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Many years ago we were camping at Shingwedzi and a lion passed close by so I raced to the caravan and put my long 600 f5.6 on the F3 and went back to the fence to try and get a pic or two. In those days there was no VR or image stabalisation so you needed a beanbag or a tripod. i didnt have either so I put the lens on the fence for stability and it was the last thing I remembered for a couple of minutes. The electrics in the camera were fine.

VERY funny story Nikon12!

A few years back my SO also had a run-in with an electrical fence at Olifants. He was woken in the middle of the night with the most vicious sounds coming from the river….Arks, I believe you will know what sounds I’m talking about ….we later found out it was hippos fighting.

He went out with the spotlight to investigate. We were staying in one of the river view bungalows, nr. 9. In front of the unit there is sort of terrace, with a wall and a drop of about 1m to the next level.
My SO walked on the wall to the fence…at this position he was higher than the fence…about half his body was above the fence.
Right at the fence he stepped into a hole in the wall and fell forward, landing with both his arms onto of the electrical fence. The shock of the fence tossed him backwards; made him loose his balance, and he fell the 1 m from the wall. Luckily, during his fall he turned around and seeing that he has a bit of built-inn “airbag” the landing was not as bad as it could have been. During this whole thing he managed to keep the spotlight safely in his hands.
Ok, so I come out and see the SO lying flat on his stomach with the spotlight in his hand, and ask, “What are you looking at?”
Poor thing, he had burns on both arms from the electrical wires and some bad scratches from the fall.

Hi Nikon12

Thanks for the great story - just what the doctor ordered (for me anyway)!

I heard a story once how baboons clear electric fences. One of them grabs onto the fence and "takes the punch" while the others use his body to somersault over him until the entire troop is across the wire. The guy who told me this swears that he hadn't had any wine or beer before he saw it, so we can take it that it is probably true.

I once saw a group of vervet monkeys outside the Skukuza Restaurant that were going about their normal business when a whole colony of banded mongooses happened along. There was a huge showdown and the monkeys actually retreated - right into the electric fence! There were a few screams of "shock" (if you'll pardon the expression) but the monkeys moved off and the mongooses carried on their scrounging.

There are also quite a few stories of where predators like lion use fences of all descriptions to catch their prey by chasing them into the fence.

Kind regards
KNP Spokesman

While waiting for the Berg N Dal meet in August, I walked the perimeter fence and a fellow leant across to snap a bushbuck. He got a sharp shock and nearly fell over. I kept a distance from the strands after that.

Nikon12 - same camp, similar experience. We were also staying at Balule one summer. We were up most of the night as we were staying in one of the rondavels and had bats bombdropping us all night. The gatekeeper was late to open the gates the next morning, so I was volunteered to get out of the car and open it. It had been raining during the night, so you can predict the rest. Let's just say that the electrical shock is designed to keep out an elephant. Wasn't funny at the time, but I can laugh about it now.

On one of our previous trips my 4x4 was dented by an impala.
We were travelling on the maroela loop during Dec, after the rains, and the dense undergrowth made the road very narrow at places.
All of a sudden about 10 to 15 impala came from the undergrowth at the left of the road and entered the road directly next to the vehicle.
They were running like hell.
An impala ran into the 4x4 and made contact with the body of the vehicle behind the left rear wheel. He quickly got his footing back and continued his journey.
Immediately after the “bang” we saw a leopard behind the impala.
The leopard saw the white vehicle and immediately stopped in its tracks.
It got to rest behind the 4 x 4 and sat down, giving me a nasty look.
I presume he was furious about my untimely appearance on the road.
I sold the vehicle with that dent.


GOD bless, see u in 2007.
Arno & Louise

It was during a very wet spell around 2001 that a friend and I were travelling along one of the sand roads near Afsaal on the way to meet up with the rest at Pretoriuskop.

All the drifts were overflowing due to the previous night's rain, and eventually my little golf became stuck in the churned up mud in the middle of one of these.

My co-pilot had been having a good time, and was not averse to getting out and pushing the car using the doorframe on the front passenger side.

As I revved the engine, I saw that we would get out easily, as my friend was pushing for all he was worth.

Seeing a wonderful opportunity for mischief, I quietly put on the handbrake and began spinning the front wheels while twisting the steering wheel from side to side.

I shall never forget the image of my assistant bravely struggling as mud came flying into his face from the wheels, eventually covering him from tip to toe!

I slowly released the handbrake and we made it to safety.

How can one be so heartless and cruel? How can one not?...

Have you had any really funny things happen to you or someone you know in Kruger? Please share, I found that each trip delivers at least one hilariously funny story.

As an icebreaker, I'll share one of my most embarrassing moments with you all:

My SO and I drove back to camp one morning after taking an early morning drive from Satara as soon as the gates opened. (Our route was: H1-4, right on H7, right on S40, right on S127 and back down to camp on the H1-4 again)

We were slowly doing the last 5km or so, I had my (the driver-side) window wide open and enjoyed the fresh early morning air.

Unsuspecting from behind came a guy in a blue Microbus with one hell of a speed, as he passed us, he unfortunately drove through a massive heap of fresh elephant dung, it all splashed up into my face and the car was covered, I could not see through the windscreen and had to lean out the window to drive back to the camp. My SO laughed so much that she could not move. I was furious with the idiot who passed us, but could not see his cars reg number. through the mess on the windscreen!!

Driving into camp I immediately drove to the car-wash where the attendant could not believe his eyes and laughed so much that he could hardly help me. While they (SO and attendant) continued cleaning the car (and just about wetting themselves laughing no doubt) I made my way up to the visitors area where i tried getting myself respectable again.

I could not help but laugh at myself, I must have been quite a sight!

Okay, I am done, now tell me your funnies.

I have another few up my sleeve, will write in due course.

As mentioned before my SO does not get enough leave to accompany me to the Park, so I USED to take my sister in law...Well, that was before we had a few incidents.
I have spoken about the one of the baboon at Tsokwane picnic spot, but the cherry on the top was when we were driving to Mopani for lunch in 2005. My daughter turned 18 on that day and we thought to have a nice lunch on the deck overlooking the dam.
We left at appr. 6:00am from Olifants and took a slow drive. We came across this huge bull elephant in the road, there were another 3 cars behind us...he blocked the road and would not let us pass...as soon as we moved he fluttered his ears, put up his trunk at made the most magnifecent noise...My sister in law kept on reversing..I think we moved more backwards than forwards...an old man came along in his camper van...he looked at us all funny and kept on going towards the elephant...he stopped right next to the elephant. The elephant put his trunk on the windscreen of this car...by this time, my sister in law had turned the car around...I was shouting to wait, I wanted to take a video, she could not see the sense in all of this...the old man then reversed and the next minute put his car in first as the elephant came at him again, and raced off...luckily the elephant got such a fright he ran into the bush....Needless to say, we never made it to Mopani and my sister in law has refused to come with me to the Park...

In December around 1993 myself and a student friend pulled in to camp at Balule over a weekend.

I kid you not, we were the ONLY people in the camp (including huts) that first night, even the attendant having left for some do at Olifants!

It was quite a blustery evening, and in those days there was no electrified fence, only a plain barbed wire farm-type fence, which even a determined steenbok could get through.

Well-fortified after the day's activities, we set about making a fire in the lee of my car, full of jokes.

Every now and then, though, a nearby rustling, quite loud, made us whip out the torches. It was definitely within the campsite, but we could spot nothing.

The conversation became remarkably more subdued, and more wood was added to the fire (An age-old reaction, I suppose.)

Eventually, we were sitting dead still, awaiting our fate. (no cellphones, no medevac, no camp manager, in fact a pioneer experience!)

Suddenly the sound became a non-stop rattle of some approaching being (we were not even thinking of animals anymore) and we leapt up and started squealing!

Lo and behold, a brown paper Kruger bag appeared from under the car, where the intermittent wind had been pushing it closer and closer, rasping against the chassis!

"Nugter geskrik!" (Scared sober) we made our braai, and attempted to recover our courage. But it was not quite the same!

Africa's a tough country...

On our stay in Kruger 2002 we had a funny experience. Well I was the only one experiencing it us funny everybody else in the car was close to heart attacks.

I am always the first to leave the gate in the morning and unfortunately the petrol pump isnt open at that time. We still had a quarter tank and would have made it from B & D to Skukuza, for-sure!

But on this particular day I was on a hyena hunt, havent seen one in ages. And you know when u are there u only pay attention to what is outside the car. Even poor SO isnt allowed to turn his neck in any direction but left, out his side of the window...

At about 16:30, after being at Skukuza ages ago, we turned on a gravel road and came across lots of rhino's. We sat there for a while watching them and then the car didnt want to start Sh...t! SO wasnt impressed with me at all, Im the driver, I must watch the petrol Gage he told me. Now, how that is possible I dont know...

We phoned B & D and explained to them the petrol situation. They said they will contact Malelane gate so that they can send someone to us. An hour past, then 2 hours and nobody came.Of course this was cool with me. Giraffe's past us, I watched a beautiful sunset and the night-sky was incredible.

But the rest of the occupants in the car was not impressed with me at all. It was very hot in the car and if we opened the windows the car got filled with bugs. A bat flew right into SO's forehead, I cracked myself laughing.

We phoned again to find out where the people were and was told that the guy from Malelane gate got lost so someone else from Crocbridge was coming. At about 22:00 we saw a cars lights approaching, a relieve to everybody but me.
The cars lights lit up the whole area around our car and there it was.... my hyena eating our bumper!!

After throwing in some petrol we followed them back to B & D and came across 11 lions in the road. Wow.

Until today my entire family thinks that I did it on purpose. But I will never do that...

wow funny experiences!!!! i can definately think of a few, but one especially comes to mind.

i think it was in 2002, we were travelling all morning. i honestly can't remember where this happened, all i know is were were down south. anyway, we were travelling 8 of us in the caravelle. i was about 16 at the time. anyway, we went down a dirt road towards a water hole. after a while of sitting and taking in the senary we decided to turn around. little did we know, the river sand availible to turn around in was very very soft

well, you guessed it . we got stuck good and proper so, there my dad and his friend were trying to push the caravelle out while the rest of us were looking around our backs in all directions, and my mom behind the wheel
(i must add, there was a very strong smell of elephant at the time)

since we were on a dirt road, hardly any traffic came by, so we sat trying to get ourselves out for approx 20min, before a landrover came along. it took him 5 min to get us out. well, we sure had a great laugh about it and now have a landrover ourselves
no more getting stuck and stranded

Great posts WH and Jonty!

(WH, what would have happened before the age of cellphones!?)

My funny experience, entitled "Soek vir die Duiwel":

Three guys on the way up the H10 about 10 years ago. It was the one's second trip to the Park, and spotting a porcupine quill in the road became a major topic of conversation...

He was highly excited and picked it up for a closer inspection. (I know, highly illegal etc. etc.)

We warned him to be careful, as it was sharp. "dink julle ek is stupid" was the reply.

As luck would have it, as he bent forward to place it under the cubbyhole, he crossed his legs and embedded the one point in the ball of his bare foot and the other in the palm of his hand!

We laughed for hours, literally, and he has been mocked ever since!

(WH, good idea for a free night drive as well! Jonty, Landrovers DO get stuck...)

A group of us wen't to play golf at Skukuza in Dec 2005.

It was incredibly humid, though overcast and hot.

A royal time was had by all, culminating in the final shot over the dam approaching the clubhouse.

I took the last tee, having laughed at my predecessors for overhitting and making the innocent people on the Clubhouse verandah take cover...

(The final tee is on the dam wall of a lake , for the information of those who haven't been there.)

I took an almighty swing, and because of the humidity (no fault of my own) the club left my powerful grip and sailed through the air, landing in the middle of the dam near some hippos.

For some reason everyone laughed at me and I went down and sat in the golf cart and sulked, understandably.

That was the end of my golfing career, such as it was. Obviously it would have been too dangerous for the hippos for me to try and rescue the club .

(Anyone with a spare Lynx ladies no. 6 iron, please PM me.)

What follows is funny only when it doesn't happen to you!

We stayed at B&D in June and then moved to Croc Bridge, taking the S25 dirt road. Must say SO is always watching the road so little creatures won't be accidentally squished.

That's how he spotted the snake that eventually caused a lot of (not to be mentioned) running comments and instructions. Case of angel turning bad
At first I was almost on his lap trying to have a better look because we could immediately identify it as a vine snake (have them in our area as well)

There it was- front reared, imitating a twig swaying
in the breeze. Just to suddenly change tactics and disappeared under the car! What to do? We waited a while and eventually decided it must have slithered across to the other side of the road. Me? I wasn't so sure!

Not interested in finding leopard, lion or anything on four legs, I was watching my feet - maybe the stories about snakes getting into cars were not just 'made up' to entertain the uninformed. Not nice - really not nice.

About 10km down the road, "snake!" (This now coming from SO) Sure enough, there it was! "STOP!!!" I shrieked like a piglet - now I was giving instructions like a sergeant major!

"Reverse!" (thought it would lose it's grip on the grill of the car
from where it was glaring at us across the hood - red tongue flicking in and out)

Staring match!!! Now you see him, now you don't!
Well, it was obviously not impressed to be relocated without permission. Certainly not intended on our part!

Good ending though, no damage done to either party. Eventually no head appeared for a while and we got going again. Flagged down the first car we saw and asked them if there was a snake hanging by it's tail from the grill.

Reassured all was safe, Eden was peaceful again.