[Worldtrippers home] [Crystal home]
Every day we have a good seven hours between the morning and afternoon game drives to relax and enjoy ourselves. Today, Gail sat on our veranda and saw an entire troop of baboons frolicking in the trees behind the lodge. We sat for a long time just watching them play.
With two game drives per day, we have now seen just about every animal that tourists want to see on a safari. So this afternoon, Nevermind and Timba took us to some remote areas of the game park that are seldom visited. It was the first time our two guides had driven some of these roads.
A few days ago, some other guides came across a buffalo that had become stuck in the mud. It was set upon by everything from hyenas to vultures, who started devouring it while still alive. Needless to say, it died a slow and painful death. (NOTE: The guides are not allowed to interfere with the natural course of the wildlife, no matter what.)
Due to the recent rain, that bog has now become a watering hole. While we saw hyena tracks, there was no trace of hyenas, as they can no longer get to the carcass.
Our off-roading took us down some pretty rough roads. We saw lots of birds, including the glossy starling and trees full of vultures.
The remote roads led to the highlight (or lowlight) of the day. One of the denizens of South Africa is the golden orb spider. This is a huge spider, with a leg span of about three inches. Its web is so strong it can trap birds.
Anyway, we were zooming along in the truck when Marc suddenly yelled “duck!” On the right side, Charlotte, Georgina and Gail ducked down just in time. They narrowly avoided a golden orb spiderweb strung across the road, containing five or six huge spiders. Needless to say, there was much panic, screaming and laughing. (Charlotte shares Gail’s absolute terror of spiders.)
After dark, Timba shines a lantern from side to side. We don’t know how he did it, but he managed to spot two magnificent animals in the darkness: a spotted eagle-owl and a tiny chameleon. These trackers and guides are incredibly trained!
As a special treat for dinner, our group of six dined together with Nevermind. We learned his fascinating background. Originally from Mozambique, Nevermind was too poor to afford college. While working as a driver, one of his fares was a British tourist. The man turned out to be Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of the Virgin Group. After hearing Nevermind’s story, Branson sponsored him through several years of private school, which enabled Nevermind to become a guide. Nevermind has now been a guide for seven years, and is one of the senior members of the team at Kapama Game Reserve.
In other news, our travel agent tried rescheduling our hot air balloon ride for tomorrow, but it has once again been cancelled due to weather. We will try one more time for April 2 (our last day here), but we are doubtful it will happen.
