4 Out Of 5 Ain't Bad

Day 7

The Co-Pilot

The Big Five is a reference to Buffalo, Rhinoceros, Elephant, Lion, and Leopard (I put them in this order, not according to size, since the acronym BRELL is easy to remember). Once again, there are many tales to tell from our adventure, but here are the highlights from our afternoon/evening safari (3:30-7:00pm). I hope you enjoy me recounting some of the details as we experienced this adventure.

We had not seen a rhinoceros yet, and we spent a lot of time tracking one during our morning safari with no success. So, our tracker (Orlando) and guide (Tracey) were determined to get us a sighting in the afternoon. It was off to an area (we are talking square miles here) where rhino had been seen from time-to-time.

As we were travelling to that area, we ran across a group (family?) of about 8 elephants. Some walked right up to our vehicle at times and we could almost reach out and touch them if we wanted (but of course we wouldn’t dare). One of the medium sized males snapped a 6-inch tree trunk and brought the whole tree down to eating level. He chomped on branches and leaves to his little big hearts content! ELEPHANTS (1)

Onward. Orlando picked up some rhinoceros tracks and determined which way they were headed. It appeared that there were tracks of an adult female and her little one. It felt to Orlando and Tracey that we were getting close, but the bush was dense in this area. We stopped at one point, and Tracy and Orlando got out of the vehicle to get a better look around at tracks etc. Then, Tracey perks up and says, “Did I hear a sneeze?”

What?!?

“I mean a rhino sneeze – a little snort that they give. It came from over there.” as she points deep into the bush. Back on the vehicle and moving slowly along a road/path in the direction of the “sneeze” Orlando sees in the distance the high back of a rhino about 100 yards deep into the bush. But we cannot get to it! We circle around and Tracey is driving through thick vegetation, which makes a lot of noise. Now, rhinos can’t see very well, but they have exceptional hearing. We get near the spot of the sighting and … no rhino. We bounce and bump through the bush and get back onto the path. Orlando thinks the rhinos may be heading for the water hole and the path is the easiest way to get there. Then … lo and behold … the mother rhino and her little one (I am using the word “little” in a relative sense since this 3-month-old youngster weighs about 450 pounds) walk out of the bush onto the road 50 yards ahead of us. The little one starts to scamper away and the mother runs down the road after it. We sit tight, then move forward ever so slowly and quietly (as quiet as a vehicle can be) and pull up around a tree on the side of the watering hole. There they are on the other side – 50 yards away in plain sight … mom and daughter. [Side note: Watching the mother run – this enormous creature – was delightful and it actually bounces when it runs and appears quite light on its jumbo feet.] RHINOCEROS (2)

Next, we were on the hunt for the African cape buffalo. Suffice to say we found a heard and meandered around them until Orlando and Tracey navigated through the bush RIGHT INTO THE CENTER OF THE HERD! It was hard to count as the herd was dispersed, but I would say at least 50 buffalo were all around us. We were surrounded by these very large horned beasts. There were some smaller calves that kept their distance and always remain in the center of the herd for protection. Apparently, the fights between a pride of hungry lions and a herd of massive buffalo are epic life and death struggles. BUFFALO (3)

We stopped and we always do for a sundowner drink and snack. After wine, jerky, appetizers etc., we were off to find the cats.

We were driving through the area where we had seen the leopards the night before (chronicled in yesterday’s blog). Orlando sits on the front of the vehicle (I say vehicle because it is a Toyota Land Cruiser, and I don’t want to type that all the time. I am tempted to use Jeep for simplicity, but that would be a misnomer and false reporting). Anyway, back to the tracking. At one point Orlando suggests we retrace our path, and as we go back about ½ mile (in the dark – with only some headlights and his flashlight). He suddenly signals Tracey to stop the vehicle (not a Jeep). He jumps down as sees leopard prints in the dirt … and they are ON TOP OF OUR TIRE TRACKS THAT WE MADE JUST 5 MINTUES AGO! They are of a juvenile leopard, probably the one we saw eating in the tree last night. OK, we are all pretty excited – the leopard is very nearby. With a little more tracking and driving, we drive carefully into the bush and there he is, back in the tree with the remnants of the impala from last night. But its just the juvenile male – the mother is out on the hunt. Below the tree is another hyena, waiting for scraps. The male juvenile eventually dropped the hind leg of the impala, probably a infantile mistake, and the hyena didn’t even let it hit the ground. Just that quick the hyena was off to a private place in the bush, and we heard the crunch-crunch-crunch of very powerful jaws eating every last morsel. The leopard came down from the tree. What graceful and effortless climbers!!! We followed it through the bush for a bit. LEOPARD (4).

The eyes are piercing the night!

Now, off to see if we could complete the pentafecta (my made up word to extend beyond a trifecta). Obviously, by the title of this blog, you realize that we were not successful. There were many tracks, but it appeared that the pride had adopted a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy as the tracks were all over the place and moving in different directions.

Back at the lodge we joined a Boma for dinner. That’s a cook-out with plenty of grilled meats and lots of vegetable concoctions. There were multiple firepots around to warm the area and the meal was followed by traditional African drumming, singing and dancing. A great way to finish aur stay at Thornybush Game Reserve.

See below for more stories about Connor being the co-pilot for Tracey, our guide.

The Co-Pilot

For those of you who know my grandson Connor, this will all make perfect sense. For those who don't, let me give a brief introduction. Connor is almost 11 and is very comfortable talking to anyone at anytime about almost any subject - as long as it is not related to school! He is also very inquisitive and curious and anxious to learn. Put all of that with his mild fear of being on our safaris and the wild animals being so close at hand, and by our second day, he wanted to sit in the passenger's seat next to Tracey while the rest of us spread out on the three rows of theater-like seating in the Land Cruiser. From that position Connor and Tracey had an ongoing conversation for the entire 3 hour safari drive through the bush. He asked 1000 questions and she patiently answered them. he told her things he learned about various animals and she asked him for more details. He told her about baseball, school and his life in general. he asked her about what she liked or didn't like. Tracey got the biggest kick out of Connor and by the end of our few days there, Tracey and Connor were best friends. She put him at ease with the wildlife and he entertained her. In the end, Tracey said, "I am going to miss my co-pilot." To which Connor immediately replied, "I am going to miss my pilot!"