The Bush

4/28/09
This past weekend Cara, Tami, Jamie and myself set out on our safari adventure! Jamie and I were up by 4 am Saturday morning in order to catch our 5:45 flight to Jo-burg. What’s funny is that each of our roommates was just getting in from the previous night’s celebrating as we were heading out. It made for comical interactions…

We met up with Tami and Cara that afternoon in the Jo-burg airport, then continued on together to Hoedspruit (Kruger). The flight was just under an hour and the plane was propeller operated and about 12 rows long. We were the youngest by at least 30 years of our fellow travelers. We remembered our guide (Craig) mentioning that he was excited to have guests more his age. We flew over beautiful mountains and plains before landing in the tiniest airport ever.

I’m convinced it may even be the smallest in the world. The plane let us out in the middle of nowhere at the end of a small runway (big enough to host just one plane at a time). We were then led down a brick walkway to a fenced in (it did have barbed wire) hut-looking building. The luggage from the plane was pulled by a tractor. We were so thoroughly entertained by the entire scene! We were laughing, squealing, and taking pictures left and right. Once through the initial gate, we spotted Craig. He described himself as unusually thin, tan and in Safari gear. That’s exactly what was waiting for us. What he didn’t mention was barefoot. He quickly became the next subject of our photos. As the other (posh) rangers (from their shi-shi lodges in their preppy safari gear) collected their “cronies” (as Craig later described the majority of the older safari-going population), Craig (barefoot and scruffy from “the bush”) received big hugs from his four young American guests. As the cronies boarded big, shiny Land Rovers, we oogled over and snapped pictures of Craig’s older, more used version. He grinned and waved, “Cheers” to his fellow rangers and we piled in. Our Safari adventure had officially begun!

Kruger National Park is a very large, very popular Safari destination. We got the recommendation (and a 20% discount!) through Connect. Because of our “connections” the four of us were the only guests of Craig 1 and Craig 2 at GREATER Kruger National Park. They are conservationist game rangers living in the wild year round. They dedicate their lives to the wild and all its living creatures. For periods of time they take on volunteers to help them with their research and studies, but otherwise only take Connect Kids. They also host 6 lodges for the occasional guest, however, they have drifted away from the commercial piece, preferring not to ‘host” and “entertain”. An hour with these Craigs and you realize why. Craig Spencer (Craig #1) is the scientist. Thin, tanned, wide smiled, and blunt. What you see is what you get with this guy. Then there is Craig Fox (Craig #2), equally thin and tanned with a charming smile and wonderful blue eyes . He is a trained ranger who chauffeured 98% of our drives. He conducted these drives with endless facts about the bush and the animals and plants which inhabit it. Elephants (Elleys) are his speciality. He is highly dedicated to protecting these wonderful beasts, and his love for them pores out of him. Both guys are highly educated and shared a wealth of knowledge over the weekend. We stayed with the Craigs and their mongoose, affectionately called, “The Children” at Ezulwini or “Paradise” Camp. Mongoose look almost like ferrets but with no tails. They love people and affection and will shimmy up a chair, steps, or even your legs to snuggle. Cara and I found them adorable and settled with them all over camp. Tami and Jamie were less than amused by the mongoose (Eva, Indiana Jones, and Wellington). The camp was made up of 4 chalets -small huts just big enough for two beds raised about 12 feet high on stilts; 2 bathrooms –a toilet, sink and faucet enclosed in 3 and half walls of bamboo shoots (?); A large hut to serve as a dining room/office; a kitchen area with a beautiful rooftop for game (and star!) viewing; tiki torches and, of course, a campfire. It truly was paradise…

The weekend was an adventure from the very beginning. From the airport to our camp we had already spotted Zebra, Giraffe, impala and a Jackal, towed and jumpstarted a land rover (bush style-w a rope), and got to know our rangers. That evening, after setting up camp, we went on our first game drive with Craig #2. We saw two male Rhinos (which apparently is very rare since they don’t normally enjoy the company of other males). I had no idea how large African Rhinos are! Wow!! They could be mistaken for small elephants! We also spotted a male Elephant and countless more Giraffe and Zebra. After about 2 hours of driving, we stopped at a watering hole for some wine, water and biscuits at Sunset. The night sky in the bush is amazing. The sunsets are of the most vibrant and colorful I’ve ever seen. Once the sun was set, the stars began to come out. Because there was no moon during our stay and the skies are always clear, the stars are absolutely breathtaking. Breathtaking. We spent the entire drive back to camp (at least an hour) staring up at the stars as we bounced along in the rover. Craig pointed out some impala with his giant spotlight and proceeded to teach us about how the male will create himself a harem of females. He will then spend the next few months mating with all of them and keeping them from mating with other males. This is a very tiring job for these studs and are often thin and weary by the end of mating season. Craig was touched and “refreshed” that we asked him not to shine the lights on the herd since it alarmed them. We began to grow on the Craigs in all our squeeling, giggling and bathroom stops (note: 3 of the 4 of us had our period in the bush). In return they grew on us in all their rustic, chain smoking, and crass comments. They were really very endearing…I mean, any man who dedicates his life to conserving animals has to be. We commenced the evening with a campfire steak and potatoes compliments of Craig 2. We all agreed it was the best streak we’d ever had…and it had little to do with the actual taste. As we were settling into our chalets Craig announced that there was a leopard nearby. We fell silent and heard a subtle almost throat-clearing rumble. I was admittedly scared at first; to think a leopard was prowling around our camp, but I quickly decided it was actually really cool. I was in awe…but then asked, thinking of our stilted chalet, “Can leopards climb stairs?” Craig replied, “Lady, leopards can EAT stairs.”

The next day started around 6 am (just before sunrise). We push started our rover and we were off for our am game drive. A little ways into the drive (after countless giraffe, zebra, impala and warthog sightings) we got word of a lioness moving her cubs. We learned that lions lay low during the day. In the early hours of the morning, the mothers hide their cubs in tall grass or among rocks to protect them from elephants and out of the heat. For this reason, in addition to our short stay, we did not spot any lions L. We did, however, hear plenty from them. From the other side of “pride rock” we heard the mother calling to her young. It was a low grumbling sound. After 20 minutes or so of no sightings, Craig decided the lioness wasn’t moving and we headed off for our am tea and biscuit break. Typically well-eating, exercising, caffeine-avoiding Americans, we quickly adapted the bush tradition of having coffee, tea and biscuits (which are really just cookies with a title that makes you feel better about eating them before 8 am) daily. After spotting more giraffe and zebra (who are actually “best friends” in the bush-often seen together. We found this entirely endearing), we headed back to camp for a fire cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, toast and potatoes. Again: the best ever. Since it’s always hot during the day (and almost never rains), the animals lay low and the rangers have a “no gaming” rule to give the animals a break. We spent the afternoon sunbathing, journaling, reading, mingling with the mongoose, and getting to know the Craigs. We also used the afternoon to shower. Since there is no hot water at Ezulwini, showering is best during the day when the sun warms the pipes. How liberating and refreshing to shower under the sun among the African landscape, clear skies, and the animals “right to roam” law.

Our evening game drive was as eventful as any other. The craigs were dead set on us seeing a lion and drove wildly around the dirt roads. For this drive, we were in an older roofless, nearly seatless, land rover. We were tossed around like rag dolls in the back. We were enjoying the ride until Craig backed up into a thorn tree! Cara and I were scrapped and bruised (but still laughing). Craig felt awful and apologized profusely. That night’s sunset and game break was a blast. Even though we didn’t see any exciting new animals, we were appreciating were we were and the beauty around us. We took countless pictures and got the Craigs to pose for many of them. As we were getting ready to head back to camp we were trying out our new talent: Thanks to Craig 2, we are able to find “true south” using the southern cross. Reveling in our excitement (and all of us looking at the sky) we saw the biggest, most beautiful, most colorful shooting star. It was actually Jamie’s first ever. We spent the entire drive back to camp standing in the (roofless) Land Rover singing every song we could think of with the word star in it. We thought we were being obnoxious until the Craigs started making requests and singing along. Back at camp, after a chicken and veggie dinner, we played charades. In all the excitement the Craigs shushed us. In the silence we heard two male lions calling out to each other. The Craigs said they were about 8 km (5m) away. I would have thought 8-10 FEET. But apparently at that distance, the ground shakes. We also took turns asking conversation provoking questions (name 6 European Capitals-which I did flawlessly; If you could have lunch with 4 people who would they be; if you had all the money in the world, what would you do-all of us said, “this”. Craig 2 said he would buy all the elephants in the world. That way he could keep them protected –awww. Craig 1 said he would start the Nature Ninjas- a sort of ‘secret service’ for Mother Nature.) Later, we lay on the game viewing rooftop to get an uninterrupted view of the Milky Way in all its bright and beautiful glory.

There is no room for fallacies, privacy and personal space in the bush. You leave it at the airport. It’s all very primitive and natural. It really brings you home and helps you realize what is important. Life was so clear and honest in the wild; simple, blithe and exactly the way Mother Nature intended. Though I had met these girls less than a month ago, we shared the most amazing, most intimate, most magical weekend of our lives.

I thought a safari might be no different than being at a zoo or a game reserve, but there is a significant difference between bringing the wild into humanity and bringing humanity into the wild. This has seemed to be a reoccurring theme for me here in Africa. I pride myself on being open-minded, culturally sensitive and respectful, and tolerant. What I failed to recognize is the importance of the environment. It is one thing to welcome and accommodate for a culture. It is quite another to be immersed in a different culture while maintaining your own morals, beliefs, habits, and (especially) ways of thinking. The best way to understand another culture (and I use the term loosely) is to immerse yourself into it. It’s not easy. I feel more vulnerable and diminutive than I ever have in my life. This was really difficult for me to face at first. I’m used to being independent and confident anywhere I go. I was afraid to leave my building for the first week or so in Cape Town. It wasn’t exactly the people or the city that I feared. It was the feeling of vulnerability uneasiness that I was so unaccustomed to. Luckily my new friends and connect people empathized and helped to integrate me. In the wild, you are on the animal’s territory. It is their home. They have their own established routines, guidelines, and general way of life. It is not a foreigner’s place to come in and disrupt any of that. Animals do not know how to be tolerant of another culture. If you come between a mother and her cubs, you will get eaten. A lion does not care to hear your sob story about how you didn’t know what signs to look for since you’re “not from these parts”. It’s about respecting the territory, learning from those who ARE experienced, educated and living the culture, and taking it one small step at a time. Before you know it you are walking to pick-n-pay on your own without a second glance over your shoulder.

FYE: In preparation for our safari flight, the four of us were back and forth all week regarding zip lock bags, converting ounces, and detailing the contents of our carry-ons (we weren’t checking any luggage) to ensure we would have everything we needed while still meeting airline standards. So here are Jamie and I approaching security at Cape Town domestic airport. I have my toiletry bag out of my backpack (anticipating inspection) and we are both removing our top layers. We are preparing to remove our shoes when we notice that no one else seems to be struggling as much. Jamie asks, “Do I need to remove my shoes?” She was told no and shot an amusing glance. Our bags (and ourselves) passed through without so much as a second glance, never mind an ID and boarding pass verification! I remembered how convenient flying USED to be! Though, I must admit, we did feel less secure.

FYE: Our final night in the wild was very eventful. Sometime around 2am, a wicked wind storm swept through our camp. I was kept awake by the repetive beat of the trees against our chalet and was certain the stilts would buckle under the swaying. Cara was convinced a bushman was climbing her chalet stairs hearing his "footsteps" everytime the wind blew. Too afraid to look out her window, she spent a better part of the night tucked under her covers listening for the muffled screams of her firends. Tammy swears she looked out her window and saw a giraffe swaying back and forth eating the leaves off the tree next to their chalet, and beating his tail against her wall. Her visual impression is much better than my written one. Jamie was kept up by not only the storm, but my constant questioning, "Did you hear that?" and "Are you awake?". The wind calmed just before it was time to get up for our 5am game drive. We were all just happy to have survived.

FYE: During one of our morning tea breaks, Craig2 picked up what appeared to be a rock. He looked to Tami (the most skiddish of the group) and said, "Catch." She obeyed, asking in mid catch, "What is it?" As soon as it landed in her hands Craig casually responded, "Elephant dung" and the mass immediately hit the ground. While she appreciated the humor in the situation (though not as much as WE did), I'm pretty sure she would have liked nothing more than remove her hands from her body. Craig informed us that elephant dung was nothing but dirt and grass and proceeded to pick through the mass that now lay at Tami's feet. Since Elephants don't have a very good digestive system, they pass almost immediately after eating. Even still, none of us volunteered for the "hands on" experience.

LESSON #16: MONGOOSE ARE MEERKATS! One thing I was hoping to see on the safari was a Meerkat. My intentions were pretty commercial with my impression of a Meerkat being Timon from The Lion King. But I just think he’s so cute that I wanted to see one for myself. I got so caught up in everything else happening that weekend, that I didn’t voice my Meerkat wishes too much. Last night we went to the bookstore at the corner to check out some African children’s books. One of them was on animals and we found a page dedicated to the Meerkat…aka the Mongoose. Mongoose?!!! The creatures I was playing with ALLL weekend were Meerkats?!!! They became so much cooler and I loved them that much more!! I only wish I had known when I was there. The Meerkat: Endearing African mammal...social creatures…affectionate; love hugging, kissing and grooming each other liberally, all the while “talking” to one another in a range of chatters, whines, grunts, growls and bark…we could learn a lot about living in a community by observing the Meerkats.

zebra and giraffe (best friends in the bush!)