A Saturday morning sleep-in was calling me, but my wife dragged me out of bed early. I was checking to see if I could pick up on the dogs as I headed South, but no luck there.
Kylie was with me this morning, and we spotted a crash of Rhino in the road. They had a little calf with them and the little guy was jumping and prancing around in the road. One normally pictures Rhinos as being skittish and serious all the time, so it seems strange to see Rhinos playing and relaxed. It was awesome to see them, but I had to stay far off as not to disturb their parade. When they moved off I followed them for a short while into the bush, but they are not happy being tailed. So we were off for our regular riverside drive-by past Chikwete cliffs for a cup of coffee.
I didn’t really need the kick start by now, but there’s something about sipping coffee in the bush topped by overlooking the expanse of the Chiredzi River. There was time for a drive past Chibi Pan to check up on our Elephants, now I’m beginning to eat my words from yesterday about things not working out as planned.
The Ele’s weren’t at Chibi but as we doubled back towards Ganyani we found the whole herd, some resting against trees and some just standing in some water still lying there from the rain. Kye and I were over the moon, these elephants are a real treasure – providing some of the most memorable experiences in the bush.
There was that hazy look in the atmosphere this morning, which as far as I know means it will be a clear day. The sun was out when I left but who knows which way the weather will turn. I headed straight toward the air strip to find a huge herd of Impala already seeking shade. I rescued another terrapin off the road today, and found a huge terrapin at Simbiri dam lying in the long grass with another guy half his size.
The Lions have disappeared in that mopane from last night, in any event, I was hoping to find some elephant near Chibi. One thing about the bush is that things rarely work out the way you imagine in your head. In fact, it is much like life itself, you don’t have to have everything figured out to experience it’s richness. There is so much treasure out there, but it is not all blaze and glory, you have to open your eyes. Funny thing is, today was special, I found the Elephant at Chibi as I had hoped.
What was even better was that they were in the water - and I always seem to miss them playing in the mud. I cannot get enough of hanging around that breeding herd. Those little guys are so inquisitive, they came right up to my vehicle to smell the new addition to the herd.
I always seem to have an experience with these Elephants on a much deeper level and anyone who has been around them would say the same. Blaze and glory then it was for today.
“From the East side to the West side” is a phrase used by many rappers in their hit songs. Flip the West and East around and it perfectly describes my day, which started out at Sosigi dam in the West and ended at Chinzwini dam in the East.
The long grass has frightened most animals away from open areas because of it being easier for predators to stalk in. There is plenty of water lying all over and I had to seek out all the favourite little nooks and crannies to find any life out there today. There was a bachelor group of Buffalo in the secluded area of Chinwini Dam, tucked between two rock faces. They were enjoying a good wallow as the sun began tearing the clouds apart.
I stick to my theory that the rainy whether has a calming effect on animals, or they just become more docile. I’ve found these buffalo there a few times and they normally high tail it out of there the minute they see me coming, but today they were quite happy for me to invite myself to their Buffalo Bachelor Party.
Later in the day I headed for Banyini to find Manyari and Sjambok. They were lying in a cushion of long grass when I arrived – and still mating! Manyari was getting a little agitated with Sjambok still doing the wild monkey dance on her back. This is going on way longer than her eastrus period would normally last, I won’t attempt any theories about that one.
Manyari was looking hungry and she eased her way up from her bed of grass straight to the hunting field. Her first atttempt was on five or six Impala, but she just ran in and caused too much pandimonium. The candescent light of the sunset had faded and Manyari was now on the edge of the open grassland on Banyini, looking to see that Sjambok was still behind her, she moved off into the Mopane forest. I dare not attempt negotiating those forests in the muddy weather, so I thought a drive through the hills past Nyari would be a most pleasant trip home.
One way to live out a full life is to make a habit out of getting up at the crackers. I really had to think back to remember if what we did this morning wasn’t what we did yesterday – if you’re getting what I’m saying. Anyway, it was still dark when we headed for the dogs where Kim left them yesterday. Just when you think you’re getting to know their tricks, they pull another disappearing act out the bag. I was up and down, on top of koppies, trying my best to pick them up, but it was no use, these dogs have pulled another fast one on us. Even when things don’t go as planned, there’s always something else to see or experience out in the wild – you just have to open your eyes.
We ran into a crash of rhinos, four adults and a baby, just enough time to catch a photo, but they were a little shy and moved off like every other animal today. I managed to get back in time for another one of Jonathan Leemings’ scorpion workshops. This time we had one of the worlds most venomous scorpions to inspect, the Parabuthus Transvaalicus, a thick tailed scorpion that looks like he’s tail is on steroids. These creepy crawlies are so interesting, one can spend a lifetime studying them. I headed home to fix the brakes on “Dozer”, he has new tyres all round so he’s looking like a real mean machine. I thought that someone was trying to get rid of me when my brakes vanished because of a pipe that was cut through, but it turns out it was the new tyre that chafed the pipe.
The clouds rolled in at noon and the forecasted rain hit like a ton of bricks, the water was almost flooding in our back door. Our internet took to the sky, as did the electricity when the lighting and thunder hit. So good thing everything was up and running again by 19:00 for the story to continue. It’s great to go out after a storm and we found Magwaza hunting near Nyari pan, but I kid you not, she moved into the bush right in front of us and it was like she had a trapdoor trick up her fur. A day of complete disappearances – there’s nothing like Africa!
Kim has decided to surprise his daughter on her birthday back in South Africa. That means I’m back in the driving seat and over the moon about some new stuff I’m learning! We have Jonathan Leeming on the reserve teaching us some incredible facts about scorpions and spiders. I must say I’m a spider guy and I hate killing spiders, so this was right down my ally. Although, I never thought I’d be under every rock and in every crevice trying to seek out as many species of scorpions as possible. And never in a million years did I think I would be pulling out a huge rock scorpion and letting it run all over my hands!
This was really something different and we were so privileged to tap into Jonathan’s wealth of knowledge. So the day didn’t end with rock scorpions, after an informative slide show on spiders, we went out looking for different species. We found a Green Lynx Spider, Dew Drop spider with Golden Orb Web spiders and many others, but what was really interesting and delicate was digging out an Opistophthalmus glabrifrons - a burrowing scorpion found in loamy soils. I know what you’re thinking, “ a what?” It’s like learning a whole new language with most scorpions not having common names - I thought I’d landed up with a stutter after our first lecture. Anyway, the scorpion saga continues and last night two of the guys were stung by a scorpion leaving them with some tingling sensations in their hands.
Over the past few days I’ve kept up with Manyari and Sjambok, who have finally stopped mating. They have left Banyini, much to the relief of all the zebra and antelope, it seems they’re back on high ground.
Kim had one huge scene with the wild dogs, hyena and five lions all on the same terf today before he left. Tomorrow morning I will head down to try find the dogs and maybe I’ll be so lucky as to pick up on the action – if the rain doesn’t pour as forecasted and disrupt my plans.
No morning ritual today but I did get a puncture later in the day.
At dawn the dogs were still resting up and had huge bellies. Obviously Puzzles had killed big last night.
While they were still resting we heard crunching behind us. The dogs heard it too and slowly gathered themselves moving slowly towards the sound en masse, with ears flattened. Then the sprint and soon we heard the painful yeowls of a hyaena that had tried to move in on the dogs kill, well the scraps there of. It was an adult male impala that Puzzles had killed last night.
After chasing off the hyaena the pups continued to play in the area and soon the whole pack had passed out in a shady spot next to water.
We headed north and found a big breeding herd of elephants near Chindigova. Mandlovu was there with her family. Chip sure is a growing lad and looking in such grand shape. We rested with the herds in the shade of a Wild Seringa for some time.
As one, the herds moved on east and finding themselves a mud wallow. Of course the young bulls soon dominated the situation.
Back in the hills another small herd of elephant had found themselves a hole in the rocks full of water. This was left over rain water from about a week ago. Having bathed and dust bathed the herd took time out in the shade of Brachystegia and then slowly proceeded to debark the tree almost totally denuding it of it’s bark. It will die! And soon won’t provide any shade.
It was back to the dogs in the afternoon where we’d left them and they had no plans on moving. But that was until a herd of impala almost walked over them. The chase was on but nothing came of it.
With all now fully awake they headed east hunting but soon the pups had called it off and were into their own games.
Another chase followed at sunset on the edge of Chiloveka dam and we left them in the dark milling around.
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