A promise is a promise

Before I left the States, I told my parents “I promise not to get eaten by lions.”

(My dad also made me swear not to mess around with the women here, but there was always a better chance of my death coming from a lion than someone wearing lion print!)

Nevertheless, the comment was aimed to poke holes in the myth that lions and other predators roam the streets of African cities, but to ensure my anxious family, and girlfriend, that I would be safe over here.

Monday’s safari, was my first chance to live up to that promise, as it was the closest I was going to get to lions. This time there were eight of us; five Americans and three Serbians.

We met Stuart, our tour guide, at a quarter to five so we could arrive at Kruger National Park when gates opened an hour later. Our open-air truck was absolutely frigid as temperatures hovered around freezing and we were traveled at close to 80 kilometers an hour.

Stuart took the time to explain the predators and diet of each animal we saw at Kruger. He even provided the reasons for each species color but being in the back of the truck I rarely heard those detailed explanations.

(Arguably the most interesting was his note that hyenas are scavengers only 10 percent of the time. The rest of the time these grey, brown and black creatures that are 40 inches high when standing on all four legs find their own food.)

The day was a blur. It was the only day of my entire South African adventure that could not be chronicled with words.

The sight of wild zebras, antelopes, elephants, gnus and a half dozen other creatures were too much for me to describe. My observations that day were behind a lens. When I was not snapping pictures, my camcorder captured the sights and sounds of Africa.

We were like school children tempting fate as we asked Stuart to take us to places inside the park where there have been lion sightings. We saw hippopotamuses, impalas, vultures and hyenas before we finally hit the jackpot 10 minutes before 11.

Not only did we see lions, we saw two lionesses and a cub eating on a wildebeest under the shade of a tree. The lions were about 50 yards from the road, but in full sight of the cars that cautiously gathered to watch this feast with their own perspective — and recording equipment.

No one dared leave our truck. Armed with enough electronics to make me an attractive target in central Johannesburg I started shooting the incredible pictures. One of my videos captured one of the larger lions tearing into the flesh for a late morning meal.

Stuart told us lions have white bellies when they are full. On this morning all three lions had their own personal Thanksgiving.
Surely, my parents were thankful the meal those three lions ate was a wildebeest, not the person who was once dubbed Wilterbeast.

How the leopard avoided tourists

HOEDSPRUIT--Throughout my two days exploring the South African wilderness, I kept thinking of a Rudyard Kipling-inspired name to describe our search for leopards. After spending two hours in search of the most elusive of the Big Five, I concluded with “How the leopard avoided tourists.”

I never did find out a definitive answer about why the lion, elephant, rhinoceros, water buffalo and leopard were called the Big Five. The most credible story I heard was those animals pose the biggest threat to humans.

For nearly 18 hours over three days, I went on three separate safaris on the eastern edge of South Africa. Neither the cold, nor the lack of leopard sightings or minimal sleep deterred me from enjoying seeing animals in their natural settings.

Sunday we were taken on a night drive through Kruger National Park. Without the interruptions of rural life the moon and the stars appeared brighter. (Apparently the park is the size of Israel. An added bonus was there were not blockades — on the animals from neighboring game reserves.)

Our guide for the evening turned off the lights to the truck and allowed us to sit beside a tree without any lights or any sounds for nearly five minutes. It was then the park began to come alive as crickets, rustling in the neighboring bushes and the flight of birds could all be heard without amplification.

Sunday night we saw elephants, wildebeests, desert foxes, jackals and white rhinos during our drive. There were about 18 of us on the safari truck Sunday. Most of us were disappointed we did not see the mysterious leopard, which we were told primarily comes out at night.

Our guide told us to be optimistic as we drove to the park’s Orpen entrance to leave for the night. He said people have seen members of the Big five on the way back to their accommodation. ...

My extremities were nearly numb when we met our safari organizer to take us back to our lodge in Hoedspruit. With most of my focus expended on finding a warm seat and enjoying it, I nearly missed what was right in front of me.

A heard of nearly 100 water buffalo were crossing the road at a frantic pace. Their jaywalking blocked the road, but also allowed everyone to get pictures close to the beasts. It was too dark to take any pictures that could distinguish the dark, mud-colored buffalos from the night, but that did not stop anyone from trying.

Before our driver could get up to speed again he slammed his brakes just as quickly. There was a pride of lions on the left of the road! There were at least two females, an adolescent male and a full grown lion — and its full-grown mane — in the group, just 15 feet away from the road.

Again, it was too dark to take salvageable pictures. The awe at being so close to the king of beasts was depicted an image for a story that will be told thousands of times before I die. It’s a near-certainty the tale will get taller as the years go on because there was not photographic evidence to weigh down such a meaty story.

There was still not a sighting of the leopard. With a full 12 hours of sightseeing scheduled for Monday, spotting the last of the big five was considered, at the time, a matter of just that.