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Dungbeetles are priceless
They are such comical creatures to watch.
I am amazed at how quickly they can work.

My most tense moment on my last trip was watching a young Cameleon crossing the road. It took such a long time .. it was ok as long as it was in front of me and no one could squash it..
then I saw this car coming in the opposite direction the Cameleon was in its path..
fortunately it missed the little creature, but I was about to jump out and carry it to safety..

So would I and even if you leave your vehicle to save the poor guy,

On a recent trip I twice broke the rules to ensure that chameleons made it safely across the road after seeing three quarters of one dragging itself off the H6.

While on a morning walk on Nyalaland trail Jan 1988 :
While on the plateau to the north of the trails camp we heard elephants trumpeting , we were near to a "poort" (passageway / gate ) through a ridge the, and a few minutes later a breeding herd came into view . We were most fortunate to be able to climb up onto the rocks around the "poort" and observe them at close quarters . We were about 5 metres above them as they passed under us , they were very aware of us , some were milling around in circles , they must have smelled us and possibly decided we were not a threat , and they then passed on leaving us much richer for the experience .

I was doing a walk in the sand Forrest (with a guest that had dissolved into hysterical tears when we got to about 400m from a white rhino earlier) when I walked past a low shrubby bush.

I got that kick in the gut that nature gives to say "you do know something dangerous is watching you DO YOU NOT". I looked carefully around and found myself looking straight into a leopards eyes right next to the path. Based on my clients earlier reaction I did not say a word and kept on walking. As it was she complained to the landowners that they should not allow walks (she had insisted on one - very loudly and unpleasantly in their reception the night before) as it was too dangerous.

Gee Jeanus, you sure have an exiting life! Please let me know if you ever need someone to come along to do your washing! Please just point the leopard out to me, I promise to only flood my bloomers afterwards! (well, I'll try anyway.)

Seriously, it must be so great to go on a walk with you and I really enjoy all your posts!

And the award for bravery and valour goes to:

Taraaaa....Taraaa............



MM and BB for saving the "little things"!!!!! :dance:

I am a wimp when it comes to guests and their abilities on trail ( I have always said that I am not scared of anything except my own guests). I have been known to back track things like elephant, rhino and lion all the while praying that the animals have not walked in a circle. However if the guest reaction to the littler things shows some love, understanding and a sence of calm on their part I do get some up close and personals at times although I have not taken trails for some time.

I have walked the Metsi Metsi trail a few times which along with Sweni was apparently notorious for the boldness of the lions due to them becoming habituated to Mozambiquean refugees . We in fact we came across a human skull , and the remnants of luggage on more than one occasion .
I was at the rear of the group on an afternoon walk in 1989 and I paused to adjust my camera strap when I saw a movement in the grass to the right of the path . There happened to be a rock about about 30 cm high right there , and when I stepped on to it I looked straight at 3 lions crouching and watching my every move from about 5 meters away .
This certainly illustrates their loss of fear for humans .

We were at Nkhulu picnic site ai about 1995 when both my kids were pre-schoolers. My parents were with us and we were doing the gourmwt breakfast on the skottle with a couple of very attentive vervets watching us. My Mom who should have known better as we are a family that has been visiting Kruger fpr many many years , produced a bunch of bananas for my kids. Well needless to say the monkeys dived off the trees and grabbed the bananas. My Dad who was a very protective Grandfather thought they were going for the kids and tried to chase them with his braai tongs. It was quite scary as the kids were so little, but also very funny to see this elderley gentleman chasing monkeys armed with a pair of braai tongs. My Mom learned her lesson and never took fruit to a picnic site again!

In Talamati camp this year end of April, we sat in the camp hide at approx 21h00 at night. There were a couple of birds and so and nothing nocturnal (yet). But we decided to sit for a while longer and see if maybe something will come. Other visitors came in for a while, watched the birds with us, and then left again. Maybe another 10/15 minutes later we saw a chase! From the "shadow" and shape of the shadow it looked like it was a leopard chasing an impala down for some supper. We didn't see the kill, but the leopard was so close to that impala, it must have happened just a couple of meters on the other side of camp. My heart was pumping so hard - I think it was pumping for my excitement and the impala running for his life...... It really is an experience I will never forget.

It was in Skukuza camp on our recent trip....it was hot, almost 40 degrees in the shade and I was feeling weak from dehydration!

My SO (Elzet) was in the shop and I was standing next to my car underneath a tree waiting for her while I was sweating profusely! The next moment she exited the shop with a six-pack of beer in her one hand and a bag of ice in the other hand. She was looking lovely while approaching me and I felt very excited then!!

Theuns
Great stories everyone

I have one exciting thing and one scary thing!

EXCITING
One evening after getting back to Biyamiti from a fruitful day of game viewing we lit the fire and settled down with a drink, it was beautiful, the sun was setting, the fire was blazing and there were some old dagaboys munching away in the river bed, we moved our chair closer to the fence to watch them and enjoy the last few minutes of light. All of a sudden we noticed something moving the reeds and then another something, and another something and then we noticed a BIG male lion stalking along the fence. We soon realised that we were about to witness something very special. Probably only two minutes after noticing the movement, the pride of lions emerged in a strategic formation and tucked in to one of the buffs with the big male coming in at the last second to finish it off!! AMAZING!! And only about 7m from the fence. We actually had to move away because the sounds and sights with only a fence between us gave us all the shivers!! We spend the rest of the evening eating on the veranda listening to lions scuffling with each other, breaking buff bones and we were then woken by the sounds of lion vs. hyena! It really was a beautiful yet chilling experience!

SCARY
We were staying at Talamati and decided that a night drive was a must! The ranger and a few of the passengers, including my dad, were all smokers so just before it became pitch dark we decided to stop, get off the vehicle and have a smoke/drinks break. It was magical! So quite and so peaceful! Wow! Anyway, the ranger was chatting to some of the other guests and I was chatting to my dad when I suddenly saw a cold look in his eyes. Making sure he didn't scare me, he went to the ranger and suggested he tell the people to get back on the vehicle, the ranger thought he was daft and promised that the deep chesty sound he imaged to be a lioness calling her cubs was all an illusion! Well, in the next few seconds there was chaos! The lioness had had enough of our nonsense and let out a huge growl/roar/snarl! I have never seen people pile into a vehicle so quickly in my life!! When we had a look with the spot light we noticed that the lionesses small cubs were on one side of the road and the lioness on the other, we had stopped between then and she had obviously been trying to get them across to safety! Needless to say, no one begged for another smoke-break for the rest of the drive!! It was an amazing experience, but I think we are rather lucky we were all close together, that no one needed a bathroom break and that the lioness was such a tolerant one!!

The scariest part of Bushfairy's story was that the ranger thought your dad was being daft.....