Buffalo Solider…

September 26th, 2008

We headed to the Kwa-Zulu Natal game reserve Imfolozi/Hluluwe to begin our search for the Big Five. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the phrase, the Big Five are Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, Leopard and Lion. These are ‘the’ animals to spot in S.A. An early start was intended; however we had a leisurely breakfast followed by an even more leisurely discussion of what we should do, so we did the unthinkable and arrived at the game reserve after 12 pm. Once we cleared the gates we hunted, not yet for the elephant, but for food. Karel ordered an ostrich pita, charming the Zulu ladies behind the counter using every Zulu phrase he knows and teasing them about the secret sauce. The women loved it, and in return pointed out a row of three bats sleeping under the thatched hut roof. It was amazing to see them perfectly lined with their wings safely tucked around them.

After lunch, a visit to the curio shop, and two woven baskets later we were off. It must be in South African DNA to be a natural game spotter. In the distance, and I mean distance, Karel would stop the car, point and say ‘look it’s a giraffe/bok/hippo’. I, on the other hand am oblivious unless it’s two or three metres away. Thanks to Karel we were hugely successful on seeing loads of animals; nyala, kudu, giraffe, baboons, monkeys, warthogs, elephants, blue wildebeest, zebra and impala. It was brilliant.

Hours slipped away and before we knew it, it was twenty past five. We needed to be out of the park by six o’clock and we were ages away from the gates. Reading the information frantically on the pamphlet, they were very strict with shutting the gates at six and if you didn’t make it, too bad for you. Now you might think what an opportunity, you’re completely self-sufficient and carry everything with you, you could easily stay the night. However we had heard from several people that a month prior to our visit a man had been having a braai (BBQ) at a hutted camp and a leopard had jumped out and bitten his head. 350 stitches later and a permanent souvenir of his stay, the park basically shut down all the camping sites. Looking at each other and our watches anxiously we made a quick retreat. Unfortunately we had to speed through the camp. Karel was like a seasoned formula one driver and I was on the lookout for any wildlife. As we rounded one corner, Karel had to slam on the brakes. In the middle of the road was a buffalo. We stared at each other for a few minutes, with Karel ready to reverse but thankful he decided to continue on his way. A sigh of relief passed through the car and a big tick off the Big Five list. We made it to the gates at five fifty eight.