Jaws

It has for a while been a dream of mine to see sharks up close, in their natural habitat. One way of doing so is shark cage diving, which you can do in Gansbaai, three hours east of Cape Town. Since this activity starts early in the morning we decided to stay in Gansbaai over night, to avoid having to get up at four in the morning.

Heading out the waves were pretty high and the boat was bouncing around and slamming down hard after each wave... but we were told that it actually was quite a calm day!When we reached Seal Island (yes, Walker Bay also has a Seal Island) the crew started to pour a scent trail of “fish soup” into the water and it only took about one minute before the first Great White showed up.Important to point out is that the encounter doesn't make the sharks associate people with food because the bits and pieces in the soup are too small for them to actually get anything to eat; only the gulls get to feast. The group consisted of six Americans and four Swedes and was divided into three smaller groups , since a maximum of four people can go into the cage at the same time. Jonny and I were in the first group jumping into the cage, wearing wet suites and goggles. The water was quite cold and in a wet suite two sizes too big, I wasn't very happy. From deck the crew shouted “Down down!” as another shark approached the boat. A deep gulp of air and we stared into the blue-green depths for a glimpse of the most feared predator in the oceans. The cold water was totally forgotten when the Great white propelled itself from below us toward the bait. For a second it was close enough to touch... if we had been stupid enough to try something like that. At first the fascination made me forget that I had my camera with me, but as the four sharks kept swimming by us, I remembered... You might think an experience like this is frightening but we were actually too excited to be afraid. Since quite a few of the others this day were suffering from sea sickness, there was enough space for me to jump into the cage with the other groups as well, which entailed that I was in the water the whole time! After an hour in the huge wet suite, in 14 degree water, I was blue and shaking... but happy.

/A

The Mountain

Table Mountain really dominates Cape Town and encountering a view of a mountain at every turn, it's impossible not to get the urge to climb it. Norman, however, fought the urge bravely and we therefore took on the mountain without him. Luckily the weather gods were on our side and we woke up to a lovely winter's day. Since it is 1086 metres high, it's enough for the seasons to "change" while ascending. You start out in 20 degrees, wearing shorts and end up wearing a thick sweater and a jacket , regretting not bringing gloves, since the temperature at the summit this day was only about 10 degrees.Every 20-30 metres or so, we had to stop and admire the view (and to catch your breaths). The vegetation on the mountain side is mainly fynbos, which is unique to this region and the endemic Proteas are probably the most well known of this biome's plants. Taking it slowly, the climb from the lower cable car station at, 300 metres, to the top takes approximately two hours. For a while it looked like we were going to be wrapped in the famous "table cloth", but as we reached our goal the clouds started to scatter again. Satisfied with our achievement we celebrated by eating an expensive lunch at the Table Mountain café before taking the four minutes (!) long cable car ride down.
/A

CT city

We had been told that no visit to South Africa is complete without a visit to Cape Town, so we decided to crash in Norman's bachelor apartment in Sea Point for a week. Sea Point is startegically located very close to both the city centre and Table Mountain and a good place to stay when exploring the town. Luckily this former class mate of mine, that I hadn't seen in twelve years (!), didn't mind too much. His great grandfather was Swedish and maybe that's why he gladly let us stay with him..? CT is a beautiful city and everywhere you go there is a stunning view of the mountain and the sea, so on the first day we were guided around town by our host to make heads and tails of it. One unexpected sight was this late 17th century castle!We wandered around on our own for a while before joining a guided tour, together with a flock of American tourists. In the torture chamber where we were all locked in for a while, to experience the darkness, they were wondering if there ever had been any innocent prisoners locked up in the Castle of Good Hope!? Amazing! Believe me, it was a kind of torture.

Of course we also had to explore the surroundings away from the city itself and therefore the three of us made a day trip to Cape Point. On our way we made a few obligatory stops and the first of these were in Hout Bay. This small town is very busy with tourists in summer but this time of the year, it mostly resembles a quiet fishing village. We strolled around in the harbour for a while, looking at the boats and a couple of seals swimming in between them, in search of fish. The gulls were delighted and noisily followed them around in hope of getting some scraps.

In almost every bay here on the south coast there is a Seal Island and since it was a calm day we went on a boat trip to the island, where the seals were dashing around in the breaking waves. In Simon's Town the traffic signs warned us about penguins and down on the beach hundreds of them welcomed us with their donkey like call, which is why they were once known as Jackass penguins. They do at times cross the roads and the signs are most likely necessary. This is just one of the beaches around the southern coast where you can get really close to these funny little guys and a few days later we encountered them again further away from Cape Town. Many of them had young that were hidden in the bushes on the beach and it was great seeing the parents coming back from the sea to feed them, only a few metres away! After a late lunch just outside Simon's Town, we reached Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, located in Table Mountain National Park. At one of the view points I got a bit of a shock, since I had rushed there only to realize that the drop on the other side of the very low protective wall is about 175 metres! If you don't feel dizzy looking down, there is most likely something wrong!The dramatic landscape is truly breathtaking and should probably be explored during a full day and not only in late afternoon...

/A

Elephants don't share

I love elephants. Ever since I was a young boy, my favourite animal was the elephant. Unlike most kids I didn't have a teddy bear, I had a teddy elephant (teddyphant?). They are also very interesting animals and always put on a good show for your guests – always doing something. This is far from true for other animals though. For example, most people often get a bit disappointed the first time they see lions, because “They're just lying there!?” Yes, lions will happily sleep for twenty hours a day, but this is not the case for elephants.

Anyway, the lion is often regarded as “The King of the Jungle” but for those with a little insight the title belongs to the elephant. They totally dominate the savannah and no one can (or tries) to challenge their authority. To be a bit blunt: if you get in their way you will get hurt. It doesn't matter if you are a rhino, a human, an impala or a lion. It is also quite obvious that the elephants themselves are aware of this fact and that they kind of like to, occasionally, bully other animals.

On one occasion, in January, before any proper rains had started to fall, the southern Kruger went through a rather nasty dry spell and the relentless African sun made short work of most small rivers and natural ponds; it was a proper drought. One place where you could find water though was a natural waterhole at the far eastern end of the N'watimihri road, a couple of hours' drive from our camp.

I was sitting there, in the game viewer, one day at high noon. It was another one of those beautiful summer days in the Kruger National park: the sun was shining and it was just under 40 degrees. I had parked under a big Acacia tree to give my German guests a little well needed shade.

The waterhole still held some water and the sun's rays reflected off the water's surface like it was the Garden of Eden. The birds were active and colourful paradise flycatchers and bee-eaters were flying through the air and you could hear a myriad of different species of birds singing in the trees all around us. Plovers and geese were searching for food along the water's edge. To the left, a handful of zebra were drinking in silence. To the right, a dozen or so impala were also having a drink, while another dozen were nervously scanning the surrounding thickets for potential predators. In the background, two buffalos were enjoying a mud bath in a portion of the waterhole that had almost dried up. Just in front of the car, two warthogs were searching for something to eat in the undergrowth, not even slightly bothered by our presence.

Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, two bull elephants stepped out of the bush. And with a slow, steady pace they walked towards the waterhole. When they were about 20 meters from the water's edge they stopped and looked at all the animals in and around the waterhole – and all the other animals stopped with whatever they were doing and looked back at the elephants.
With a sudden burst of speed the two elephants took a few quick steps forward, ears flapping and heads held high, kicking up dust as they went. The zebras disappeared in a split second. So did the warthogs and all water birds. All the impala, being trapped between the water and the elephants had to squeeze by the elephants and the water's edge, dodging the swinging trunks as they ran for safety. The two buffalos were more reluctant to move but they were soon persuaded by a few mock charges and loud trumpeting.

We spent the following fifteen minutes looking at the two elephants drinking and playing like two young children all alone in the waterhole – without a care in the World. No other animal in sight, even the birds seemed reluctant to sing. - Sharing? Are you a communist?!

As the elephants left the waterhole most of the water had been squirted around the area and what water was left had been turned to a muddy porridge-like substance. And before they left, as a final insult, one of the bulls (the biggest one, naturally) spent a few minutes relieving himself in the now battered remains of the waterhole; leaving a small island of dung behind him.

No, elephants do certainly not share.

/J

The lions sleep tonight..?

At night we often hear the lion pride at Shabeni roaring, a sound that wakes you up smiling. It can't get more African bush than that! Shabeni is a small mountain about 6 km away and the roars can usually be heard even further.

When we first started guiding it took quite a while before I first saw any lions; a bit frustrating, since nobody wants to leave Africa without seeing them. Once they have been found though, their usual day activity isn't very interesting...But then we had a couple of weeks when we regularly encountered them (and not only sleeping), especially around Shabeni. Not at all bothered with our presence they often walked and mated on the roads, making the game spotting much easier. After rains it isn't unusual for lions to head for the roads; being cats they prefer the open, dry, elongated patches of dirt to the wet vegetation.

The first time I saw lions mating I had the vehicle full of newly arrived Germans with me. The first animal we had seen this morning was an impressive elephant bull, crossing the road right in front of the car, right after entering the gate. The second sighting was of course these two lions! As a guide it is difficult to have ridiculously good sightings early on, since “How on earth do you top that!?”... and I probably had nine hours to go after this... Anyway, the lions were lying in the road, surrounded by five or six game viewers and three private cars, 15 m away and partially obstructed. A few minutes later the female gets up, walks around the male until she's got his attention and then she places herself two meters away from our game viewer! Even though the whole affair is short (and not so sweet), we had front row seats and the audience held their breaths, while clicking away with their cameras.

When a lion walks past you, staring into your eyes almost at eye level you feel tiny. The fact that they don't jump into the car and tear you apart is one of life's great mysteries. Guests are frequently surprised that they totally ignore us, after having eyed us so thoroughly. One of the guides recently came closer to lions then you may wish for when she gut stuck in a ditch at a lion sighting. No longer at eye level with them, she had to look up at them!Lately the skies have been clearer and the Shabeni pride has moved a couple of kilometers closer to the camp; a sure sign that winter is around the corner, or so we have been told. They can now often be spotted 2-3 km away, in the area where we conduct our “Sundowners”, something which have made these drives far more interesting than before. The fact that the grass isn't as dense anymore and that a few elephants have found their way back into the concession also adds to the excitement.

I was looking for lions with a group of four Germans the other week and seemed doomed to disappoint them. They had been in Africa for two weeks without seeing any predators! I searched around Shabeni and other outcrops in the area, only to find lots of tracks, in all directions. It was getting late and they were leaving for the airport the next morning... so I reached for my last straw and called one of the guides that lives at Nsikazi, in the concession. I had a feeling that they might have headed in that direction... And, he had just seen two females, less than a minute ago! What are the chances of that!? I rushed to get there but it took me twenty minutes anyway, even though it is only a few km, as the bird flies. As we arrived, the sun was setting and we were on our own in this forested stretch of the concession, with two lionesses as our only company. As I turned back and smiled at my guests, I saw tears running down the face of one of the girls. When she managed to speak again, it was a barely audible “Thank you Anja!”. That really made my day!

Just a couple of days ago I heard that the lions again were close by. Having the day off, I quickly drove there in one of the Landrovers and made it just in time for lunch; four females and a cub were sharing a young kudu they just had caught. Being all alone (without guests or anyone else for company) with four adult lionesses and a cub feeding is a privilege and an experience I'll never forget.

/A

Neighbours

It is now quite obvious that autumn is here, even though I've felt the season approaching since the beginning of March. At that time of the year the last of the marula fruits ripen and fall to the ground. The smell of over ripe fruit always fill me with an overwhelming desire to buy stationary...

But, this was also kind of a sad time; no more stuffing your face with this great treat that has become one of my favourite fruits. The elephants agree with me on that point and since there are many Marula trees around Nkambeni, we got used to having the big grey ones around. But as the seasons change so does the distribution of animals and the elephants moved on. Recently there has been some unexpected activity around the tents. The dwarf mongooses we quite often see on game drives are very inquisitive, so watching them is always fun and they also provide excellent photo opportunities. We haven't seen them in camp before but now they're scurrying along the paths in between the safari tents, making a lot of noise as they go. In groups of 10-15 individuals they search for insects and other goodies. Their tracks are evident all over the place and I just discovered that this is one animal that react the same whether you're driving or walking. They always run and hide when they spot you, but if you're quiet and keep still they generally approach to investigate. This afternoon I sat down on a path and watched them for half an hour, with some of them coming as close as only one meter away!
So although loosing our giant neighbours was a bit sad, they have now been replaced by tiny dwarf ones... I guess that changes are part of nature's charm.

/A

Facing fears

One of the most interesting experiences we've had is the reptile handling course we attended in November. You expect that a course like this would start off with small, non-venomous species, but no! You get an introduction, talking about safety and how to pick up a snake using a grab stick, the instructor shows you how to do it... and then it is your turn. We were told that if guests see a snake in their room, it is always a gigantic black mamba and that you need to be prepared for any kind of snake, until you yourself have seen and id:d it. This is why you need goggles (for spitting cobra) and to bring two different kinds of sticks (hooked for puffadders and the grabbing one for other species).

The first snake turned out to be the one I fear the most while walking in the bush, a puffadder. This stocky and slow moving (although fast striking) snake species lies still, waiting for its prey. It is responsible for the most snakebites in southern Africa; the outcome is not always fatal, but loosing a limb is quite common... and I'm supposed to pick this thing up, using only a 1 m hooked stick!? To my surprise it doesn't readily bite though (if you're not stepping on it) and usually warn you of its presence by hissing and tries to slither away a short distance, rather than striking at you or the stick. The next snake had been put in a pillow case on a sofa and once located, it took some wriggling to get it out. When correctly identified as a snouted cobra it was ok to take the goggles off and with my vision no longer blurred by plastic, the snake was easily put in a box. The next time I found a snake almost immediately in a large; the same species only larger and more aggressive! I was having trouble getting a good grip since I was afraid that pressing too hard would hurt it. Ignoring that, I managed to catch it, put it down on the floor (the grab stick firmly one third of its body length down from the head), grab the tail with my free hand and lift the rather heavy serpent into a container. Needless to say I was very proud of myself. Sean, who I was doing the course with, had a bit of bad luck since it unfortunately managed to escape into a corner of the room. We had to move the furniture a few times and all the movement and poking with the stick made the cobra irritated, spreading its hood, hissing and striking at him. Luckily reptiles tire fast and eventually the snake was safely locked away and Sean was happily shaking and sweating.

After this ordeal we went out into the parking lot and this time the goggles stayed on. The spitting cobra we had to catch was not in the mood of being caught and we had to run fast to keep up with it. We had to run along side it and grab it while moving; the snake didn't like that one bit! We did it twice each just to make sure we could and we both got spit at several times and had cobra venom all over. This small snake had no problem spitting us right in the face from ground level 2 m away. This snake can't be a reptile... they're supposed to tire easily! This tiny, non-venomous herald snake proved just how effective attitude is in deterring enemies. Grabbing it with your hands doesn't seem like a good idea, though it can't possibly harm you.

During the lunch break we agreed to swop so that Sean would take the first round with each snake, to make it fair. But when a 3 m python was released and the instructor turned to us asking “Who's turn?”, Sean went pale and pointed in my direction; what a gentleman! This one was probably the most aggressive of all the snakes we encountered this day and all I was equipped with was a wet towel, held with a grab stick. In theory I was going up to the snake and put the towel on the ground in front of it and once it moved onto the towel, fold the rest of the wet fabric over the head and grab it just behind the jaw bone with both hands and then get help lifting the animal, which by the way weigh almost as much as I do. Sounds easy enough, but this guy was fast and in a bad mood, it chased me around in circles a couple of times, striking at me. Sean was yet again shaking, this time with laughter, and so got his revenge. At the time I didn't see anything remotely amusing about being chased for 15 minutes (they are supposed to get tired!) by a beast big enough to eat me!

After the python nothing could scare me anymore. Chasing and jumping onto a monitor lizard was a walk in the park. This was also true for getting my favourite snake (the highly venomous boomslang) out of a tree with a grab stick, even though I was standing in a pit with three puffadders... But I knew that the worst was yet to come. I had no illusions of escaping this course without getting close to the most deadly of the African snakes, black mamba. Just watching it being placed in a tree made me feel weak and I was grateful that Sean had manned up and took the first round. Catching a venomous snake in a tree, you grab it with the grab stick and gently disentangle it from the branches, one at the time. In between you grab the tail with your free hand, before freeing it from the next branch. It felt so wrong holding on to a black mamba's tail, just half a meter away from its fatal end... But I now appreciate just how addictive adrenaline kicks can become. When only one more step remained before the mamba could be lifted down, the instructor took over. This is a fast moving snake with a bite that is 100% deadly if not immediately treated... so I appreciated it.

Last was an assessment where you get a call from a “client” and make sure to get the necessary information and bring the equipment you may need. I took the two sticks, goggles, a torch, a round container and a first aid kit. The snake was in a shed full of stuff and the client was being annoying (all part of the game), wanting to get into the shed to help. Once I found a puffadder in a cooler bag I took the goggles off, caught it with the hooked stick and put it in the round container. Now I realized my mistake; the client had seen the snake further in and I guessed that there was one more, hiding in the dark. I got her out again and eventually found a small python that I caught with my hands and then claimed I could use the first aid bag could as a container. This was accepted with some smirks, but they of course handed me a real one and I was done!

I am no longer as afraid of puffadders as before, since I have seen up close how they behave and the same goes for mambas which don't seem as aggressive as I had imagined. Pythons though, that's a different story!

/A

ELEPHANT, part II

The road was empty. I kept driving slowly forward and about 30 meters down the road I could see an elephant's bottom disappearing into the high grass to our right. Damn it, they are moving away from us. Graciously accepting defeat, I switched off the engine and turned to my client “I'm afraid we missed them. They have moved off into the high grass.” To our right we could hear the rumbling sound elephants make and the sound of branches breaking; the sound of elephants moving away.
“Aww, what a pity. It would have been great being really close to wild elephants.”
“Well, you-”
I was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a tree getting pushed over, this time on or left side. The sound of a Silver cluster-leaf hitting the ground just to our left made me nervous. That was way too close for comfort. I cursed the high grass – I still couldn't see a damn thing!
“That sounded close.” said my client.
Yeah, tell me about it.
“I can't see anything “ she said, moving over to the left hand side of the game viewer, camera raised, ready to capture whatever was moving through the high grass.
At this point I was just about to start the engine and get away from there – there were elephants on both sides of the road but as far as I could tell the road ahead of us was clear. Time to leave!
Before I could turn the ignition key, though, the large bull elephant we had seen earlier stepped out of the grass and almost head-butted the game viewer. Clearly surprised to find us there he took half a step backwards and showed us the erected posture (a classic threat behaviour where he is telling his antagonists Hey, look how big I am. Do you really want to mess with me?). He really didn't have to tell us that he was big, that much we could see for ourselves. He slowly moved closer to the game viewer looking down at us from more than 4,5 meters – he was a lot taller than the car. We could hear his rumbling stomach and his scent filled our nostrils.
Afraid to make any sudden moves or noises I realised that any sudden movement or sound at this point could provoke him to charge the car. There was no doubt in my mind that if he did, he would turn the Landrover (that felt more than a VW Golf at that point) into scrap and us into bloody pulp. This was not good there was no way I could get us out of there – if I had turned the ignition key the sound of the revving engine would definitely have provoked him to charge. My client didn't move a muscle but she still held out her camera and it still looked like she was about to take a picture of him. I recalled her earlier taking pictures using a flash so if she took another picture now he would likely have killed us both.
Behind closed teeth I whispered as loudly as I dared “Don't. Make. A sound. Sit still”
No response from my guest. I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.
The elephant took another step towards us and he was now less than a meter from the game viewer. To be able to look inside the game viewer he lowered his head and looked underneath the roof of the car, starring right at my client. My client slowly lowered her camera and tried to remain calm. They were now so close to each other that if she would have extended her arm she could have touched him. But at the same time he could have extended his trunk and pulled her from the car. He starred at her with his ears extended to the sides – truly impressive since the combined width of his large ears and broad head was almost as wide as the game viewer!
I felt the rush of adrenaline in my body and for a split second I was convinced that he would charge. I'm not proud of it but I felt slightly comforted by the fact that my guest was the one closest to him and if he charged us she would be his first target; giving me a chance to escape.
And then, suddenly, he appeared to have lost interest in us: he slowly lifted his head again, turned and moved behind my car and slowly walked off down the road. We both sat there for a while in complete silence; we probably both felt that this encounter was a little too close for comfort.

I later commended my guest for keeping calm and quiet during our elephant encounter but she only looked at me, smiled and said “There was not much else I could have done. I figured that letting out a scream wouldn't have helped the situation much.”

/ J

Elephant, Part I

“We're really close, now,” I said, addressing my client, a middle aged polish woman sitting behind me in the game viewer.
“I think you're right,” she replied,”I can smell them.”
We were cruising down Main road in the Nkambeni concession in search of elephants, who I knew were in the area; they had been for the last week or so. Yeah, you could smell them all right, their scent have a tendency to linger for quite a while and the smell of the dung was pretty potent too – and there was lots of it, unceremoniously dumped all over the road.
Even though the Main road is the largest road in the concession it is still quite narrow and high Yellow thatching grass was growing on both sides of the road. By high grass I mean really high grass. This grass can (and usually will) grow to more than three meters high. It felt almost like driving through a tunnel and I was slightly worried about what would happen if we did come across an elephant on this road. Usually, you simply drive off the road and park the car beside the road and let the elephant pass (standard operating procedure) but on this road there was simply not enough room for an elephant to pass; and knowing elephants they have a tendency to make room if needed. So, I was a bit concerned.
“There!” a big bull elephant had just rounded a bend in the road, only about 75 meters in front of us and behind him even more elephants were emerging. He was a nice, big bull with two really impressive tusks, in the prime of his life - a real poster boy. And he was heading right for us.
There was not a lot of space where I stood but I considered going “a little” off road and level some of that grass; not really allowed but it is only grass after all, and there's certainly plenty of it. Besides, I need to make room for the elephants to pass and the two or so meters gained by my off-roading would make it possible for the elephants to, safely, pass me. It's a safety issue I concluded and that would prevent me from getting into any trouble with the management for going off road. So, my mind had been made up: I was going to create enough space for the elephants to pass and at the same time give my client a real treat – few things are as awesome as having an animal the size of a bus pass right next to you!
When I started to explain my plan for my client and told her that she had to remain perfectly still and not make any noises, I heard the sound of braking branches – on both sides of the road. I stood up in my front seat but I couldn't see anything because of the high grass. “That's not good.” I said to myself, a little louder than I had first intended. My client hadn't heard me though, she was preoccupied with her camera; getting it ready for some nice close-ups, no doubt.
If sitting in a car when an elephant walks past makes you nervous (which it should because it is dangerous) doing it on a narrow road where there's nowhere to go while being surrounded by other elephants is simply nerve wrecking. Some would even call it stupid. Elephants have been known to charge cars if they feel blocked in order to clear a path and even flip cars just because the think it's fun. My game viewer is big, a Landrover with room for me and ten clients, but it is still just a car. An elephant would have little trouble flipping it over.
The big bull was getting closer. At this distance I didn't even need my binoculars to see all the signs of an elephant bull in full musth. Oh, come on, give me a break. There's no way this road is wide enough for the both of us. Elephant bulls can be both unpredictable and aggressive when they are in musth and therefore also very dangerous. Their bodies produce so much testosterone that they need to get rid of it through constant urinating; otherwise the level of testosterone will become high enough to actually end up poisoning them. This also makes them smell, and even at 50 meters I could smell the testosterone. This could end badly.
“Right, new plan” I said to my client.”We need to give him more room so we will have to reverse back to a more open area.” I told her about elephant bulls and musth and she did not object to my new plan.
The Nkambeni concession is a part of Kruger park that, in early days, was confiscated by the white government but have rather recently been returned to the local community that it was originally taken from. The local community in turn then let the Nkambeni Lodge lease the land, all in all some 6000 hectares. In short, the lodge has a private part of Kruger park where only cars belonging to the lodge are allowed to drive. As a part of the agreement, the community have the right to every now and again harvest a certain amount of Yellow thatching grass that they use for roofing.
I'm telling you all this, not because I think you find it especially interesting, but rather because after they have harvest their grass they leave about a hectare of open space in the otherwise densely vegetated terrain. I had also told my client all this when we passed one of those open patches, only minutes before we saw the elephant on the road in front of us.
So, the new plan was to reverse back (there was not enough room to turn the car around) to the open patch we passed earlier, park a safe distance away form the road and just watch the elephants pass.
Once we got there we couldn't really see what happened down the road from where we had parked but we would have a great view of whatever passed on the road in front of us.
The plan was good. Elephants don't mind using roads since it is convenient and you don't reach a body weight in excess of 6 tons doing any unnecessary exercise so the chance of the big bull continuing down the road (and thus passing nicely right in front of us) was high.
“Any minute now.” I told my client.
Time passed.
“Perhaps he found something to eat on his way down the road, they have a tendency to think with their stomachs. It will not be long now,” I said to reassure myself as much as my client. Is he coming or not? Shouldn't he be here by now? Did he leave the road and wander off into the high grass?
More time passed.
Like if she had read my mind she asked: “Do you think he walked off the road and disappeared in the grass?”
“It is possible. I think we should have a look and see where he is. To see if he is still there.” This would not compromise my plan too much, if he was still heading down the road I could just reverse back into the open area again.
I started the car and slowly drove back onto the road – ready to put the gear in reverse on a moments notice.

/ J

Assessment

To become a legal guide in southern Africa there are a few things you need to do. First of all there is a theoretical test that you can sit a few times each year and if you do a course through an accredited institution, like we did at Bushwise, you get a special sitting at the end of the course. This we did in late November and we both did pretty well. The exam covers everything that we’ve been reading about on the course, from ethical guiding to geology, grasses and animal behaviour.

After you've passed the written exam you need to be practically assessed. We did this in the same game reserve where we had been training for five months, Makalali. You head out in one of the game viewers with the manager of Bushwise, Mark, who's assessing you and five or six of the other students, acting as guests... asking more or less helpful questions.

Group A

Group B

Anja's drive
I was the second student to be assessed and on my drive I was seriously nervous (and had been for two days). Mark decided that he was a Russian guest called Vladimir Smirnoff who wanted to shoot animals and drink vodka... apparently you need to be prepared for anything as a guide and be able to handle it nicely. Before you go out on your drive you greet the guests, give them something to drink and introduce them to one another. You also brief them and lay down the rules (stay in the vehicle, don't smoke, etc) before going out.

I didn't encounter many interesting animals on this windy and overcast November afternoon but that didn't stop me from talking constantly. I guess you should be able to talk about things, even though you don't see any of the Big Five. So, I did my best with three zebra bums, a couple of hornbills, a termite mound, cheetah tracks and trees, assisted by the many questions from my “guests” (among others an arguing couple on honeymoon...). When it was getting dark they were served coffee and Amarula, which was much appreciated, before heading back. We also stopped to talk about the moon, rocks and weather as you have to try and incorporate most of the subjects from the course in your drive to avoid having to do a written project on a certain subject afterwards (which I managed). You get feedback directly after the drive and that was a good thing, since I could finally relax again after a couple of days' anxiety.

Jonny's drive
Jonny's drive was in the morning and turned out to be a very interesting drive. He did a good job talking about everything and anything, as you are expected to. When you later work as a guide with actual guests you don't stop for everything and tell the guests everything you know about, for instance, impala. They would find it boring and also there wouldn't be anything to say the second or third time you stop for this abundant creature.

Before we had even entered Makalali we saw two male cheetahs! The two brothers frequently hang around by the gate and have on occasion sneaked out of the reserve, but usually come back in again if the gate is left open for them... maybe they are looking for a new territory or can smell a female close by? After that we did see quite a few of the most common mammals and birds, which of course is a step up from zebra bums! But what made this a really interesting morning were all the reptiles we encountered. In one of the dams we saw two crocodiles and a little later a pretty blue tree agama that was kind enough to sit on a tree right next to the vehicle. We also managed to spot a leopard tortoise that Jonny estimated to be around 25 years old from a distance. Mark asked him to get out and count the rings on it's back... and there were 26! Just as with trees their shell grows one ring each year. The coolest thing this day was a snake though, a beautiful Boomslang (my favourite snake) that usually spend most of their time in the trees. They have huge eyes and seem to be able to actually spot stationary prey. Other snakes can only see moving objects. This one was on the ground and had to our delight caught a frog! Since it was busy swallowing this large prey it did hurry off as the snakes that we had encountered this far had done. So, we sat there for a few minutes watching it as it enjoyed its meal and then readjust its jaw before slowly making its way into a nearby bush. Happy we later enjoyed a light meal of our own, some red wine and pepper steak pie that Jonny treated his guests to. Needless to say Jonny also passed his assessment without any difficulties.

After passing everything you need to register as a guide in your area, which for us is “Kruger park and surrounding game reserves”. To register you need proof of passing the tests, a First Aid certificate and a PDP (Professional Driver's Permit). To get a PDP you need a South African driver's license and a police clearance and you have to have one to be able to have more than three passengers or goods in your vehicle... tough if you have a big family.

Another day, another drive
Other drives were sometimes interesting and sometimes not, but we did sees some good stuff once in a while. You have previously been introduced to the Foam nest frogs (toilet frogs) which are quite cute and nice to have around. One day we came across a number of them... and learnt why they are called Foam nest frogs, they are rather disgusting actually. The female produces a liquid while laying her eggs that she kicks with her hind legs, churning it into a foam, while a bunch of males try to fertilize the eggs. Two curious hyena cubs had for a while been the Bushwise favourites, with the clan moving between a couple of known dens. Quite often we asked to go by the dens to check on them. As there aren't too many cars coming through Makalali I don't think they were very disturbed by this and the cubs usually came up to the car, sniffed it and ran back to the adult babysitting them. After having been reassured by the adult's calm, they frequently repeated this until we drove off, once sniffing Mark's feet when he was sitting in the tracker seat. One day, late in November, we got a glimpse of the newest addition to the clan... a teddy bear look-alike little cub. The mother was very protective of it and didn't much like the two youngsters playing their rough games too close.

/A