travelswithalice

October 03, 2005

 

Greg is in charge

Greg is in charge.
Greg is in charge of the group in and out of camp. He educates us on everything we experience in the wild; he drives the Land Rover and leads the game walks. He is our host at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, escorts us to our rooms after dark, and wakes us up at 5:30 every morning for the early game drives. I guess Mala Mala rangers never sleep.

Our group of three couples has bonded very well and we chatter away happily as we stalk our preys. Today, M.V. wears her special cat hat. This bodes well for our mission to catch the elusive fifth on our Big Five list, the lion.
We chance upon a family of elephants bathing in a waterhole. We enjoy a good hour or so watching, photographing, and laughing at the antics of the baby elephants and their harried mothers alternately frolicking and arguing in the water.

A cloud of dust in the distance signals that a large herd of buffalo is on the move in search of food and water. We catch up with them and park just ahead of the moving herd; soon we are completely surrounded. These huge animals graze relentlessly, mowing the dry brush effeciently to the ground. Line after line, females and young ones in front, old bulls lagging in the back, forming a protective rear guard. The setting sun filters through the thick cloud of dust that follows the herd as it moves through the parched soil and dry vegetation.
Sometime later, we see a herd of elephants in the distance. As we approach, we notice a mysterious, heavy odour permeating the air. This signals the presence of a bull in musth, agitated and anxious to mate with a female in the herd. Not a safe place for us to be. We quickly retreat from the scene.

It’s Emy’s birthday.
It’s Emy’s birthday. Back in the Boma that night, the song and dance chorus line composed of women from the dinner staff delivers a cake and sings Happy Birthday in Shangaan (I guess.)


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posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones  # October 03, 2005




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