The change from a vehicle bound safari to walking among the giants of the bush is the most exhilarating and adrenalin pumping experiences one can ever have when visiting the African bush!
I was lucky enough to share this experience with a group of guests on Sunday morning. Just after dawn we departed from the lodge to find the perfect area to walk in. As we are in the middle of summer and had very good rain so far this season, some areas are inaccessible. Discussing our options Given, my tracker, and myself found a suitable and safe area to walk in.
After getting everyone briefed for our adventure, we set off into the unknown. We headed toward a waterhole hoping to find some fresh rhino or buffalo tracks. We were lucky enough to find that a heard of buffalo had moved through the area a short while before we got there. Explaining the tracks and freshness of them we proceeded to follow them.
After tracking the herd for a while we could hear them just in front of us grazing and moving at a fair pace. Checking the wind and taking all safety aspects into consideration, we started our approach. Step by step moving closer hoping to move undetected a long the tree line, at last this amazing sighting unfolded before us. At least two hundred buffalo feeding on an open plain without the knowledge of our presence. The beauty of this for us was being on foot viewing a big 5 animal and experiencing the same feeling the explorers felt years ago!
FW de Klerk
2012/01/09
