Fight or Flight - Lessons from the Bush, Kruger National Park, South Africa (Part 2)

The term Safari originated from the Arabic adjective safar, which means 'a journey', travelling, touring, or voyaging. It was adapted into Swahili word safari meaning 'to travel'. Today, Safari has become synonymous with a trip to Africa to see the wildlife. Most renowned are the grasslands of Serengeti, the Masai Mara Reserve, the woodlands of Kruger, the Hwange in Zimbabwe or any one of the wildlife parks in Africa.

People say rainy season is the best time for a safari vacation. Perhaps that’s true since the woodlands and the savannah would be lush green. But I am glad our trip was in the dry season. We saw up close and personal every single wildlife in the Big 5, the Magnificent 7, the Ugly 5 and everything in between, much of it around the water holes, some of it in the woodlands but none hidden by the lush greens of the bush.

Everyday single day, we spotted every member of the Big 5, and much action within this wildlife. A few vividly seared in memory.

The very first view as we entered the gates of the reserve, we saw a big herd of elephants cooling off by a pond. The herd must have included 20-25 elephants from large males to what might have been a few weeks old baby elephants. It appeared as if a large community of elephants was socializing and picnicking. As we drove on to our camp, we spotted many large herds of Nyala and Kudu all over the reserve. These large antelope type animals are very common to the Kruger area.

Everyday we saw pride of lions sunbathing often with young ones. Once we sighted a Cheetah resting presumably after eating its meal (we saw an animal carcass not too far away). Another time we saw a mama leopard with two cubs walking about and another time a young leopard resting in the grass. The most memorable sighting was of two leopards mating. They say opposable thumb, bipedal gait and the ability to talk is what differentiates humans from other animals. I say, it's the ability to kiss and be intimate is what sets us apart. Seeing two leopards mate in the open grasslands, there was no shame and no hiding, it was us humans that seemed embarrassed like teenage kids at the sight. I guess life in the wild is so precocious, one day you are hunting for meat and the next day you are the meat, that mating is a cause for celebration. It’s what creates the circle of life!

We saw herds of Wildbeast, Water Buffalo, Zebras, Giraffe. Several vulture sightings sitting on bare tree tops. Elephants were plentiful in herds small and large. Leaving their trail identifiable by large droppings and many a Marula tree whose bark was stripped and chewed. There was a time we saw a mama elephant with two younger elephants, truly those two younger ones were behaving like teenagers. One of the two teenage elephants bullying and pushing the other into water. The other resisting and pushing back. I thought of my own kids when one would push the other and the other would shout “mom, he’s hurting me”. I guess dealing with brats is no different in the elephant kingdom.

While wild dogs are an endangered species, we saw them a couple of times. One of the most vivid memory is of two wild dogs who had chased a Kudu to a small island in a pond. The wild dogs tried swimming to the island, but retreated after only a few steps in the water. The two dogs circled and paced back and forth waiting for the Kudu to come ashore. The Kudu stood on this tiny island shaking with fear. Even from a distance, the shaking was very perceptible. The dogs waited for their kill for a long time. Us humans sitting at a distance watched this dance between the hunter and its prey like spectators. Finally, with the sun almost set, the dogs left their prey on the island. Wonder how long the Kudu stayed on the island, and whether it survived the night. The following day, when we drove past the spot, neither the Kudu nor the dogs were to be seen. How and if the young Kudu ever made it from the island is anyone’s guess. But, I guess the fear of death is universal. In the face of danger, life can do feats that are indefeasible. Regardless of whether you “fight or flight”, the death comes to all, it's just a matter of how each of us face the death in the end that matters.

In the pond, rested the Hippos and crocodiles. Hippos visible mostly by their snout and hump. Once we caught a hippo at dawn walking into the water, as a couple of others lay basking on the muddy shore. We saw a young Giraffe spread its front legs wide as it bent to drink water. Just the act of preparing to drink water took hours. Walk then wait, walk some more then wait some more (making sure no danger lurked in or around the water source), the slow task of spreading the legs without toppling over and then bending the neck to drink water. No wonder Giraffe’s drink water once every few days. The danger to life is so great, that evolution has prepared their bodies to retain water for extended periods of time. Wonder if Darwin spent time in Africa before he wrote the theory of evolution. Survival of the fittest indeed.

Rhinoceros, a solitary animal. As huge as its body is, a Rhino travels vast areas every day. It marks its territory by its pee. When he pees, it seems as if a sprinkler has turned on.. imagine an animal walking and peeing at the same time, the pee spreading in a circle of approx 3-4 foot diameter. While our Land cruiser had stopped several yards away, apparently we were perceived within the Rhino’s personal space. A bull charged us. The tracker (spotter) shit scared reached for his knobkerry. The driver furiously backed the vehicle out of the danger zone. The bull stopped a few inches short of the spotter. Us passengers sighed in relief. Had the bull not stopped, the spotter would have been dead. He would have used the knobkerry to either make noise by banging on the hood of the cruiser or hit the Rhino on the head like a club. I doubt either would have made a difference, but probably would have given the driver a bit more time to back out of the danger zone and us into safety.

September 2, 2019, dawned the last day of our Safari trip, a day celebrated worldwide by Hindus as Ganesh Chaturthi. The moment we drove out of our camp, we ran into a large male elephant. Being old and large and slow, he lived a solitary life without the protection of a herd and stayed close to the camp. I had seen him and heard him often from our tent. This day, he was standing just a few feet from the dirt road. I saw he had one large, unbroken and yellowed tusk, the other tusk broken close to his mouth. I named him Ekdant (the one with a single tusk). As we paused close to him, he looked upon us, and bid us goodby with the following thought: “You must, for the good of the whole, live in herds but there comes a time in life when you must walk your own solitary path.”

4 Day Safari - Kruger National Park, South Africa (Part 1)

Bags were packed, tickets were booked. I was ready to see the Big 5, the Ugly 5, the Magnificent 7 and any other category of wildlife normally included seen in the wild only in a safari.

The Big 5 refers to the five large mammals: Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and the Buffalo. These animals are known as “Big 5” because they were the hardest to shoot by the big game hunters and become more ferocious when cornered and injured.

The Magnificent 7, it seems that the animals in this category change depending on where you are and who you talk to. Some people say the magnificent 7 includes Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Giraffe and the Cheetah. Others include Whale and white shark to the Mag 7 (instead of Cheetah, and Giraffe)

The Ugly 5 are the underdogs of Africa that include Hyena, Wildebeast, Vulture, Warthog, and the endangered Wild dog.

A trip last year took us to South Africa. We were able to visit Johannesburg and safari at Kruger National Park. We had debated whether to fly from S. Africa to Serengeti for the safari or visit Kruger NP. Due to the fact that we were going to be in East London, the time-off constraints, cost, and time of the year, we decided to stay with Kruger. Both Kruger and Serengeti warrant iconic status when it comes to Safari. Serengeti dominates the northwest Tanzania while Kruger an equally large park dominates the southeast S. Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. I have not yet been to Serengeti, so this post will not compare the two safari experiences but I have heard Serengeti is renowned for its vast grasslands, and the sheer volume of wildlife that makes it a peerless reserve. Kruger and the adjoining private reserves make for near certain sightings of a huge variety of wildlife.

ThornyBush Nature Reserve
We stayed in ThornyBush Private Reserve. ThornyBush is a collection of private lodges in a reserve that shares fenceless border with Kruger National Park allowing for free roaming of wildlife among the park and various private reserves that surround the national park. The 14,000 hectare private reserve has many water holes, that encourages wildlife visits especially during the dry season. This makes for consistent sightings of iconic animals and the resulting success of private game reserves and lodges.

Lodging & Meals
Chapungu is one of the 12 lodges on ThornyBush reserve. Classified as a 4 star, these are 8 tented camps set in a small compound. The tented camps themselves are very comfortable. Each tent has its own permanent bathroom that includes a shower area and a tub right off the deck. You look out (and relax) into the wilderness as you shower or take a bath. The bedroom is very comfortable with enough space for two adults, the beds covered by mosquito net, with an AC and a fan in the room.

The Lodge had an open plan (a roof but no walls) lounge, and dining room overlooking a small swimming pool. Everyday we saw Kudu, Nayla and baboons visit the lodge, kept at bay by the staff.

The breakfast is served in the lounge on a long common table. The meals are no simple affair. The breakfast included various beverages including juice, tea, coffee, breads, pastries, eggs (made your way), toasts, and fruit.

Lunch is served in the open plan dining area overlooking the camp and the swimming pool. For lunch, there are smaller (family) tables and chairs. The food is prepared by cooks that come in from their villages and stay on site for a couple of days at a time. Usually there is salad, bread, 1-2 types of meat (chicken and fish) sometimes pork and steak. There are also 1-2 veg dishes. During check in, the staff asks for food preferences, and the lunch and dinner are prepared accordingly. For drinks there was a large assortment. However, be aware, the alcoholic drinks are not part of the “all-inclusive’ plan.

For dinner, the staff made great attempts to create an intimate and romantic ambiance. While we were at camp, there were 4 adult couples (no kids). So every day, there was either candle lit diner, or dinner by the firepit. Open plan allowed us to see any wildlife that wandered in. Around lunchtime we would get Nyala, and different birds as visitors. Geckos were all over the camp (thankfully none in our tent).


At night we would hear the sounds of hyenas, baboons, elephants and other critters. Supposedly, these animals were roaming from one reserve to another or one part of the reserve to another and the sounds were of them roaming and informing other animals about their whereabouts. In the morning we could see evidence of a herd of elephants having passed by. The camp itself was surrounded by an electric fence so there was less risk of large mammals wandering into the camp. The fence was not meant to prevent smaller animals from coming in. When asked about the early morning and the after dinner escort by an armed guard from the common lounge area to the tent, the reason was, it was for the protection of the animals. If an animal were to wander on premises, and got spooked by the human (or vice versa) and the animal were to attack the human, the staff would have to shoot the animal to protect the human. They did not want to shoot the animal, thus the guard. The guard could shoo the animal away or use the firearm to create sound to scare the animal away..

At night, you could hear the wind howl from the tent. The first night at the camp was very windy. The howling of the wind, the tent flapping with each gust and the elephant choir in the background, it felt as if the entire tent would either be blown away or stampeded by the elephants. We did not sleep a wink that first night. The other nights were calmer and felt quite luxurious, lying on a comfy bed under a canvas tent, covered by a mosquito net and drinking Gin & Tonic. Being of Indian heritage, I thought of the life under the British raj.

A Safari Day
Typically, all outfitters include two safari outings per day. One at dawn and another at dusk. The day starts at the crack of dawn at 5 am. You are woken by an armed guard. At 5:30 am, you are escorted to the Land Cruiser for the dawn safari. Sitting comfortably in the Land Cruiser with a warm throw, feeling the coolness of the morning and watching the sun slowly rise, you would imagine that the day has just begun. But watching the animals hunt, eating or resting as we drove, it felt as if the day was already half past.

Each Land Cruiser had a driver and a tracker. The safari experience really depends on these two guides. Their tales, their tracking of the animals, their explanations of animal behavior and the animal sightings, is what the safari experience is all about.

During the dawn trip, our guides would stop half way and would serve tea/coffee as we looking upon some animal. At the dusk trip, they would serve gin & tonic (or another alcoholic beverage of your choice) and some snack. At one of these dusk stops, we saw a big herd of Giraffe peeking out over the trees just a few hundred yards away. Imagine a sunset, with you snacking on Biltong and savoring Gin & Tonic while standing next to you is a Giraffe munching on Acacia leaves. That is a scene not from any movie, but from my S. African safari trip.