Journal of Provincial Thought #19 Jan. 2011: Hatari It Isn't. Part 2 page 2. John Rice

The Journal of Provincial Thought

jptArchive Issue 19

luminance

John Rice

Hatari It Isn't Part 2 (contin., page 2)

to page 1

to page 3

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In the distance we could see hills that Darryl told us marked the boundary into Mozambique. There were dirt roads crisscrossing the valley below, which Darryl told us were great GS rides, but that’s another trip yet to come. On the way down from the overlook, we stopped at God’s Window, the viewpoint that gives the park its name. As with any such place, the photos can't begin to convey the vastness of the valley.

AfricaI21-Brenda-at-rails

For this occasion, Brenda does do Windows

That night our lodging was at the Numbi Lodge in Hazyview, located just on the edge of town. There’s a small shopping center with a bakery and a fine restaurant, Pioneer’s, just outside the compound gate. We were told that even though the town was only about a quarter mile away, it wasn't safe to walk that distance at night, so we'd just stay in the compound area for supper. It was excellent, though again I'm not sure what I ate.

Not sure if Brenda is considering how I'd look mounted this way

One of the Big Cats we saw at Numbi Lodge

Thursday morning we met Alfred, our Kruger Park guide, at 4:45 AM for our seven-hour “safari” into the largest wildlife preserve in Africa. The park covers an area larger than some US states and is the home of most of the species we typically associate with Africa. In the pre-dawn darkness we climbed into the back of his safari vehicle, a modified pickup truck with seats in the bed, protected by a framework and canopy, and the roof over the driver cut out for access. Alfred took us into the Park just as the sun was coming up. Not 100 yards into Kruger, we came upon a small herd of elephants grazing in the tall vegetation under the trees bordering the road.

AfricaI24-Jumbo

Jumbo, at home

The adults, presumably the parents, continued with their feeding, not even bothering to look up at us. Junior, though, the adolescent male about two-thirds their size, took great umbrage at our vehicle’s presence. He flared his ears, raised his trunk and trumpeted a blast I hadn’t heard since the old Tarzan movies....somehow it’s so much more impressive when the real animal is less than fifty feet away. He “charged” forward a few steps, then like most teenage boys, looked around to see if anyone else was joining in. Realizing that his siblings and parents weren’t signing on for the event, he suddenly found something very interesting to explore over in another part of the bush away from our truck.

AfricaI25-juvie-pachy

The juvenile pachyderm who charged at us,
now finding other interests in the bush

jptArchive Issue 19