye.
We stop the vehicle to look at a small terrapin crawling near muddy water. Jo points out various birds.
Driving on we come across a couple of warthogs running through the bush. Then we see some impala nearby. Almost immediately there is a Buffalo across the road, more impala and a couple of zebra.
Now it's happening. We drive on peering through the bush. Now and then we spot something. More often than not we think we see something but it turns out to be a branch, a termite mound or a rock. This is all part of the fun and excitement. Typically you dive for fifteen minutes or a half hour without seeing anything then when you do see something it is always a sudden surprise.
At a large waterhole we come across a dozen buffalo. The buffaloes stare back at us as if to say "well, what do you want?" Tom tells us they say buffaloes look at you as if you owe them money.
We rest at camp and go for another drive in the afternoon. More impala, kudu and birds. We see the eyes ears and nostrils of a hippopotamus peeking out of the water. Then we spot something in the distance. An elephant? No, it is a rhino. We drive closer to get a better look but it mysteriously disappears.
It is getting close to sunset when we see the elephants. About a dozen or so lumbering through the bush about 50 metres from our vehicle.
We spend about half an hour watching them before they wander off into the twilight.
We have drinks watching the sunset. Fireflies come out blinking on and off. As we drive back to camp, Tom sits on a seat mounted on the hood waving a spotlight around in the dark. We see an owl and a chameleon. When we are almost back at camp we come across a leopard two metres from our vehicle. We exclaim "ooh", "look", "leopard", "wonderful" while Jo is desperately saying, "shhh, shhh, keep quiet". The leopard wanders off but we turn the vehicle around and follow it. The leopard is not perturbed. It stops and washes itself. It is exhilarating studying this wild, beautiful, dangerous creature. We follow the cat for 10 minutes before it slinks off into the distance.
Our camp has excellent facilities. Flushing toilets and hot showers. The door to the shower is a rope. If the rope is up the shower is in use. Our tents are deluxe, large with thick canvass under a wooden frame. a wooden door opens out to a wooden porch with a canvass chair. Inside, two comfortable single beds, a battery operated lantern another canvass chair.
Jo explains at night cats may wander through the camp. There are no fences. Before going to the toilet we must check for cats. If we see one we must remain calm, go back to where we came from, stay indoors, wait for the cat to go away. The cats won't enter buildings. (Some sort of cat superstition I guess.)
I ask Jo if the cats understand the rope rule for the shower. She laughs and says "yes" but I am not sure. She doesn't look entirely certain.
I go take a shower in the dark feeling particularly vulnerable.
At night, kerosene lanterns are placed 3 metres in front of each tent and building. I wake in the middle of the night. I don't want to go out where the cats are but my bladder exerts a pressure far greater than any rational fear of danger.
In the morning we drive to where we will walk through the bush. I missed a giraffe at breakfast while I was packing my bag. As we drive I spot a giraffe through the trees. (Actually, it had its own spots already. Hah hah hah.)
We start our walk single file, Jo and Tom at the front with rifles loaded. We see lizards on a rock, lots of large spiders, mainly golden orb spiders with huge webs across our path. And we see animals. I can't remember which ones exactly. I'll have to check my photos and come back and edit this entry later.
We come back to camp around 11 and have a second breakfast. Then we have nothing to do in the heat of the day until after lunch around 3. Sleeping in the tent is my preferred option. It is in the mid to high thirties. The afternoon has another drive, another sunset, another night drive with spotlight.
No cats tonight but it is fun and exciting looking for them. The clouds have been darkening and there are flashes of lightening threatening in the distance.
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