I just returned from a 3 night stay at Africa on Foot Safari in Klaserie Game Preserve in South Africa. This is my second chance to be on a photo safari, and this time my wife Tonia was able to come with me too. Our guides Enoch and Mauritz were awesome, taking us on both vehicle drives and bush walks. It's one thing to see a rhinoceros from a vehicle, and it is a completely different sensation to see one out in the bush when you happen to stumble on to him during a walk.
Let me give you 4 brief examples of what made this experience so delightful. First, we ran across a pack of 9-10 wild dogs. They were circling a giraffe who had a young baby by her side. In the end they couldn't get to the baby, but by then they were pretty hyper, and they moved on to a nearby herd of impalas. It was great fun to see them spread out, move on in, and to then see the impalas react. The dogs focused on one who got separated from the rest, and as the impala darted in front of us, a dog was in right behind him. We didn't see a catch, but it was a pleasure to watch the chaos of predator and prey. Second, we saw a similar thing when later that evening we stumbled across a leopard who was stalking a different herd of impalas. Low to the grow, soft and slow, once again we were witnesses to the frantic chase.Â
The next morning we also met up with a pack of hyenas who were enjoying the spoils, once again an impala, most likely captured by a leopard, but taken over by the hyenas. Hearing the hyenas moan, bark, cry, scream, and who knows whatever word you attach to their bizarre sounds is one of the coolest sounds. The photo hear captures a few of these hyenas "sharing" bits and pieces of the impala. And not far from this feeding was a giraffe, whose baby was already dead. The hyenas were going to eat well today, impala for breakfast and giraffe for lunch. The mother giraffe still hadn't left the baby, but the hyenas were willing to wait things out, and in the meantime the number of vultures, eagles, and jackals kept increasing as well. Later that day we returned to the site and indeed the mother giraffe was gone, and the hyenas were again eating.
After three days we still hadn't seen any lions, but then at 3:00am our guide Enoch knocks on the door at the bottom of our tree house, "Orlando, come quick. The lions have arrived and they have just killed a zebra." We hopped in the vehicle, and two minutes later we were side by side with a pride of 10 lions, who all seemed pretty content to ignore us as the chomped down on zebra.
No doubt, anyone who has been on a photo safari will have their own version of their story to tell. However in this case, this story is 'my story.' And all of the emotion and thrill of experiencing the sightings is rolled up in the photo that doesn't just show the story, but causes me to feel it again. Gotta love what photography does, both to enhance the experience and to relive the moment.
PS Here are some words in Shangaan that IÂ learned from out guide Enoch:
inkomo - thank you
shinene -Â very much
abushene - good morning
kunjane? -how are you doing?
dikona - fine
ai fambe - let's go
ai ji - let's eat
langota - look
laya - there
la - here
ingala, tingala - lion, pride of lions
inyare, tinyare - elephant, herd of elephants
melembre - white rhino
masoloa - wild dogs