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I remember my fiance and i were staying at tamboti camp for a couple of nights in january. It was Late evening and we decided to walk to the toilets from tent number two. As we were walking we saw something in the road. It started moving closer to us and when we looked again it was a Adult Baboon spider hunting. I basically jumped on my fiance's shoulder's as i am very scared of spider's. It was quit funny seeing and male hiding behind a female for protection. My fiance casually pics up a stick and moves or chases I'm not to sure cause i was still running down the road and moves the baboon spider out of harms way. That is my worst experience, give me anything else and i will handle it but spider's NO WAY

In Kruger - Lots of elephant hair raisers .
In Kalahari - Giant moths (Don't laugh)

Another great 1 is from Tsitsikama -
We swam out to that raft at the beach near the restaurant , after taking a breather and looking down in the water we saw a glimpse of a small shark in the clear water below .
Dam but the swim back to shore was hellish scary , Luckily it was very quick.

Also had a lot of elephant charges. Once there was one about a meter away, I'm not kidding, and my dad just slammed his foot down...got it all on camera. Imagine if the car broke down...

Once had a VERY large spider who wouldn't fall of my leg in the dark.

My mom told me about one that would have scared the hell out of me if I could understand what was going on. We were at some camp and were about to leave on a game drive. My parents had left me in the car for a minute to go fetch the water and car keys. When they got back, hyaenas had surrounded the car and were trying to bite the door handle open. They managed to click-lock it and thery couldn't get in. Apparently it was a very close shave...but the hyaenas eventually walked away, phew...

well, one night at Skukuza in a 3sleeper chalet. you know theres a sink with a glass. well the next morning that glass had a new tenant. a big, black spider about 5cm in length.

well, everytime i go for a drink of water, be it at home or in the bush, i check my glass.

Kalahari.
I remeber camping out on one of the salt pans. we had just finished setting up camp and started our fire ready to cook. One of the guys decided to shine the spot light over the salt pan and OH my gosh.
Scorpions all over and BIG ones to. They were all over. Friends of mine started catching them and what a variety.
Luckely we did not sleep on the ground but on our trailer tents.
At first glanze you get such a fright but they are just as scared of you and we learnt alot that night.
The next morning all the scorpions we caught we released and went on with our trip.

A word for the wise... if you leave your shoes outside your tent (as I often do), it's a very good idea to look inside before sticking your feet in them. (While I don't mind bugs, etc. I really don't like to be surprised by them...had a close call with a large spider once)

Elephant in full musth charging night drive vehicle while the guide is doing a 20 point turn and everyone shouting and screaming and panicking - that was in Addo. My wife now refuses to drive anywhere near elephants unless there is a clear escape route!

Huge puffadder right under my wife's chair and me sitting next to her - that was in the Zim loweveld.

Elephant walking right by our tent in the middle of the night - also in Zim.

On numerous occassions various animals such as snakes, duiker darting out from right under my feet and scaring the wits out of me since most of the big 5 were present in the area.

On various occasions being charged by lions while on an open vehicle.

Last year May driving along the S52 close to Shingwedzi, we see some ellies about 100m to the right and up the road, we slowly drive closer to see, O! lovely breeding herd of ellies with some very small ones in the herd. Anyway seeing as they are now blocking the road we stop and watch them for some time, eventually, as it is now getting late and we need to get back to Shing's, they fortunately start moving just off the road, we start up and slowly pull forward just to round the corner and find some adolescents blocking the road. Wat nou !!

Meanwhile the ones we had just passed have moved back onto the road! Plus there is one not so happy cow about 15 meters from the car on the passenger side just itching to push over a tree, when see sees us she starts flapping her ears. EISH!!.

We start creeping forward as the ones behind us start moving our way. The adolescents up the road being normal teenagers just keeping on playing ( and blocking the road). Now the ones behind us are getting really close, the auntie next to us is getting all worked up, we are getting closer to the ones blocking the road. I'm trying to think of what I can tell the insurance. By this time SO is also getting a little antsy.

Eventually we are 10 meters from the youngsters, they stop playing and stare us down. Auntie next to us start shaking her head, now I see trouble coming. We nudge forward and fortunately the youngsters decide that staring us down won't work, and they turn around and saunter of into the bush. I see my gap and put foot. The ones behind us and next to us charge into the road where we were only a few seconds ago.

With hearts racing we round another corner just to drive nearly smack bang into a HUGE black Mamba lying across the road.
Slam on breaks, few expletives uttered, and the mamba decides this is not for him and fortunately slithers of into the bush. Needles to say when we got back to camp I had on huge whisky and SO a stiff G & T.

I think I have told the story before, it's some where on the form.

When my son was about 5 years old we camp at Berg en Dall.
He slept in the tent of the caravan. One night the call of nature woke me up. With out switching any lights on I walked out of the tent. Something caught my eye. I looked back and there was a massive big Puff Adder lying of my son's his feet.

My hart came to a stand still. It felt as if a cold hand was pumping my hart. I softly called my S.O and asked her to hand me the caravan broom and moved slowly to the open caravan door.

Then very slowly moved to my son's stretcher got hold of the unzipped sleeping bag on top of him and in one movement pulled it of him. Needles to say the snake was angry and bit the broom as I was sweeping him out of the tent all the way to the fence. I am not scared of snakes (as a child three walls of my bed room had snake cages, as I used to catch snakes and sell them to snake farms.)When I got back into the caravan tent I was soaking wet of perspiration.

Then there was an incident on the S100 that I will never forget. We were watching 14 lions about 50 meters into the veld. Behind us there were another 3 vehicles.

A man with a BMW came from the front, stopped in front of me. Got out of his vehicle,walked around to the passenger door, opened it and helped his lady companion out. They then walked into the field hand in hand to wards the lions. Can you imagine what goes trough your mind when you see something like this. I blow ed my vehicles horn and shouted to him that there are 14 lions lying in the veld. He waved at me and walked on.

By this time one lioness got up and looked at the couple as they walk towards her. She made a mog attack. The person behind me saw that a another lioness was preparing to attack, started his "Volla" Volkswagen Beatle and drove into the veld and manoeuvred his vehicle between the lions and the couple. The volla protested as it went over rocks, one moment in the air and the other on the ground.

The man only then realised what was going on as by this time every body was yelling at him to go back to his vehicle. He turned around, left the lady stranded in the veld and ran back to his car and got into his car. The lady got back into the car
as he locked his door. What a brave gentleman to run away and leave his companion behind to fend for her self.

Then there was an incident on the Voortrekker road, H1-1.

As we came around a bend there was a elephant standing next to a car, and a Little girl of about 4 years was feeding him sweets. I could not believe my eyes. The ellie was calm and accepted each sweet that she offered him and after a while walked away. Was it luck?

Another incident on the S3 (Albasini road) we travelled behind two elderly ladies in a mini cooper. In front of them was a elephant in the road. For one or other reason she drove into the ellies back legs. He sat down on the Minni's bonnet, got up, ruffed the car up a little bid and walked of. When we got to them the front of the mini was destroyed and both of them was in shock, just staring in front of them. Likely a parks vehicle arrived and we could help them.

I did not witnessed the the next incident but only saw a man being escorted out of the park. One of the camp staff members told me, that the man travelled with his wife and mother in law on a road. Got involved in an argument with his mother in law, stopped the vehicle ordered her to get out of the vehicle and drove back to the camp. His wife reported the incident but could not remember on which road did it happen. By then it was dark. The lady was found early the next morning in a tree were she spend the night.

Doispanne KNP.

We were doing a course at this old deserted rangerspost between Skukuza and Phabeni. No fences, no electricity, no huts. Got used to scan the area with my torch before moving anywhere.

Was late at night, all had gone to sleep in their tents. I was just going to check something in my car. A quick scan with the torch suddenly illuminated an elephant standing approx 15 meters in front of me, next to my friend`s tent. Just dropped the beam of the torch, standing perfectly still. He stood there for twenty seconds or so before moving off as silently as he came. My friend, though still awake, never knew that the elephant stood less than three meters from his bed.

STRUWIG RESERVE, Klasserie / Ballule

Late at night, sitting with my SO watching the Olifants river that was illuminated by a floodlight. Only an elephant fence, to keep them and the hippo out. Heard lion earlier the night.

First spotted a big male moving down the river bank. As soon as he spotted us, he ducked back in to the bush. Twenty minutes later two adult females, with four young moves down the river approx. 40 meters in front of us. The big female spots us, but keep on moving past us, watching us all the time. The young are playing around their feet as if to entertain us. The female eventually orders them on, still watching us. Never had such a adrenalin rush, while sitting so quietly! Strange knowing that, but for the female`s grace, we were lion chow!

Magic!

Just a fun one for all. Share your experience, even with pic's about the close encounters you had in the National Parks. It can be snakes, animals or weather related.

I think we will be able to write a book on it,

I read some trip reports (actually just about all) & there are some close ones there & some of the authors don't even realise it.

Bordering on hilarious will also be accepted,(Mod's?) but it has to be a close call.

Lets see how it goes Scipio, this could be good.

We were walking in an area with thick growth, lots of trees and shrubs, I was the second rifle. All was quiet, then we heard some elephant not too far in front of us. We stopped, trying to figure out where they were, since it would be impossible to see them.

Suddenly a medium sized bull appeared right in front of us, less than twenty five meters away. It came walking directly towards us, not having seen us yet. Luckily there were a small dip right in front of us. When he reached the dip, the first rifle raised his hand and called out, who! Now the bull saw us. He was less than 15 meters in front of us. I knew that if he were to react and come towards us entering the dip, we would have to shoot. He was just too close!

Luckily the bull just froze. He stood there, looking at us, while we were looking at him. No aggression nor fear! We had a real good look at each other. After two or three minutes of this, we decided to move the group back, and out of a potentially dangerous situation. The first rifle remained in front of the elephant, I ordered the group back, past a huge termite mound just at our back. I knew this would give some protection.

As I rounded the termite mound, a second elephant appeared less than 15 meters from us, or at least we appeared to a second elephant. But, as luck would have it, this animal was walking away from us, and had not seen us. I ordered the group on to the termite mound, where we all stood packed in like sardines.

After about five minutes the all clear was sounded, and we could dis-entangle ourselves from a friendly Buffalo Thorn with whom we shared the space.

Though there were some anxious moments, the animals were totally non threatening, and we all could enjoy the experience! The only blood shedding was caused by the Buffalo Thorn

It was in 2006 when i had my first close encounter with an ellie in KNP....
Driving one late afternoon back to Skukuza Camp on the H4-1, every now and then i would turn off onto these loop roads towards the river. It was overcast and with the sun starting to set visibility wasn't that great. I turned off onto one of these roads, but it wasn't a loop road, you had to return to the the tar road as you came. Just when i stopped and while looking at the river (It felt so peaceful) i heard this trumpet of an ellie. At first i tought it came from the river, but i couldn't see any ellie....
That is untill i look infront of me..... A ellie bull came at huge speed (well, it seemed so) towards me, then i only notice all the other ellies and some babies. I've about literally drived passed them without noticing them
Luckily i didn't switch off the car when i stopped, and with shaking hands i engaged gear and with shaking feet i speed out of there at high speed leaving the charging ellie in a cloud of dust which ofcourse i couldn't see. I reached the tar road unharmed but in such a shaking state that i couldn't drive very much further. I just had to stop and recollect composer, with the help of my sundowner that i supposed to had much later....
Since that day i have a great fear to turn off onto these kind of roads in the late afternoon, but still can't resist the urge to turnoff onto them....

I will reveal the story a little later... but I had a funny (and by funny I mean petrifying) experience with a black mamba you guys will love to hear about.