Leaving this morning we are sad to see table mountain disappear behind us. What a wonderful time we’ve had here in the Cape Town. Its felt otherworldly, but home like at the same time. We say goodbyes to our servers at the restaurant who we’ve come to know- exchanging Facebook info.
Our Flight is departing from Cape Town for Hoedspruit in the north east where we have NO IDEA what we are to expect. We are staying at the Honey Guide camp near Kruger National Park, our transfer from the camp will pick us up when we arrive. As we fly away-the view out the window is stunning. The cliffs and stone mountains are just unbelievable- and even from this vantage point high in the clouds it is easy to see how magnificent they are. And from there we transition to desert like tundra-still mountainous- but the trees have turned sparse and the soil a more yellow color. Its about 2 ½ hours to get there, and towards the end of the flight I see we are getting closer to the ground- almost close to landing close….but no announcement has been made. Strange. And as I’m looking, all of a sudden, the ground falls beneath us- completely disappears! We fly off a cliff, and are again at a normal flying height. We have just entered the valley that is Kruger, and the mountains form a ring, us descending into her and all she houses there. Will we see the animals from here? Will they be easy to spot while we are here? With their camouflage will it be hard to see them- I assume they will hide from us? Will we feel guilt at disturbing their regular routines? As the announcement is made that we are preparing for landing my mind is racing, but I am so swelled with excitement that I can barely stay in my seat. We can feel the heat already, even through the plane walls…..
As we land, Chris and Nicole both spot animals on the runway- although at the time I’m questioning if they just had too much wine on the flight (I opted out of wine on this flight **GASP**…but the pinotage is still strong with this one…..), in any case as we taxi to the “gate” I see a few somethings myself!! Not sure what they are….but they are not moose or deers……so…we in the bush y’all. I put gate in quotes because- as we are ushered out of the plane and get a grip on our surroundings, we see that this airport is mostly outside. The gate consists of us walking down a flight of stairs from the airplane door and into an area with a thatched roof, and a u shaped platform of wooden pallet boxes. THIS is our baggage claim. And Nicole and I are squealing with excitement. There was some fear that this was going to be just a less convenient Disney world-if that makes sense. We worried that it wouldn’t be authentic in a way that would make it believable. Well….we believe…WE BELIEVE. And as we see the 8 workers take our luggage off of a basic trailer trolley and set it out for the taking on the wooden boxes, we are struck at how this might just be the beginning of something we are never going to forget.
Luggage collected we meet Louis who is going to drive us to our Camp. He is sweet and kind and has a very thick Zimbabwe accent. He says in his broken English that he is going to try and get us to the camp in the next 45-85 mins depending on animals and road conditions. And we are again squealing with delight—could there already be animals??? Just on the road?? I assume maybe some goats or cows….and we do see those and have to stop to let them by. But when we pull out of the airport parking lot, and drive about 10 minutes…..I hear Nicole scream GIRAFFE!!! And we all look to our right to see a random giraffe on the side of the road, eating the tall trees and watching us drive by as if its normal. As if this is real life. Seconds later I see a zebra (pronounced zed-bra from now on as you read please) just grazing on the road side. A REAL LIFE FREAKING ZEBRA. WE KNOW already that this is going to be epic. Minutes later, our driver stops the van and points to the distant left- a huge tusked elephant is flapping his ears, walking next to a far away river. If we don’t see anything else I’m already well filled with experiences! He’s far away and I wonder if we will only see them from his vantage point-content if that is all we get, but excited at the thought that we may get closer- if something extra special happens. And we tend to attract extra special (….Gary case and point).
Louis says that we are in for an “Africian Massage” as we pull of the main road and onto the sandy dirt road that we assume will take us to our tents. We understand once we get going and bounce all around the van, voices vibrating if we try to talk. And eventually, after taking multiple turns and avoiding lots of ruts and potholes, we pull up to a small hut – our reception area. Nothing else can be seen really, the bushes here are low and large, so they pretty much drown out the buildings…..not that we have seen any others. These seem to be the only around at all.
As we hop out we head into the reception area and are met by the sweetest woman who gives us a run down of what to expect and which tents are ours. Nicole and Gary choose tent 16-the farthest from camp, with us right next to them kind of-although we cant see each others. She tells us that game drives (safari’s) are at 6:30am and 3:30pm every day-and I wonder if we are required to attend all- perhaps some time by the small pool as we walked in would be nice. I guess we’ll see how we feel. The game drives are 3 hours each, and breakfast will be served when we get back each morning. Then we are free until the next with lunch being served at 2pm. We are given canteens with “Honey Guide” written on them, and we are told to fill them anytime we want, but especially before each drive- with the fresh clean water at the fountain in the lodge. These are ours to keep and they encourage we drink as much water as possible. Its hot out here and the dehydration can sneak up on you.
She says that we are free to roam anywhere we want during the day light -provided we stay on the paths and don’t go off of them at all-and at night we are to stay in our rooms once we are brought back by our guide. We will have the same guide for the entire 4 days and he will accompany us on all game drives and will take us to our rooms after dinner each night. She says that we will be woken up at 6am with drumming, we will have 20 mins to get ourselves together, and by then it will be light enough for us to walk to the lodge via the path to get some coffee and fill our canteens, then proceeding to our jeep for the first safari of the day.
The good news is that we have arrived just in time for the 3:30 drive. We have time to get to our rooms, change into something more suitable (I brought dresses…..and one pair of shorts….) and then get to the game drive. Then the question….I can hear angles singing as I write….”what would you like for your sundowner? Anything you’d like..beer, wine, G&T? anything else I havn’t mentioned….” I’ll take Red Wine please…..”italian? South Africian? French?”….A pinotage if you have it….”, we do. For you sir?
Chris, nicole and gary all order Beers.
We meet our guide, Lyton. He is part Denzel, part Jason Stathem, part 007 with a hint of sarcastic humor thrown in. I think he’ll do JUST FINE. He brings us to our tent where our luggage is already waiting- and we do the flight of the bumble bee to get out some shorts and t-shirts and get our camera’s out and ready. Nicole and Gary doing the same. We take a moment to look around the tent.
Its LARGE- about as big as the bottom floor of my house I swear (chris says 40×20). At the front is a deck with two wooden lounge chairs. Then when you enter the tent there is a seating area with a homemade couch and coffee table, off to the side a nice writing desk. Behind that is the bed enclosed in a mosquito net. Around the back is 2 sinks in a marble topped counter, and an open shower area. Hidden behind a long wall is the toilet. There are shelves for clothing and hangers. Towels and a nice tray with glasses and bathroom toiletries.
We run out of the room, and back to the lodge to fill our canteens and get on the truck. I should describe the lodge. It is open air. There is a huge bar at the front end, filled with everything you can imagine, and a fire pit area, sunken seating around burning logs. Off to the right is enough seating for about 25 I would imagine- that is the dinner/lunch/breakfast area. It has a nice big shared 2 stall bathroom- and a huge map on the wall where sightings are written down.
So as we reach the lodge we have time to fill our canteens with water and get to the truck….. except I notice that its only Nicole here, not Gary.
“Where is Gary? We leave in a minute!!”
“well, he was in the room when I left- just to put his shoes on—so I walked to meet you guys, he should be right behind us…..”
And we wait….
How long is this last minute old man poop?? (cause we all know what “I just need to get my shoes on” means in man speak….)
We are getting the call from Lyton…we are all looking for Gary…..like 10 minutes. Finally we see him SPRINTING (which means nothing when it comes to Gary- he has ONE speed. It doesn’t go faster or slower. ONE. SPEED)..so let me rephrase. We see Gary walking towards us with an urgent look on his face (not in his feet). He comes straight to Nicole….
“so- I get that your nervous about Snakes…but how did you expect me to get out of the tent when you locked the door from outside on your way out???”
Nicole turns red. Oops……..so yes, the doors to the tent have a latch on the outside and one on the inside, so you can lock it when you leave so the monkey’s don’t get in- and from the inside when you’re there so nothing else gets in…OR it can be a husband containment device…depends on how you roll.
In any case, Gary is here…he won’t confirm how he got out (Nicole seems very interested in this- I assume so she can improve her plan….) but he’s here.
So off to the truck we go-
It’s a 9 seater truck, open sides with a canvas roof. There is a seat at the front for someone to sit with Lyton while he drives. The back seats are all at different levels, slightly higher then the one in front. There is a ladder like step system to get up into the truck. The seats are bouncy and comfy.
GAME DRIVE ONE:
As we pull out, Nicole, Gary and I are in the front row, Chris behind us with another guest and another guest in the front seat with Lyton. The other two guests seem to know Lyton- they are talking to him like they are his friends and seem to know the names of others at the camp. As we start out on the drive we have no idea what to expect. I assume we will drive around in hopes of seeing some birds or perhaps some elephants in the distance (EEEKK!!!!!). Driving out of the camp we notice that Lyton has on a blue tooth ear piece and a hand held CB Radio in his hand. We deduce pretty quickly that all the game drivers around here communicate with each other- letting one another know where the sightings are. So as he gets a message on his radio he takes off, and I mean he KICKS IT. I feel perfectly safe- but we are definitely on a mission. He has heard of animals in the distance and he is off to catch them. I assume this must be rare? To see the animals- and that is why they all talk to each other.
As we drive, he slams on his breaks. Points to the left. Says, “shh shh shh. Look right there. Give it one minute…” and slowly out of the bush walks a calm gentle beast.
A giraffe.
Is about 20 feet from us. Out my side of the car.
Nicole grabs my arm. What is going on? Is that a giraffe- right there? We are afraid to even breathe, afraid to scare away the moment. That it will disappear if we think about it too much. I forget to get out my phone for a pic for a second. But as she grazes, I am fixated on her print. Her calm breathing. She isn’t scared of us at all- she takes a look without even breaking her chew.
Lyton lets us enjoy her for a few more minutes and off he goes again.
We pass some impala on the right, jumping through the bush. We are fascinated….but can tell that these are not something to stop for…I assume we will be seeing a lot of these. On he drives, back on track. Back on his mission. He stops again briefly as we pass by some cape buffalo- letting us take pictures- him seeming to know a secret we don’t- that what is coming will be epic, will be something we will never forget- not that we’d want to.
So as he continues again, and we pass another couple giraffes without stopping, I realize that he has a treasure he wants to share with us. And even though I’ve only known this man for minutes, when he pulls off the road, and into the bush, bouncing us around, I feel fully at ease with him. He is safe. He will take care of us. I don’t question that for a minute. When he off roads? the first shock is at what Lyton will drive through- or rather what he is able to drive through. This vehicle will drive over anything- abandoned terminate mounds, full dead trees, mud, rocks- anything in its path.
Then we see it.
A body of water comes into view. Not huge. But when Lyton points to the bush in the near distance, and says watch there? We all watch like its our job. And we see the tops of their heads coming into view. At first one grey head pops out, trunk looking first. Then a few more. And before we know it, there are at least 15 Elephants in front of us ,walking down to the edge of the water about 15 feet away from us to drink. Lyton shuts off the truck. And we sit there, as huge tusked males, smaller juveniles, and tiny adorable babies all come to the water-babies being strategically placed in the middle of the adults. Protected.
We are all so quiet.
Listening to their foot falls- their trunks investigating the water.
Them drinking and spraying themselves with water, and each other.
A few walk right in. They play, checking on each other, teasing each other. Checking on the babies, resting their trunks on their tusks as they leisurely walk around.
Lyton is all smiles. He knows the power he has with our experiences right now. He knows he is showing us something that will follow us to our graves. He knows he will be apart of that memory for the rest of our lives. We sit, quietly, as they walk to the truck. Within touching distance, one in particular coming up to the truck and standing there for a long time. Sizing us up. Waving his ears back and forth.
We are mouths open. I can’t believe what we are witnessing. What is going on. Is this real life? Is this what we can expect for the rest of the game drives? To think I had the breif thought that maybe we would skip a drive once for relaxation time….NOTHING could keep me out of this truck. Nothing.
We stay there for at least 15 minutes. Watching them. He asks at one point if we are ready and Nicole and I both say no a lot louder then we should have out here in the wild. But Lyton gets it, smiling that Denzel smile he sits back and lets us stare. Taking some pics of his own. We watch long enough that eventually the ellies (as they are lovingly called here in the bush) are finished drinking- and as a group start to walk away, one straggler running when he sees everyone leaving, ears flopping and truck bouncing as he tries to keep up, I find I’m swollowing the lump in my throat- I don’t want to be the one that cries like a girl on this game drive. The attention is all the elephants, and it would feel wrong to take it away from them.
Once they are gone, and Lyton sees we are ready, off we go again. He drives back out onto the road and then stops the car, telling us all to shhhhh. He listens. Finger in the air as a reminder to stay quiet. He says “they are moving that way…” and off he goes again. I assume we are tracking ellies again.
So off roading, after bouncing around for 10 minutes or so, we come to a cleaning in the brush. And he points to the side of the clearing. And laying there- sleeping, even with us driving up….
Are
Two
Lions.
LIONS. One male with a fully grown out mane. One a female…sleek and long. The male gets up as we approach, and my blood thickens. Is he irritated that we are here??? But he just gets closer to the female. Licking her back. Lyton laughs. He says that he is trying to see if she is “on heat” and ready to mate. He tries for a long time…..purring in her ear, licking her back, placing his paw on her back. But she is having none of it. So down he flops again, leaving one paw on her- “I’m just gonna wait over here till your ready k?”. There they sit. The males head is as big as my entire body I swear. And we are about 15 feet from them if that. Quietly watching them.
Which we do for about ½ an hour. I am transfixed. How is this happening….how are we this close to this wild animal. This isn’t a zoo. We are not fenced. And yet I feel perfectly safe with Lyton. He knows so much about these animals. I could get into what he tells us about the pride, but I’ll leave that. It feels private- who is mating with who. Who has killed who. But trust me when I say that he knows them all. By face, by markings, by pride.
Once we have had our fill- on we move. Off for our sundowner. Lyton drives us to an opening, and gets out. The sun is setting. And it is just like it looks in all those paintings I used to think were tacky. The ones where the orange shifts to red and yellow with the silhouette of trees in their background. Its not just artistic interpretation. It happens here. The sky is the color of those beautiful rust colored roses- the ones that are too beautiful not to buy when you see them. The lump in my throat is growing.
He says, “come on everyone get out. I’m a great bartender.” And out we climb.
And there we are. As the sun sets in South Africa. With a red wine in my hands. Air cooling down just enough. Lyton keeps an eye out for animals. And we drink and look around. I hug Nicole with tears in my eyes. Its actually her and Gary’s 22 anniversary today, ours tomorrow. And this doesn’t seem real. We’ve been all over the world on our anniversaries. India, China, Italy, Greece, France, Spain, etc. the list goes on. But this time I don’t feel worthy. I’m worried my brain might shut down, that I might become too introspect and not be able to get out of my own thoughts. I’m more present in a moment then I think I’ve ever been in my life- the animals do that to you- or at least that’s my experience so far- I feel like this is just the tip of the iceburg. Like I’ve found something so special that if I leave it, if I’m not present even for a second, it will be taken away. Like when you watch a butterfly lite on a flower, and you know that calling someone over to see it would be pointless, it would be gone before they arrived. So you make yourself take a mental picture of it, you selfishly enjoy it all on your own. We’ve all done it. And this feels the same, the difference is we’re all here, all the muppets. And I can tell none of us have the tools to process it.
We finish up our drinks, meeting the others briefly. We have Erika and Bart with us, and we instantly like them. Erika tells us that this place is special to her- her mom’s ashes are buried here at a special spot in the bush- her mom visiting here four times while she was alive, Erika joining her on the 3rd, coming back to fulfill a promise once she’d died. A family affair-her brother accompanied and arranged those trips, and visits still often himself. Bart so against the idea of Erika going the first time that it threatened their marriage (she tells me as she holds Barts hand- clearly in love). Now he is as obsessed as she is. Lyton has one of her mom’s rosaries, her most special, and they have become close in their 13 times here- our observation of them being friends are true. Erika says that we have lucked out- Lyton is the best they have ever seen. And I can feel they are welcoming us into their pride, allowing us to become part of a family. I feel an instant kinship to Erika, Chris too I can tell. I hope we see them again this week.
After a out 20 mins of drinks and snacks (he has spring rolls and trail mix, potato chips and cookies), we drive back to the camp slowly. Lyton has lights on the truck of course, but he also carries a very powerful flood light that he is constantly moving back and forth, one side of the car to the next, looking for eyes, or whatever else a James Bond in the bush would look for. At one point he stops dead in the road, and points out, 15 feel away, in a tree, in the dark….a chameleon. Whos only job is to be camouflaged. Yet Danzel sees him without skipping a beat. He stops the car so we can all get out- everyone but Nicole of course. There be snakes in that bush. Pics are taken, and back in we get.
Back at the lodge we can walk to dinner on our own because its path lit. So as Lyton parks the truck we make our way there to wait for dinner. As we arrive at the bar we are met with hot wet faceclothes. What a refreshing surprise- it was getting cold out there as the sun retreated- and we are all a little chilled-the heat from the cloth feeling like a welcome back hug. We order drinks at the bar from the friendly and inquisitive bartender, (“what animals did you see today?? Isn’t Lyton great? Are you having a nice time?”). The boys answer as Nicole and I move to the fire pit area. We have drinks and wait for the call to dinner, all heading to the table when they call.
But as we are walking there that very bartender comes up to us. He says, Mr. and Mrs Keddy- we have had a bit of a situation in your room—it seems a honey badger got in while you were on safari…I don’t think anything was damaged, but they want you to come check on your things. LOL WHAT?? I tell Chris to go, but they say- no you come too- and bring your wine for the walk….okayyyyy….so off we go. Walking to our room to find god knows what….
When we get there, we see no honey badger.
We see candles lit, and a table for two.
For our anniversary….
and I realize that my sister is going to kill me. Like – murder me.
They got us mixed up….they think its our anniversary!! Not Nicole and Gary’s. And if we except this gift, it will leave them back at the camp with the others, while we enjoy THEIR candle lit dinner….. I mean, I’d kill me.
So we thank them, but explain to them what has happened. And they apologize! And a plan is hatched to do this tomorrow night for all of us instead! The plan is to use the Honey Badger again, so we get on our best lying faces and back we go to the dinner with everyone else….explaining that the honey badger didn’t do too much damage, its all good! and dodging the questions….
After the chef comes out and announces her dinner offerings, we eat with a bottle of nice wine, the bartenders choice, and bring the rest back to our rooms. Its not like the Muppets to be alone this early in the evening, and I miss the little rascals- but them is the rules. So Lyton walks us back- scanning the sides of the trail. I swear to god if he stopped Nicole who is directly behind him would walk up his back.
Once in our room we see they have done a turn down service, and after I make Chris check under the bed and in the sheets and in the sink and in the toilet and in my ears and once more time under the bed, we climb in and start to fall asleep. Its hot here in the bush, so we have a fan going, but even over the fan we can hear roaring and foot falls outside. Like, what is going on.
Up most of the night listening for the lion that is going to kill me, I didn’t sleep that well, although Chris did (I can attest to this because there were a lot of points where, on account of his snoring, he was much closer to death from me and a pillow then he was from any lion). So by the time the drums beat at 6am I have already been up and showered and blow dried and I’m ready, sitting like a school girl at the end of the bed just waiting for day light.
As we walk to the lodge we hear rustling in the trees and howling high above. Getting to the breakfast area we can see what all the ruckus was…there are monkeys everywhere. They are jumping on the roof of the lodge, coming down to peak at the newcomers to see if they were dumb enough to bring any exposed snacks with them. We take pics and watch them for a few minutes, pouring a morning coffee (the best we’ve had in SA) until getting the call from Lyton that they are ready to start the drive.
GAME DRIVE 2- morning
The plan was to meet after the sound of the drums at 6am…..but we’re late because of a spider situation in our room. As in there is one in our room. And I can’t move until its not in our room again. And then Nicole and Gary are late too because they couldn’t leave their room on account of Elephants on the trail….like WHAT??? Eventually the Ellies make their way by and Nicole and Gary are released.
As we pull out this morning, we are situated in the seats we decide suit us best, and this is where we stay for the rest of the safaris. Bart stays with Lyton in the front seat. Nicole and Gary in the front row. We have two new friends this morning, and we actually become a tight group of 9 for the rest of our trip. So Julia and Alex from Switzerland are welcomed and introduced and take up their place in the middle row. Erika, Chris and I in the back row.
But as we pull out today we go the opposite direction as yesterday, and already we can tell Lyton has something special to show us. We switch back and forth through little trails and roads to the north east of the camp. And we finally find what he’s been tracking. 2 full grown lions, walking together. They are very vocal- loud and calling. Lyton explains that the two Lion’s we are watching are being challenged to a fight of sorts, and we are watching a bit of a gang turf war. He talks about the different prides and their families, how many full grown males are in each, how many females. He knows these prides. One of these lions he hasn’t seen in several months, and the lion is healed from a bad jaw injury.
We follow them for at least an hour-and they are completely unbothered by us. They go about their business, expending energy, but resting every few hundred feet. They are contemplating the fight- trying to decide if the roars are stronger then theirs- is it a necessary fight? One they could win? What will the gains be? The communication is involved and fascinating-so much being said between these brothers (as Lyton points out).
He tells us about the wars between prides and how violent the life of a lion is. I ask if any make it to old age and die of that…he says very very few. Its possible, and it happens, but mostly they die in a fight, either with each other or while hunting. He says that for a number of years there was a group of 6 males called the Mapoho Coalition that became famous for their brutal and ruthless tactics after they banded together. They dominated and ruled an area of 70 000 hectares, killing any dominate males they came across, and cubs and females if they threatened or stood in their way. This was back in 2001 and they ruled for 11 years. Their surviving relatives are the ones we are chasing now.
Eventually the day is getting too hot, and they bed down for the remainder of the heat of the day- and Lyton decides that we would be better served looking for something else to observe. So off we go.
We twist our way through the bush, and come to a water hole, a large one, mud all around its edges….and it is about to be treated to the same thing we are. 8 elephants of all ages and sizes appear out of the low brush, take a good look around, and then make their way to the edge. Drinking, splashing, bathing, frolicing and being all around adorable. Babies running, being with their family. They see us. Acknowledge us. And just keep doing what they do. We turn off the truck and just silently watch them. One of them comes a little closer…reaching out his truck…sniffing at the air. Twirling his trunk around. And then I can’t help it. The lump that has been swelling in my throat this past 24 hours is at its breaking point, and before I can even consider holding it back, the tears are flowing. Lyton sees me and asks if I’m okay—so the gig is up. I say I’m fine…I’m just doing what we all want to but most have more control over- and he nods. He understands. He’s seen this land and these animals tame many wandering hearts- create a home inside a person- take up room in even the most guarded. And I’m none of those things, child like in my displays of emotion. He says as long as they are happy tears he will allow it, and they are- they are the happiest of tears. I’m not worthy. And my heart knows that even more then my brain as comprehended yet. Seeing this puts so many things in perspective- nothing else matters at the moment- except the animals in front of me, and the people surrounding me.
We watch them for at least 45 minutes. Watch them interact with each other, Lyton pointing out anything he thinks we would find interesting (which I can assure him is every word that comes out his mouth). He explains markings and colors, males and females, mom’s and dad’s, babies and cousins.
Then we pull away, just to the other side of the pond, and jump out for our coffees. You know, with elephants in the distance. Normal right?
Once we finish up the coffees we drive around for a few more minutes, giraffes and water buffalos, impalas and more Ellies. Then its back to the camp for breakfast.
As we approach the lodge and walk in for breakfast we realize that there are elephants in camp drinking from one of the many water holes, just right in front of our breakfast seating. You know…normal? Mind blown we are all a little preoccupied when a monkey comes down and steals Nicoles perfectly buttered and jammed piece of toast. Right. Off. The. Plate. We kind of all just sit there for a hot second…what just happened???? All of a sudden toast security is at a premium, everyone tightly holding onto theirs.
Finishing up we decide to meet up at the pool for the hottest part of the day. The next drive won’t be until 3:30pm so we have some relaxation time to kill- and I can see South African Amber Gin with my name all over it……. So, back to the room to change, and grab some paint supplies, some sun screen and some books-and we are pool side within minutes, All grabbing a drink on our way past the bar with promises to see them again soon. We are told that sometimes the Elephants come to the far end of the pool to drink- it’s a frequented water hole and perfectly safe for them, so we are trying our best to seem “elephant friendly”, fingers crossed we’ll get to see them at some point.
The Muppets chat and giggle- mind blown at the experiences we have had so far- trying hard to remind ourselves how epic this is.
Gary decides to go get us more drinks……but he does this in the most Gary way possible. Barefoot. In the freaking bush. We only find this out about 2 minutes after he leaves, as we hear a long low whine coming from the far end of the pool and see him limping up the stairs. “KAAAARRRRREEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNN HELLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPP” is all I can make out before he sits on the side of the pool and dips his feets in the water. I swim over…..”help with what?”…… and he hoists his feet up. In my face. And he looks like a piece of human velcro. And I’m learning a lot of old man swears.
As I look, I see what I had feared, that he has spike like burrs buried DEEP in both feet from Some sort of plant he has walked on or through.
We are going to need to get this muppet re-felted. Stat.
So as he sits, and whines, and crys, and snot runs down his face, Nicole and I go to work- literally having to use our nails to pinch the spurs out. I’m pretty sure some of those spurs are family now, because they are never leaving. After 15 mins we have gotten as many as we can out…..and he is putting on his shoes- I’m not sure he’ll ever take them off again.
Dear lord.
Its about here that we realize that Muppets can’t be tamed. We can’t be told what to do. You think we’re putting water in our canteens for the drive this afternoon? We say no. We say Red Wine is being served in the muppet canteens. Gary will need it for infection anyway….
So, after helping Gary hobble back to the room, and filling our cups, off we go for the next Game Drive.
GAME DRIVE 3:
This time Lyton takes us on a long drive out to the edge of the bush- he is on a mission . There is a Leopard out that way- and he wants us to see him. We drive a long way- probably about 45 minutes, stopping sporadically to look at animals here and there- some water buffalo, a few elephants. But as we pull into a bog, and he stops the truck, he points to the tall grass. And after my eyes adjust, I see the most beautiful coat- shiny and somehow I can see its warm, and it blinks at me.
A Leopard – about 10 feet from us. Watching the Impala he hunted and prepared, then dragged up a nearby tree to deter any other animals from seeing/claiming it.
He watches us as we watch him. He is falling asleep and his eyes are closing just like Gary and Nicole’s little Stella when she’s sleeping in the sun. His head is bobbing up and down- he’s resting after his long day of hunting. Satisfied with his accomplishment- allowing himself a small celebration in the way of a nap.
We stay and watch him for ½ hour or so- until he finally looks at us and gives us a hiss and his teeth- and we know its time to move on.
We drive to the top of a small hill- Lyton clearly knows what he is looking for- but isn’t revealing it to us until he finds it. And then, after diving off the side of this hill in our truck, he points to a Acacia tree to our right, and there at the base…is a cub. A tiny baby lion. We’ve found SIMBA. All we can see is the top of his head and his little eyes peaking out at us- he is almost saying out loud, “my mom says I can’t talk to strangers”. He stays very still- he knows what he was told. He was told to stay here until mom returns and not wander off. So when he starts to get up as if to run, we leave right away. We want to make sure he is found exactly where his mom left him. I don’t get a pic of him- he is too camouflaged. I decide to just enjoy it instead- Lyton telling us how rare this is, to see a baby.
We start up and drive on towards home, pick a nice spot for our sundowner (when the Muppets have been preparing for since we left)…and all hop out for drinks. We’ve all become close in just the brief interactions we’ve had over the past drives, experiencing something this special does that- creates a bond. And we find out it makes Gary do things like share his booze from his canteen with essentially complete strangers- apparently him passing his rum and coke (his canteen water) to Everyone the entire drive. Sigh. Someone should have warned them they are likely to catch the “ground spur rickets” from him given the pool situation earlier today.
As we finish up our coffee we drive off towards the sunset and are lucky enough to see a Rhino!! Its is MUCH larger then I had expected- he’s just eating his dinner and going about his business- and looks like he should have his own gravity. Covered in armor and mud- he’s been mud bathing- he is almost as large as an elephant- and much larger then the one we saw in Nepal. All by himself- he watches us while we watch him.
We continue on and reach camp eventually- once the sun has set spectacularly in front of us. And as we arrive, we get the usual hot face cloth- and then are led to the grass, away from the lodge- in the area where the elephant was drinking yesterday- and there we see that a table has been set up for us. A private table, candles, flowers, our favorite wine. Its absolutely breathtaking. I’m in tears before we even sit. The effort they have gone through so that we would all be surprised again- with an anniversary dinner. It doesn’t get much more surreal then this, the heat, the beauty of the table all alone in the grass- the sounds of the lions in the distance. They serve us dinner, attending to our every need, making sure our cups are full and our plates never empty. We are full and have laughed until it hurt several times by the time we are led back to our tents. Hearts overflowing. Gratitude. Another memory for the bank- but this one won’t need to be dusted off. This one will be at the front- shined up often, talked about every time we meet for years to come.
Game Drive 4:
This morning we are off early to a lovely sunrise. The sun is an orange I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to capture in paint- it casts the perfect glow on the mist surrounding the bush and I spend a lot of time taking video of it in hopes I can pull it out to cure whatever ales me when I’m back in my real life.
We are off again, Lyton on a mission. We drive for a long time, sighting lots of animals, elephants running and making their quintessential roar, zebras and colorful birds. But he is focused. He says this is going to be a special day…and I can’t help but wonder if we are going to see dinosaurs. I mean, how much more special can this get???
And it does.
He pulls up to a field. Says to look in the grass to the west and wait.
So we do. Camera’s ready. Lyton never disappoints.
And we see him. The baby. SIMBA. Bouncing next to his mama and aunties- Lyton confirms he is the same cub from last night. Walking across the grass, like he owns the world. Because he does- he will own this bush when he is king. I’m sure he has that awareness. That he is powerful. You can see it in his walk, in his confidence, his head and paws so unproportioned to his tiny body. We are all quietly gasping! As he walks by I am completely taken with him- love at first sight-and I can tell Nicole is holding Gary back from getting out his laser pointer and trying to lure Simba into his arms. We watch him for a while, and as they go out of sight we drive towards them again, watching him walk in a lineup of his mom and aunties as they walk down a small dirt road, giving us a peak as he walks right by the truck, his lashes and face about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen- Chris giggling and turning around to watch him out the back of the truck until we can’t see him any longer. Silently wishing him luck as he continues on. It will be an epic but brutal life for this little one. I hope we see him grown someday.
Lyton starts up the dream machine and off we go. He is talking heavily into his blue tooth…there must be something special to see elsewhere.
And there is.
We pull up to the same tree and Leopard that we saw last night. He is much more animated today- out and about, pacing around his tree. He must sense that his kill is in danger…his impala is still high up in the tree, but he is anxious. And I’m thinking…whatever scares a Leopard? Scares the CRAP out of me……
But as we watch, a hyena comes into view at the base of the tree – and we realize that our Leopard is just trying to make sure nothing gets his dinner.
Now – I blame Disney. For my fear of Hyenas that is based on NOTHING except cartoons. But it’s real. My hands are shaking so hard that I can’t get video of any of it for a while, relying on Chris and the iphone. And he does it, he captures the most epic thing I think we get to see in all our time out here in the bush….. the Leopard looks up at the tree and his dinner, checks out the hyena….runs to his tree, and jumps up the trunk and into the high branches as easily I jumped into the truck earlier today. With very little effort, his fantastically strong legs maneuvering him up to his personal table. Leaving the Hyena at the base of the tree, looking up and whining. And as we watch, the Leopard goes to work- chowing down on his kill. We can hear the bones breaking and him licking his chops. And we can see the hyena at the base, waiting for a mistake, a scrap to fall into his mouth. And when I say this is happening close, I am not exaggerating- the tree base is maybe 15 feet from us. We watcher toss more then this distance! We all have to crane our necks to see up the tree. The Leopard is keeping a good eye on the Hyena, almost taunting him, looking down at him every few minutes. Not scared, just annoyed that he can’t enjoy his dinner in peace. The hyena is respectful, he knows what he’d be up against if he picked a fight here. Eventually he just walks a little distance away and lays down. Watching from afar.
We stay for an hour or so, watching this play out. I think all of us would have stayed for the rest of the day- our own personal national geographic episode playing out in front of us. I feel like Lorne Green should be narrating our lives right now. But its getting close to coffee time, and we stop just a few kms from the Leopard situation and have our biscuits and coffee- I’m still shaking with the adrenaline of it all- all the Muppets are wide eyed, sharing camera pics- talking a mile a minute.
Off we go towards the comfort of “home” and breakfast.
We eat, and then spend the remainder of the morning and early afternoon at the pool with the delicious amber gin we’ve become spoiled by. I bring my paints and have the time of my life painting the first Elephant we saw on our very first game drive. My mind is blown with the shear number of pics I have that deserve some canvas time- I think I have enough of my personal pics to paint for a life time.
And as I paint, I feel like I’m really here. As it always does, the painting of the place I’m in makes me more connected to the experience, like my paint is hashing out the feelings I have and can’t make sense of- each stroke of my brush putting the experience in perspective, the unexplainable joy and devastating sadness of nature all blending together like my paint and the local water and helping it line up in a row I can understand. I’m wipping away tears again, and I wonder if someone looking on would think I was sad. I hope not. I don’t think I’ve been happier- it’s just, somewhere those two emotions meet. And the beauty and joy become a heartbreak all their own….
Game drive 5:
Tonight we focus on the bush near the camp. There are a lot of elephants in the area, so we watch them- and find their water hole (there are several) and watch them play with each other. We all take the time to stop and really enjoy it this time- using our camera’s less and less.
We watch a herd of Zebra’s for a long time, them along side a congress of Baboons that are playing in the area- lots of babies. I can’t help but take the camera out for the Zebra’s, their color is the stuff of dreams for a watercolorist. I’m already planning paintings in my head.
When we stop for our sundowners we see the blood moon rising. It is the largest I’ve ever seen the moon in all my time on this earth- red and mottled. I waste a lot of time taking pics of it, and get a few…fascinated when I get back to camp to see the Instagram posts the next morning of the red moon rising in Nova Scotia.
We arrive back and camp and have dinner, in bed to listen to the lions and elephants all night-the sounds becoming comforting instead of ominous.
Heading out the next morning for Game Drive 6 we do more of the same. This time we land on a pride of Lions and stick with them the better part of the morning, following them as they talk back and forth to each other and try to teach the youngest males to hunt. We land on the side of a massive pond and watch a Hippopotamus float around with colorful birds on his back, in the distance on the shore behind him we can see baboon’s and elephants. This is where we have our morning coffees. We’ve become a close knit group and are getting to know each other more and more- serious talk about facebook friendships ensue and we are all friend requesting each other by the time we are back at camp. I don’t think you ever forget the people you got to see this country with- they will forever be part of something that can’t be explained to others- no worries of finding the right words with this group- we were all here. A nod and a smile is all we need to know what each other is thinking about how special this is.
We arrive back at camp and do the usual swapping of pics. Have our breakfast and talk like old friends. Then part ways for the rest of the day until the evening drive.
We head back to the pool after changing and grabbing some drinks, paints for me. We float around and chat, laughing at the morning, discussing the animals and how common place they have become. We have a few drinks and Chris, Nicole and Gary have a nap while I set up my paint.
Eventually Nicole and Gary walk back to their room to prepare for the afternoon drive, and Chris and I stay on while I finish my paining. Bart is there with us laying in the sun.
I am in the middle of it when Chris reaches out with his hand looking off into the distance past the pool, I look up to see what is in his eyeline….and I see an Elephant walking towards us- slowly but deliberately- straight for us. Chris says, “put down the paint, get in the pool…see if he minds it. If he startles or seems scared you can come right out.”
On he walks towards us.
I hop in the pool slowly. Keep walking towards the far end of the pool-where the drinking area is- the fresh water for the animals.
He keeps walking too.
He watches me. I’m sure he’s trying to find out what I am…..is she a crocodile? A log?
At some point he figures it out- and he stares at me, right in the eye. I can see his eye blinking at me- he is really sizing me up. He is twirling his trunk, swinging his tail, resting his trunk on his tusk for a short time- which I take as a sign of his comfort- he seems very relaxed.
I walk further in the water.
Before I know it, I’m about 5 feet from him- hanging over the edge of his side of the pool. I’m in tears (big surprise) and he is watching me with a kindness that I’ve never felt before- he is so calm- and he’s having the same effect on me. The heart that was pounding is now beating softly- the shaking from shear excitement is calmed. I am still. And I know I am perfectly safe. He knows the same- an unspoken pact between us. And as I watch him, I speak to him. Thank him for coming to see me. And he reaches down and starts to drink the water-still keeping an eye on me and me on him. I wipe my face from tears, and he stops again, looking deep in my eyes-tilting his head like a puppy. I hear Chris giggle from behind me- he’s filming this and he sees the tenderness too- the power this animal possesses is set aside in such an obvious gesture there is no way it isn’t deliberate just to make me feel at ease.
He stays a long time. The video I have is almost 9 minutes long.
And then, he takes one last look at me, and walks away, the same way he came. But I’m not the same.
I can’t describe to you what this experience is like. I think I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to find the words. Maybe my paint will. But I won’t. I could go on and talk about how it felt, but this one was personal y’all. I don’t think I can. Suffice it to say that it fixed some things in me- a lot melted away, forever given to that elephant. And I’m different.
RUNNING back to the tent to find Gary and Nicole- tell them about it. They are excited for what I got to see, but I know Nicole wishes she was there. I hope she knows that because he met me, he met her. And I gave him some of her heavy stuff too. <3
Game drive 7:
Starts with more of the same again- to start mostly we focus on Giraffes tonight- watching them eat from the impossibly high trees. A group of Giraffe’s is called a tower, and that fits just fine. They are taller then you can imagine- these taller then any I’ve ever seen in a zoo- and they are so social. Playing with each other and keeping in the group- walking together and checking on each other.
But its starting to thunder and lightening- and the rain is coming in spurts- not heavy yet, but spitting here and there. But it seems to change the behavior of the animals. Mostly the lions, who like to take advantage of the rainy weather to hunt as most of the prey will bed down to ride out the storm. So basically the entire of the bush is a lion charcuterie- and they know it. So we park at the “main dam” and watch the lions for hours. There are elephants too getting their drinks so they can bed down- and we watch them interact- the lions very respectful of the size of the Ellies- knowing who not to pick a fight with.
They do however hunt the impala around, and we get to see the younger lions trying to get up the courage to hunt- sizing up the other animals in the dusk that is coming sooner then most nights with the cloud cover.
The lions run back and forth and talk to each other- roaring and waiting for answers. We see LOTS of crocks in the water and it seems to be the only thing that will get the Lions spooked- many times they all get up at once and walk away from the water’s edge. I decide that Main Dam should be renamed “Crock pot”.
We have our sundowners right next to the crock pot despite my objections. Lions maybe 50 feet away. I have never drunk a gin and tonic that fast in my life. Okay that’s a lie. But I was definitely on a mission to get everyone to drink and get the heck back in the truck- this one seemed a little to close for me. But in reality, we were perfectly safe I’m sure. I know Lyton was taking good care of us……except that one time I looked around and he was nowhere to be found. Let me assure you he almost had a large white woman on him piggy back style while he peed in the brush. Poor guy.
On the way back to the lodge we realize its going to be a rainy night- lightening flashing all around us. Appropriate that the sky is crying that this is our last night drive.
And the storm doesn’t disappoint- around 12 midnight the lightening intensifies and the thunder comes in loud and quick- and when the power goes out in the room? I’m done. There will be no sleeping tonight- and I’m not talking about misery…I LOVE a thunder storm more then most things- so to sit here in the bush- in a tent (a water tight tent), with the lightening brightening the sky long enough for us to look for animals in the distance- half scared and half excited about what we might see? Its heaven to me. And just another special moment in the trip of a lifetime. When the rains start and pound on the tent? I get up to paint. In the candle light, with the rain. I paint a picture for a new friend, Erika. She’s become someone we look forward to seeing in the mornings and afternoons, and I’ve already added her to the list of things I don’t’ want to leave tomorrow. And I know tomorrow is a special day for her- her mom’s ashes here in Honeyguide will be visited- Lyton will take her and her husband there. So, I go to work on an Elephant painting for her- one more special moment shared. I’ll give it to Lyton to give to her after we’re long gone.
I make it to bed around 3am- preparing in the most Karen way for the departure tomorrow- by ignoring that it Is happening.
Up for one last drive in the am.
It’s just a special as the others. I’ll leave it at that.
And when we go to leave that bleak Monday morning, I cry all the way to the airport.
I don’t want to go.
I want to stay here with these animals and these people for ever.
this 5 days will not be forgotten for as long as I live- these animals now part of my family. In my heart. Forever.
