Ever since I was a kid, I have watched numerous documentaries on the wildlife in Africa. Now, this is my chance to see Africa's wildlife right in front of me.
I wanted to start ASAP and the hotel personnel actually recommend a few good guided tours. However, I wanted to make full use of the only one free day I have. So I became more adventurous.
I rented a car from the airport and drove to Pilanesberg National Park. The plan was to cover Pilanesberg National Park during the morning and move back to Lion Park and Apartheid Museum in the afternoon. A very tight schedule as the first destination is a cool three hours journey away from my hotel.
Nevertheless, No Venture No Gain.
Ok. GPS check. Water check. Tibits check. Car Keys check. My group check.
Off we go.
Oops... hang on. Who is this person in front of my car? A local was trying to hitchhike to a place which I have no idea where it is. On second thoughts, since I am a foreigner, I decide not to take the risk and besides, the car is full. I declined politely, which he obviously did not have take it very well. He persisted in making his request again. Without any hesitation, I gave a sign to my group. Hop in NOW! And locked the door.
I believed that it is common in Africa to hitchhike as when I drove along the roads, I could see quite a number of locals putting out the hitchhike sign. Well, I am a foreigner who rely on GPS to find my way. Hence, I don't think I am qualified to chaffuer anyone to his location. Sorry. Next time, perhaps.
Even though the journey was long, we did not notice the time as my group was fun loving and easy going. It really matters a lot while you are going out in a group. A mismatched group could really spoil the fun and excitement. I am lucky in this case. Thanks Mervyn, Liping and Rena for joining me in this road trip!
One thing to note though, be prepare for a bumpy ride. A fair amount of the highways is under construction and pot holes are a common sight. So drive carefully. In addition, I was quickly introduced to their driving culture. On a single lane, if you are slow and have no intention of speeding up, you can actually drive on the road shoulder so that the car behind you can pass easily. In appreciation, the car will switch on its hazard lights for a few seconds to say thanks.
Cool!
Upon reaching our destination, we have two choices. Drive into the Pilanesberg Nature Park ourselves and start our hunt for the animals roaming there or follow a guided tour in Sun City.
We chose the second option as we don't know where to look for the animals in the 55 ha of Nature Park. Furthermore, we may not know the names of the animals.
We took the safari truck into the Nature Park and peeled our eyes wide open to catch any glimpse of the Big Five animals. The Big Five animals consist of Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhino and Buffalo. It seemed that you must see these five animals before you are even classified as "Been to Africa" tourists. *Crossed my fingers*
The guide, Solly, drove the truck and explained to us at the same time. Sometimes he steered with his foot. Cool dude!
The first animal that we saw was the Zebra. The guide explained:"There are 2500 zebras in the nature park." No wonder we saw zebras everywhere.
Our guide was really superb as he was able to spot the animals from far. He would say:"Giraffe there." and we would say:"where? where?" It was really comical as most of us cannot see the animal hiding under the cover of the bush or trees. Their colours blend into the surroundings. And every now and then, you would hear "where? where?". The guide must be thinking what a bunch of cuckoo tourists.
Suddenly, he stopped the truck and climbed out to pick something off the road. Then he said, "Elephants passed by here." How did he know???? He went on to say that the thing in his hand is actually elephant's poo!! Oh my god! Don't worry, this poo is fragrant. Is he out of his mind? Since when is poo fragrant?
He did the unthinkable. He reached out to me with the poo in his hand and said,"Here, smell it."
Eeks! Double Eeks! Smell Poo??!!
As if I was under Solly's spell, my nose moved in onto the elephant's poo. Well, actually I was thinking since when will I ever have the chance to smell elephant's poo in my entire boring life.
To my surprise, it really smell nice with a distinct fragrant aroma from some plants. I am not bluffing! Solly said that elephant does not digest the grass very well hence, you can see traces of the grass in its poo and it constitutes to the fragrant smell. Valuable wildlife lesson. Point Taken.
"Want your poo to smell nice? Don't digest your food."
The rest of the tour went well. We manage to see the warthogs, wildbeest, fowl, brown hyena, giraffe and antelope. Solly seemed determined to show us the elephant that he constantly radio his colleagues for information and change sites frequently.
At last, he did manage to spot one. It was lying on his side between the trees. Everyone had a hard time figuring whether it was a rock or elephant. With the skin tone very familiar to the surroundings, you can easily miss the huge creature and passed it o ff as a huge rock.
Although I did not get to see the Big Five animals in Africa, it did provide me with a perfect excuse to visit the place again. ;)
