At Least Nobody Got Shot

I have already shared some of my original experiences from my African trip, but I have avoided writing about one of my “firsts” in particular. I haven’t left it off this blog because I don’t want to tell you about it. I think I just didn’t want to write about it yet. I’ve decided that the time is right to tell you now. I’ll start off by giving you the short version of the story.

Basically, I got robbed…at gun point! Yes, it was quite exciting. I should quickly say that it turned out as well as can be expected in the end. I didn’t get hurt, or worse, shot, but the whole thing was pretty dramatic. In the end, I think I’m more mad about it than hurt, but I’d say that’s a really good thing. It could have gone wrong. Very wrong.

We were enjoying our first day at Thula Thula Game Reserve, taking game drives and experiencing the African bush like we never have before. We were out in the middle of nowhere enjoying a nice break from the crazy crime that is implied from the massive fences and guards we saw everywhere in the cities. It was truly relaxing and we were having a ball.

Teenie, Randall, Duane, Van and I took a game drive on mountain bikes with Andre in the late morning. We rode a few miles out into the wild to try to find some more animals. I loved the fact that we could cover more ground than we did on our morning walks. We returned to camp just before lunch, so I wanted to change out of my team kit before we ate. I had worn my kit for comfort and because I knew the hi-tech material would keep me cooler in the hot African sun.

As I walked back to the tent along the path they had mowed through the six foot grass and brush, I was thinking about how much fun I was having on the trip. I was also admiring the rock I had picked up on the MTB ride. I had spied it along the trail among so many stones that had been smoothed by an ancient river in the area. My favorite was about the size of a baseball and it looked like it had been chiseled by someone with hundreds of flat spots all over its surface. I flipped it up in the air a few times as I walked looking for monkeys and birds in the trees.

I turned right and headed up the path that led to our individual tent. I could hear activity before I could even see the tent. I heard zippers, so I thought Sam must be preparing for lunch as well. As I approached the tent, I could see someone crouched down over my suitcase near the front door of the tent. For a short moment I thought, “Why is Sam going through my suitcase zippers?” Then in an instant I realized that it wasn’t Sam inspecting my belongings.

As I approached the front of the tent, I saw that the person inside was wearing green pants and I could see the sole of an army boot as they sat sideways on their right foot. That’s when I started yelling!

“Hey!!” That’s all I could come up with at the time as all these thoughts of betrayal and conspiracy started darting through my mind. How could these people rob us when we’re here to pay them money? “What the hell are you doing?!” I shouted as I jogged towards the tent.

The person inside turned to see me coming, jumped up and started running towards the back door of the tent. The sunny skies made it hard for me to see what was happening inside the tent, but I knew where they were headed. I ran down the side of the tent to cut them off at the back door, yelling the whole time. I can’t remember everything I said, but I do know what I was thinking. I couldn’t believe they were robbing us.

“Hey! This is how it works? You’re robbing me?! No, no, no…why are you robbing me? Get the hell out of here!” I’m sure I threw in some other more colorful language, but you get the idea. The green pants had tipped me off that this might be an employee, and I couldn’t believe that this person was robbing us when we were there to pay their salary. Sam warned me to watch out for something like this, but not here. Not at Thula Thula in the middle of the wilderness.

I continued yelling as I ran down the right side. As I approached the back of the tent where a bamboo wall extended out towards the edge of the concrete pad providing privacy for the outdoor shower, the thief bolted right in front of me. He was close enough for me to reach out and grab him, but I didn’t. As he rounded the bamboo fence, he jumped off the concrete pad with his hands up to defend himself. He was stumbling and off balance as he tried to run. That’s when I saw the uniform…and the gun.

He was wearing a green uniform just like the one worn by the security guard that let us into the game farm the day before. He held up a radio in his right hand and a huge rifle in his left. We came so close to each other that he held up his right hand to defend himself against the attack I never made on him. His eyes were huge as he turned to point the gun in my direction. That’s when my focus went from his eyes straight to the end of the barrel. It was just like you see on TV. Once he pointed the gun at me, I couldn’t stop looking at the huge hole in the end of the rifle. He almost tripped as he tried to run sideways pointing the rifle at me.

Suddenly, I realized there was someone else coming out of the tent behind me. I swung around just in time to see another armed man emerge from the tent and run the other way. I was still yelling as I took a few steps in his direction. He too was pointing a rifle at me with one hand as he struggled to run away. He was wearing a white shirt and holding a backpack over his right shoulder, with the gun in his left hand. I only got about 3-4 steps towards him when he stopped dead in his tracks and shouted, “I shoot you!” as he thrust the rifle towards me! That stopped me cold and I didn’t take another step in his direction. I just stood there yelling and focusing on the hole in the end of the gun as he ran off into the thick bush.

Immediately I thought about Sam. I worried that she might have been inside the tent when those guys were in there, so I ran in the back door calling her name. I kept calling her name as I looked through the tent. I looked under the bed. I even looked inside the small cabinet used to hang up clothes. She was not inside.

I then turned my attention to what was missing. I surveyed our belongings as quickly as I could, all the time wondering what to do next. I felt for my computer and hers. Mine was in my bag, but hers was not. I looked for my passport and money and most of it was still in my backpack. What had they taken? Did they steal Sam’s computer? Then I started thinking, what if those guys came back? What would I do then?

I stood still for a minute thinking, processing what had just happened. That’s when I realized that I had been squeezing that semi-round rock the whole time. I was holding on so tight it was leaving marks in my palm. I looked at my suitcase and realized that they had put some of my hung clothing back inside. My backpack was turned around in a new spot with the zippers in different positions. They had gone through my suitcase and pack, and they were undoubtedly going to take all my stuff out into the bush. I tried to process what was missing, but I didn’t know. I wasn’t thinking that straight and I couldn’t remember what I had where. I knew I needed to go get help. If they did take our stuff, they were still on the premises somewhere. I had been yelling loudly the whole time and nobody was coming, so I had to go get help at the main camp. I took off running back to the cabana area.

The others were slightly alarmed when they saw me jogging up to the main area, still dressed in my cycling apparel. They must have been really surprised when I started yelling for manager Tinus. “Tinus! Where’s Tinus,” I yelled as he stepped away from the bar. I led with the important facts. “Two men with guns just stole stuff out of my tent and they ran into the bush!” That got his attention.

By the look on his face, I could tell that this was not something he was used to dealing with. He relayed the details into his radio as we walked back towards the tent. The others headed for their tents too, so check for missing items. Sam and I went through everything we could when we got back to the tent. They had gone through her bags as well taking things that they valued. I was not missing anything major, but Sam was missing two flash drives, a cell phone and some money. The thieves had taken some jewelry and presents we had purchased and our shampoo. I couldn’t help but wonder why they didn’t take my passport and money and computer, etc. Then I realized that I must have disturbed them just in time, as they were preparing to take everything, bags and all.

Tinus was quite distressed by the entire situation and he struggled to keep order as the entire game farm went on lockdown. It crossed my mind that this might be normal for this place, as the poverty stricken villagers robbed the “rich” people coming to a 5-star game reserve. But the actions of the game rangers, trackers and staff led us to believe that this was not at all normal. At one point, after lunch, a police Rover pulled up and uniformed men jumped out with AK47 assault rifles. They were pulling out all the stops to catch these guys and we were really rooting for the good guys.

Francois Anthony (wife of Thula Thula creator Lawrence Anthony) arrived at our camp with her little dog in tow. She wanted to comfort us and get the story straight from the horse’s mouth. I told her what had happened, and she was visibly shaken by the whole thing. She sat there chain-smoking her cigarettes while assuring us that they were doing everything they could to catch the thieves.

In the meantime, the others had inspected their belongings and it was determined that the robbers had stolen some stuff out of Emily’s tent on the opposite end of the tented camp. She was missing jeans, Nike shoes, some shirts and a razor. All of us had lost trust in our security. Emily moved her stuff to a tent closer to the main camp area, and they offered to move Sam and me as well. That seemed silly to me, because I didn’t think those guys would return to the scene of the crime. They were running for their lives and they knew it.

David, the head of Thula Thula security showed up at our camp to talk to me about the incident. He said they were tracking the robbers into the bush with sniffer dogs and lots of people. He explained that when the radio lit up with talk of armed men at the tented camp, he immediately suspected a plot to kill the Thula rhinos.

Even though rhino horns are just dead cells similar to our own fingernails, they are worth millions of dollars to some crazy people in Asia. Poachers are illegally killing the huge beasts all over Africa. With that much money on the line, the criminals are willing to take some substantial risks to get those horns. It’s a huge tragedy and David was not about to let the Thula rhinos be the next victims.

David assumed that the robbery was a diversion to take attention away from the rhinos, so as soon as Tinus broadcast what was happening at the camp, he sent some men to the tents and some to the rhinos. The robbers most certainly could have killed a rhino with the weapons they had, but luckily, they didn’t make an assault on the animals. As it turns out, David had some more reasons for imagining his assassination conspiracy. He explained that just two days before we had arrived at Thula, one of their guards had been beaten up and his uniform, radio and rifle were stolen. Now the whole thing started to fall into place for me.

Tinus stationed an armed guard at our tented camp for the remainder of our stay. The sentry walked us to our tents every night after dinner and patrolled the area after hours to give us a better feeling of safety. To be honest with you, it didn’t make me feel any more secure. I just figured that those guys weren’t going to return to our camp so the whole thing was over for us. I did secretly hope that they would catch them and deliver Thula’s version of bush justice by feeding them to the crocodiles.

I have to admit that this incident was pretty impactful on me personally. Several members of our team continued to check in with me for a couple days after to make sure I was not suffering any psychological issues from the experience. With the exception of a few nightmares, I am fine with what happened. I was a little disturbed by the whole thing, but I have to say I’m really glad that it all turned out well. Sure, we’re missing some belongings that were very important to us, but no one got hurt in the incident. At the end of the day, that’s what really matters most. I’m also left with one hell of a story to tell. Some would argue that I was very unlucky to get robbed, but I’m not looking at it that way. I say I got pretty lucky.

First Aid Training Pays Off

This trip to South Africa was very significant for me in many ways. I had some really amazing experiences and I saw some fantastic sights while we were there. The trip also provided some firsts for me. One of the more memorable first-time experiences happened after we completed the Argus Cycle Tour.

Sam and I have been fans of a South African band called Goldfish for a couple years now. Sam’s brother Brett put us on to this duo and we’ve been enjoying their music ever since. Their music has a lot of energy with a beat that makes you want to move your feet. Needless to say, we were thrilled to learn that they were playing a concert after the Argus at the Kirstenbosch Gardens Amphitheater. This beautiful venue hosts a summer concert series in Cape Town and the scenery is even more amazing than the tunes.

The stage backdrop features incredible views of the back side of Table Mountain, and from the looks of the foliage they must keep the gardening staff running full speed seven days a week. The stage faces a huge grass hill where attendees spread out blankets and picnic baskets to enjoy the show. Everyone drinks and snacks and generally has a great time. We had enlisted the help Sam’s parents to score some of the only shade available on the hill. They had gotten to Kirstenbosch hours earlier with Melinda and Valerie to ensure our comfort after our long bike ride.

We arrived before the music started and got into position on the hillside under the coveted shade trees in the shadow of the towering mountain peaks above. It truly was an epic scene, and I hope the pictures give you a good sense of the majesty of the moment. Goldfish took the stage and quickly got us all tapping our feet and fingers. I had brought some pretzels to snack on, so I passed them around to the group. Everyone took a few and I settled back in to watching the show.

After a few minutes I noticed that immediately to my right Van was sitting up and seemed a little uncomfortable. I watched his profile for a minute and I could see that his eyes were starting to water behind his glasses. He was sort of moving his head back and forth like a bird trying to swallow a fish. I tapped him on the shoulder and, shouting over the music, I asked him if he was alright. He turned his head and looked at me with real fear in his wide open, watering eyes and shook his head “NO!” He actually looked like he was holding his breath.

I paused for a moment to comprehend what was happening. I had asked if was ok and he said no. No? People rarely say no. They always say yes. Something was wrong. It took a couple seconds for me to comprehend. Then I asked the more important question.

“Are you choking?”

Unable to speak, he frantically shook his head “YES!” with the same fearful look as before. I had my answer and much to my surprise, I sprung into action throwing my leg around him to move into position for the Heimlich Maneuver.

Now, I actually had to look up how to spell “Heimlich” but I knew how to perform the maneuver. I have been through numerous first aid classes and they teach this life-saving trick in every one of them. I just never thought I would have to actually do it. It’s amazing really how training can kick in before you actually think about things.

I reached around Van, locked my hands together and gave a big thrust. Nothing. I did it again, and this time, he put his hand up as if to say, “ok, that worked.” I relaxed a little to reflect on what was happening, but before I could let go of him, he frantically waved his hands again to signal that he still couldn’t breathe. This time I gave him my best shot, thrusting hard up into his diaphragm. It worked just like they said it would! The pretzel was dislodged and he was able to breathe normally again.

Satisfied with a job well done, I moved back onto my blanket and resumed watching the concert. Van leaned over and thanked me for the maneuver. I told him he was very welcome and that was that. Everything was back to normal. Neither of us seemed to want to make a big deal out of it. It was a little surreal actually. Everything was going on like nothing had happened, but in reality, we had avoided a tragedy. Both of us had done just what we were supposed to do in that situation. He answered the questions correctly. No, he was not alright and yes, he was choking. I had done what I was told to do in my first aid classes. It happened like it should have. It actually seemed to happen very quickly.

Little did I realize that while Van and I were having our little experience, the others in our group thought I was clowning around. They thought I was just being silly when I jumped in behind Van to give him a big hug. They must have really thought I was being stupid when I started heaving on him. It took the others a few minutes to realize what was really happening. I imagine that there was a point when the smiles turned into frowns as the reality of the situation sunk in. Luckily, no one made a big deal out of any of it.

After I went back to my own blanket and Van regained his composure, people started checking in to confirm what they had just seen. It’s not every day that you see someone doing the Heimlich maneuver and I think everyone wanted to know if they had really just witnessed the procedure. Of course, everyone wanted to make sure Van was ok, and he was. I didn’t ask him later if there were any long lasting effects from the experience, but it didn’t seem to me that there were. I didn’t break any of his ribs. He seemed to be fine with eating and drinking food. Everything was great. I was thrilled that Mr. Heimlich’s procedure had achieved the desired results, but I don’t think I was quite as pleased as Van.

I don’t tell you this story because I want to make a big deal out of it. I tell you this story because I want you to realize that the things they tell you in first aid training really do work. So, pay attention and learn the basics. All of us should be able to do what I did, just as I did it. That is the first time I have actually had to do the Heimlich maneuver and I hope it’s the last.

Bafana Face to Face

I’m hoping that you are getting the right impression about our game drives at Thula Thula. They were very fun for us all and often filled with excitement. Sometimes the excitement was the scenery we were seeing, sometimes the animals and sometimes it was exciting inside the actual truck.

The last night of our stay at Thula was a little bitter sweet. We were having a great time, but we realized that this was the last time we would get to do a bush adventure…for this trip anyway. I think there was a great energy in the atmosphere as we loaded the Land Cruiser for the last time. There was the threat of rain again, but we knew that wouldn’t dampen our spirits as we headed out to find the elephants to say our goodbyes.

We headed south this time towards the border with the Zulu village looking for signs of huge pachyderms. Victor was in his trusty bumper position sniffing the air or doing whatever he did to find the beasts. I’m betting he used a mix of visual clues and some radio chatter to locate our prey. Whatever it was that helped him along, he did a fantastic job of finding animals for our viewing pleasure.

We were on some new trails that we hadn’t been on before but the scenery was much the same in the area of the thickest bush at Thula. There were trees and shrubs so thick that you felt like the elephants could be just on the side of the road and you might miss them.

I’m not sure about the others, but by this time, I fancied myself an honorary tracker at this point. I had spent several days on the farm and I was starting to think I could pick out the animals on my own. I’m sure the others felt the same way because we all took turns pointing out the first things we saw. I had my eyes peeled sharply as we motored slowly through the trees, sometimes on trails that looked like they hadn’t been used in quite a while.

Andre was doing a great job piloting our chariot, but the previous day’s stream crossing adventure had added an element of uncertainty to our last excursion. This apprehension was probably part of the energy I said I could feel as we loaded the truck. Everyone wanted to see those elephants, but the thick bush kept us from seeing very far.

Victor and Andre had told us that we should tell them if we saw something in the bush. We were instructed to whistle or snap our fingers or something if we wanted them to stop. Those signals probably worked well for some groups, but ours was far from quiet in the wild. We were constantly chattering on with each other and running our mouths about this or that. If we were going to stop the car it was going to require more of a yell than a snap.

As we were descending a heavily routed hill, we were all started as Randall signaled for a stop. It was more like, “Owe! Owe! Owe! Can you see it? Get it out! Get it out!” Andre stopped as we all turned to look at Randall. He had pulled his over shirt up and was asking Teenie to kill whatever was stinging him on the back.

Now, Randall is as tough as nails, so the first thing that went through my mind is that some big African spider had jumped down his shirt and bitten his shoulder blade clean off. We had seen numerous versions of these nasty looking meanies and I was sure one had claimed its first victim. Randall might have had similar thoughts as he struggled to relieve the pain.

Luckily there was no huge spider or any other African beast, but Randall was in real pain. There was some discussion about what anyone behind him saw and Wayne said he saw something fly away when he pulled up his shirt. After a quick check Teenie noticed that he had been stung twice by the flying bandit. Victor immediately reached for some leaves on the tree right in front of him. He instructed Randall to crush the leaves in his mouth and apply to the area.

When Randall questioned him, Emily combined her extensive vocabulary and newfound bush skills and instructed him to masticate the leaves. Well, this is when the jokes started flying to alleviate some of the tension in the situation. Eventually it was determined that Randall should chew the leaves because mastication will not make you go blind and he did as he was told. He chewed the leaves and applied the mush to his stings. I’m not sure if it was the actual leaves themselves or the fact that we had just done our first Zulu medical treatment, but he seemed to get a little more comfortable as we set off in search of elephants again.

Suddenly, we rounded a bend in the road and there stood one of the biggest and oldest male elephants at Thula. Victor had warned us about this guy before. We had given him a wide birth the first day because he was apparently ready to mate with anything and everything…including our Land Cruiser. He stood there eating some leaves as we backed up a little to give him more room. Victor said this was good because the other elephants would be near by, but we had to get past this guy.

He wandered off into the trees a little and Victor signaled Andre to pass him quickly. I was a little worried that Zulu quickly and Steve Baker quickly would be a little far apart, but I had to trust our guides. My pulse quickened as we started to pass the old man, but things really got exciting when he set off in pursuit of the truck. Victor’s hand signals got a little more frantic as we leisurely passed by the giant not 10 meters to our left.

Suddenly the elephant started trotting (can elephants trot or do they jog?) after us as Victor gave me the impression that Andre was a little slow on the throttle. Everyone was turned around in their seats watching this huge elephant crash through the trees as we accelerated away to safety. Luckily he stopped pursuing and resumed grazing. I managed to get a shot over my shoulder during the pursuit and it still raises my blood pressure when I remember the excitement.

We proceeded to drive down a hill, turned left through a huge mud puddle and back up a ridge to where Victor thought the other elephants would be grazing. We sat still for a few minutes talking about what had happened and laughing at the fact that during the excitement Randall had picked up Teenie and put her in the middle seat where he was sitting to shield her from our pursuer. That was when I realized I was not the only one sensing the gravity of the situation we had just experienced.

After finishing some drinks and snacks that we had brought along for the evening, we heard something crashing about in the bush up ahead. We drove up the road to get a look. Standing just off the road was Bafana, a young male elephant. He as working his way up the road feeding on the trees and brush near the sides. Being a male, he was interested in showing off a little and he started in with the traditional elephant boasting. Ears flapping, trunk raised and mock charges all intended to intimidate other males or seduce females. It seems to me that they use the same behavior for both situations.

Bafana got closer as we just sat still with Victor, our elephant bait perched on the front bumper of the truck. Bafana was getting closer as Victor readjusted his grip on the hand rails beside his seat. He gave Andre the signal to back up a little and we eased back as Bafana approached. The ear flapping and trunk rearing were quite impressive on a beast this big. He wasn’t the biggest elephant in the jungle, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He felt plenty big to us as he got closer and closer. I snapped some pictures trying to believe that we were not in danger of being assaulted by an elephant. I want to say I was comfortable, but I have to admit I did question our close proximity to such a large wild animal. It was all very exciting.

Eventually, Bafana lost interest in us and turned to feed on some sweet leaved trees very close to the truck. He wandered off the road and into the bush giving us a clear path. We decided that we would move along out of the way to let another truck of visitors get some time with the elephants. Victor had radioed our position to the other vehicles so they could give their occupants the same kinds of thrills we had received.

We headed back to camp laughing and talking about the great things we had seen on our last night in the bush. Luckily we were getting in before the rains would hit. Overall it was an amazing experience to be so close to so many great animals. It is such a thrill to see these creatures out in their natural habitat. If you ever get a chance to visit a game farm and take some game drives out into the bush, do it. You won’t think about your world the same way again.

Pet the Cheetah

One of the things I really wanted to see in Africa was a cheetah. These amazing creatures are almost a signature for the continent. When I think of Africa, I immediately thing of cheetahs and I was really hoping we could see some on our trip.

Not far from where we were staying in Cape Town was a wine farm and game preserve called Spier. This estate is also home of the Cheetah Outreach, a program intended to educate and inform the public about the big cats. There was no way I was missing a chance to see cheetahs so we headed for Spier.

In addition to cheetahs, Spier is also home to some amazing birds of prey. They have all kinds of falcons, eagles, owls, and any other bird you can think of that feeds on smaller animals. From the size of some of these birds, small animals are not the only things that should be worried by their presence.

One of the rangers worked with his eagle while we were there and he gave us an idea of just how big and powerful these animals can be. His eagle was at least 3 feet tall and I think he said it weighed 18 kilos. It was amazing to see him hold this bird on his arm while he walked it to the flying area. There he attached a 100m leash to his foot and set him on a perch the size of a telephone pole.

His first instructions to us, “please stay seated.” He didn’t have to say the rest of it, as we all figured out that the eagle might mistake you for some prey if you flapped around too much. The bird took off and soared to the far end of the field to land on another phone pole. The ranger then placed 2 chicken heads (yes chicken heads) on the first perch and called the eagle back. The giant bird swooped down on the original post and gulped down the heads. It was awesome to see the eagle grasp the post with those huge claws. Each one had to be 2 inches long and they all came to a very sharp point. He repeated this routine several times until he ran out of chicken heads.

I walked through the bird area marveling at their beauty. Many of the birds were not behind wire fences, but instead tethered to each perch allowing for great unobstructed photos. There was even an area where you could pet some owls. I thought it was really cool to scratch an owl behind the head and stroke its back. They seemed to actually enjoy the interaction as much as I did.

We continued on to the Cheetah Outreach area to see some of the most amazing of the African big cats. The pens holding the cheetahs were huge and they seemed to have plenty of room to roam around inside. The cats were alone or in pairs inside their areas. There was an elevated deck area that allowed us to get better views without looking through the fences. Most of them were doing what they do best during the hot summer days…lounging in the shade.

We headed for a small shed for a short video presentation. After the video one of the rangers talked us through some facts and figures about the animals. These cats really are built for speed. The have light skeletons, small, aerodynamic heads and huge muscles that power out an impressive 8m stride at full speed. That’s over 24 feet between each stride! They had that distance marked on the floor of the shed, and I was most impressed.

After the presentation, the ranger took us on a tour of the facility. We walked through the pens viewing the animals and seeing all sorts of other creatures they are raising along side the cheetahs. Some animals were strays being rehabilitated while others were companions to the cheetahs.

One of the programs they are working on is the Anatolian Shepherd Guard Dog project. These huge shepherds are raised to guard flocks of sheep from the cheetahs. Turns out one of the biggest risks to the cheetah population is farmers killing cheetahs because they eat some of their sheep. It’s easier to kill the big cats rather than risk loosing sheep. The project raises special dogs that can guard the sheep and keep the cheetahs away. This protects cheetahs and the farmers at the same time. They raise the dogs and give them away to the farmers that are willing to use this system of protection. So far, it’s working quite well to protect cheetah numbers from declining in some areas.

After the tour, they told me I could actually pet a cheetah. There was no way I was passing this up, so I got my ticket and entered the fenced in cube. After disinfecting my hands and listening to a quick lecture about “don’t touch the head, don’t run, don’t get eaten,” etc. etc. we headed into one of the fenced areas. They took us in pairs to pet Pedro, an adult male cheetah. I have to say I was a little disappointed that the cheetahs name was Pedro. I was hoping for something a little more…well, more African.

Wayne and I watched as Melinda and Emily went first with their Cheetah Encounter (that’s what they call it). Then it was our turn. Our guide gave us some additional instructions. “Always let me stay between you and the cheetah when we approach.” Check, not a problem. “We will approach from behind, never from the front.” Check, I’m still down with the plan. “Kneel down on one knee and keep your back foot on the ground in case you have to get up very quickly.” Ahhhh, ok, I see what you mean. Let’s hope that’s not necessary. (This was probably one of the things they made up so it is more exciting for the encounter.) Always more exciting when you say you might have to get the heck out of here in a hurry! “They are ticklish, so don’t touch the belly or the head.” What?!?! Cheetahs are ticklish?!?! That one surprised me, but I abided by all the rules.

We approached slowly and knelt down for the petting. There really wasn’t much danger involved as there was another ranger holding a leash to control the cheetahs head. I actually was pretty relaxed petting the beast. I thought it would be softer than it was, but Pedro was a raspy feeling guy. The hair was thick and course. Our guide then went around in front of the cheetah and took a couple pictures with my camera. It was a real thrill to pet one of the big cats I had come to Africa to see. I was really pleased with my cheetah encounter and I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to do that again.

Game Drive Fun

Exploring the bush with Victor and Andre was loads of fun. Every morning we did the game walk and every evening we did the game drive. After my Bokdrolspoegkompetisie, I was thinking that it would be hard to make our bush explorations more interesting. Boy was I wrong.

The weather had been fantastic for our entire time in South Africa. Then on the second night at Thula Thula, the tropical rain moved in. We headed out on our game drive on day 2 with threatening clouds overhead. I think we all sort of ignored the potential for rain because we were very excited to have some more bush adventures.

Every time you left the tented camp, there was this overhanging air of danger present. It wasn’t that you saw dangerous things everywhere or you heard creepy sounds. It was more of a mood really. Victor and Andre did their best to build the suspense and give you a sense that you could be trampled or eaten at any moment…but you weren’t supposed to be scared. One minute they were assuring us that we were completely safe and they wouldn’t let anything happen and the next minute they were building the excitement by giving you a feeling that danger was lurking just around the next bush.

This feeling of suspense is enhanced as you drive through a gate out of the tented camp with an electric wire strung about 12 feet off the ground. When you see a fence wire 12 feet high, you can’t help but ponder the size of the beast it’s meant to keep out. In this case, they were repelling elephants and giraffe with the high wire. Every time we went under that wire, I got the feeling we were entering a wild frontier where I went from being the hunter to the hunted. Never mind the fact that there were no animals on the reservation that were less scared of me than I was of them.

As we headed out under the threatening skies, we headed north to see if we could catch a glimpse of the Rhinos. One of the 2 rhinos at Thula was sick and the woman that introduced them to the park was spending significant time around them. She was not that keen on us spending time around them, but we were hoping for a drive by anyway.

Suddenly we came to a creek crossing. The water was not that deep, but the banks were eroded away quite a bit from the previous storms. It was obvious to me that they don’t do a lot of road maintenance on the dirt trails had been using. As we approached the stream, Andre stopped and engaged 4-wheel drive low on the transaxle. He lined up the Land Cruiser, revved the engine and launched us into the water. The truck lurched one way and back to the other before coming to rest with the front bumper firmly lodged on the far bank as the truck leaned heavily to the left. He tried to reverse, but the truck was not going anywhere. We were stuck in the middle of the stream, unable to go forward or back.

At this point, everyone was thinking the same thing. It was a mix between “I hope we don’t get eaten on the long walk back to camp” and “If we all have to run from a savage beast, which one of you is the slowest?” I was immediately reminded of the movies where the group gets out of the vehicle in some strange situation and not everyone gets back in. I was hoping that the imagined danger was far worse than the real danger.

We all jumped from the truck to the shore and assessed the situation. There was some chin scratching and some discussion, and it was determined that several of us would hang off one side of the truck (to keep it from turning over) while others would push from the front. Several guys jumped on the right side, while Wayne and I pushed from the front. Andre worked the throttle and we rocked the truck in unison. Slowly the truck started to reverse its course. Suddenly the front broke free and headed back up the far bank as Wayne and I avoided taking a bath in the creek.

Andre took aim again and surged across the stream again. This time the truck climbed out of the water and up the trail just as planned. We cheered as he climbed the hill to pick up those that had abandoned ship. I know for a fact that we were all hoping there was another way home.

Not long after our creek adventure, we came across the jeep of Alison, the rhino attendant. She waved and asked us to move along so we wouldn’t disturb her giants. We obliged and headed over the top of the hill. Just as we crested the top, we came face to face with a herd of Zebra. (By the way, you have to pronounce Zebra with a “eh” instead of an “ee”. No African says Z-ee-bra. It’s always Z-eh-bra.) Seeing them up close was a real treat, because they didn’t scatter like the times before. They were standing their ground feeding on the grass on the edge of the road.

Andre stopped the truck and shut off the engine, and we sat there snapping photos and discussing zebra facts with our experts. Then some Kudu ran through the scene between us and the zebras. It was really great to see the animals wandering around through the bush. Suddenly, Andre stood up and looked behind us. We all immediately followed suit. Much to our surprise, the rhinos had come out on the road and were bringing up the rear. Alison was signaling for us to go away, and Andre was taking her seriously. He announced that we had 15 seconds to take our photos and we’d be underway.

We continued along the road towards the pond that contained some crocodiles. We had been told that one of the crocs had killed a zebra and they were feeding on it. As we approached the pond, it started to rain. Not a heavy rain, but a slight drizzle. Andre stopped the truck next to some huge bones. They explained that this was the resting place of the famous elephant that was shot in the “Elephant Whisperer”. He also said that they had scattered Lawrence Anthony’s ashes on the sight as well. It was a somber moment as we sat there in the rain reflecting on the beauty of what we were seeing.

Eventually, we worked out way around the pond to the floating zebra. There was a croc lurking in the water right near the corpse. Believe me, I can understand why the zebra met its end at the watering hole. When a croc wants to be invisible, you can’t see him. It was a little spooky seeing the eyes floating on the surface near a rotting, half eaten zebra. I was thrilled as this was the sort of “wild life” I had hoped to see in Africa.

The guys did indeed find a new way home, and we avoided the difficult water crossing on our return trip. It started getting dark and I was amazed at how much more exposed I felt when the sun went down. It was hard to see anything outside the truck’s headlights, and I was pleased that the guys new the way home. We rolled into camp drenched but invigorated by the adventure. A little rain couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm for what we had experienced at Thula Thula. It truly was amazing to see the animals in their own neighborhood.

Bokdrolspoegkompetisie

Today I became a man! Well, at least I proved my manhood in the Zulu tradition. Randall also became a man. I wish I could leave it at that, but I feel compelled to share the story of our Bokdrolspoegkompetisie.

I told you previously that we are getting some information about the Zulu culture from Victor and Andre. On our walk this morning, Victor asked if any of us were real men. Of course we were tentative to speak up because we all knew his question would have very little to do with anatomy. He prodded us again. “Who is a real man? Are any of you real men,” he asked. Still no response from us.

You see, we figured out quickly that this guy has a good sense of humor. I think he is genuinely enjoying our group. We are laughing a lot with him and he is giving us the full experience. I get the feeling that he is going the extra mile with some things because he is actually enjoying his job this week. This is exactly why we were timid with raising our hands to the manhood question. We were waiting to see what test would be. What the trick would be.

Victor had just finished telling us about Impalas. We had come across some dung on the trail and he picked up some of the small black pellets in his hands. He began to roll the half inch pellets in his hands as he described the small antelope with great detail. Basically they are small, plant eating deer. The males have horns while the smaller females do not. I realized that there must be a connection between fondling the dung and proving you’re a man, so I wasn’t going to step forward yet.

Sensing our hesitance, Victor continued with the story. As it turns out, there is a common right of passage competition with the Zulu people called a Bokdrolspoegkompetisie. This term is Afrikaans for Buck Poop Spitting Competition. Now you’re probably one step ahead of me in this story. As the name describes, they spit the dung out of their mouth to see who can spit it the farthest. I thought it had to be a joke, but Victor was insistent. I volunteered to participate. Randall stepped forward as well, but there were no other takers. It would be Victor, Andre, Randall and me.

Victor drew a line in the dirt with his boot about 2 meters from where we were standing. I watched Victor’s hands very closely to see if this was some sort of practical joke. Surely he was going to trick us by spitting a rock while we mouthed the dung. But, he said there was no trick. He kept rolling the dung in his hands like you would to make a ball out of dough. He wasn’t pressing them together, but just rolling them around. Then he placed one of the pellets in his mouth. He opened his mouth for each of us to see it resting on his tongue. He turned to the line and launched his pellet. It flew from his lips like a cherry pit across the line. Then he opened his hand to us so we could choose our pellet.

They all seemed the same so I selected one of medium size. Randall did the same. As I examined my pellet, Randall looked Victor straight in the eye and quietly asked, “Is this some sort of slight of hand trick or something?” Victor shook his head no and explained that it is a very common practice in the bush. We believed him. We trusted him.

I examined the dense pellet very carefully. It was dry and firm with no odor at all. It looked and felt like a large chocolate covered peanut, but I was not expecting this to be a treat. There was no turning back now, so decided to go first. I popped the pellet into my mouth and aimed for the line. I was in quite a hurry to send the tiny ball on its way, so I think I started blowing as soon as it hit my tongue. I spit it out with a weak attempt that barely made it halfway to the line.

Randall on the other hand, launched a beautiful shot that probably doubled my distance and easily cleared the line Victor had drawn. We were both pleased to be showing our manhood, but it was very clear that the competition was real. The others were cheering and egging us on as Randall heckled Andre and Victor, challenging them to beat his distance. Andre came close, but it didn’t quite reach Randall’s mark. Then it was Victor’s turn. Surely the only Zulu in the group could best our attempts. Sure enough, Victor’s pellet cleared the line and came to rest at least a foot past our longest attempt. We all gave a cheer of celebration at our successful ceremony ended.

Since I know you are all wondering the same thing I was right before I popped that piece of crap into my mouth, I can report that the pellet didn’t have any taste at all. But that didn’t keep me from spitting a few times afterwards just to be sure. The whole idea of this competition is much more disgusting than the actual practice.

Now that it’s over, I have to admit that I am very pleased with myself for participating. I’m proud to have proved my manhood in front of my tribe. I’m also thrilled to have experienced something so traditionally African. This was just one more fantastic experience on our amazing African adventure.

African Nature Walk

Today we took our first game walk at Thula Thula. These are excursions on foot, often on single track trails to see flowers, birds and insects. I am totally amazed at the depth of knowledge possessed by our guides, Winston and Andre. They seem to know every single plant and animal in the bush.

Victor and Andre are both from this local area. They make a good team and they seem to get along very well with everyone. Both speak English and Zulu, and I’m told Andre speaks Afrikaans. Andre is a skinny white man with a college degree from university. He’s a game ranger, so he has all the licenses necessary to drive people through the bush. Victor is a shorter black man with a barrel chest and broad shoulders. Victor is a tracker so he has taken lots of the same wildlife courses, but he doesn’t have the licenses Andre does.

Victor’s Zulu name is actually Mqobi. It is even more confusing to pronounce than it looks. He has a “click” in his name. We all had fun trying to pronounce it just like he does. I was fairly successful, but it might not come out right in these words. You start with the “m” sounds like something tastes good. Right after the “M” you do the click with your tongue inside your mouth. As you’re doing the click you start with an “N” sound and say the word “no-bay”. So it is “m-[click]-no-bay”. Yeah, stick with Victor.

The guys guided us through the bush pointing out as much wild life as they could. They know all the plants. Andre is a very passionate birder so he can identify anything that flies in a flash. He can even hear and repeat some of the calls they make. It’s awesome to have such educated men teaching us.

We learned a lot from the tracks and feces of the animals. Apparently, you only use the term scat for carnivores. You use the term dung for omnivores. Not only can they tell you what animal is headed in which direction, but they can often explain whether they were running or walking at the time.

Since they are both from the local area, they are good at giving us a mix of zoology science and Zulu legend. These tales are always entertaining and often have a great lesson to teach. The trick is sorting out how much fact there really is in the legend.

One of the first things you realize when you walk in the bush is the number and size of the spiders. I’m no fan of the 8-legged creeps, so this is one of the things that makes the hair on my body stand up. The spiders here are the size of tea saucers and they spin these amazing webs between the trees. Sometimes these webs can span a gap across a 2-lane road. I have no idea how they do it and I’m not sure I want to know how. Luckily for us, they seem to spin them up high on the main trails and roads. But, if you venture off the main path, it is highly likely that you will get a web in the face. And there is no comfort in staring down a giant arachnid while you’re trying to extricate yourself from one of these amazing structures. They say the silk some of these spiders use can feel like dental floss. That’s a serious spider house.

I can’t begin to describe all the creatures and plants we saw on this walk. It’s overwhelming to try to recall all the information we collected from Victor and Andre. It is really a thrill to be here and learning about these people, places and things. This really is an amazing trip.

Thula Thula

I’ve done a fair bit of traveling in my life, but it really is rare when you can take a trip that checks off some things on your bucket list. I’m very pleased to report that this trip to South Africa is helping me tick off some things that I’ve always wanted to do. Thula Thula is one of the boxes I’ve checked off of things I want to do before I die.

Thula Thula is a private game reserve that is about 2 hours north of Durban. It was made famous by its creator Lawrence Anthony when he wrote his best selling book The Elephant Whisperer. The book chronicles his struggle to reintroduce elephants into this region of Africa. They are indigenous to this area, but they had been missing for over a century.

Before leaving the states, I knew that my Thula Thula experience was going to be the highlight of my trip to this continent. As I’ve written before, this is what I think of when I think of Africa. I think of wild animals roaming free through the bush. Animals you can’t see in the states. Sure you can go to a zoo, but there is something very different about visiting these creatures in their home. You get the full hospitality of the wild, and it is amazing!

After landing at the brand new Durban airport, we loaded a van for the 2 hour trip north. Northern South Africa is much more tropical than Cape Town, so the scenery was green with lush fields of sugar cane and forests of tall trees. After about an hour and a half we turned off the main highway, and the real country experience began. The first sign I saw for Thula Thula was at an intersection where we left the pavement for the last 10kms of our journey. The road was maintained, but I wouldn’t call it smooth. There were sections that had washed away from the rain storms they get in this region.

Like every game reserve, there is a fence surrounding the entire 4,500 hectares to keep the animals from wondering of the reservation. This is for their own protection, because people will hunt them outside the designated zone. The fence also keeps the unwanted poachers from harming the animals.

We were let through the main gate by a uniformed guard and we proceeded to the visitor drop off point. Here we met Tinus, Andre, Victor and some other staff that are assigned to making our stay enjoyable. This is a 5 star game reserve, so they take pride in doing their jobs quite well.

They loaded our baggage on one topless Toyota Land Cruiser and we climbed aboard another. Andre drove us down a primitive dirt road in the direction of the tented camp. Along the way, he answered our questions and gave us some information about what to expect while we were on the premises. The scenery was beautiful and we were all excited to see some African wildlife. We didn’t have to wait long. It wasn’t 5 minutes into our trip to camp, when we rounded a corner and came face to face with our first wild African animals.

Standing just off the road were 3 huge giraffes. They were casually eating the leaves on the trees as we approached. Andre turned off the truck and we all sat there wide eyed, appreciating the experience we were living. We had all come to Africa to see these incredible beasts and now we had.

We continued to the tented camp to get acquainted with our accommodations and we found them to be quite comfortable. Each of us is staying in a luxury tent. These “tents” are to my North Face camping tent as the giraffe is to a horse. Some parts of the whole are slightly out of touch with the norm. They have canvas walls, mesh screen doors and windows, but they are built on a cement floor, have a flush toilet and some rather nice wooden furniture. We’re sleeping on beds under white mesh mosquito nets and every tent has hot and cold running water and electricity.  The outdoor shower is located on the back porch, so the experience can be pretty primal.

We met at 4:30pm for our first game drive. We loaded up into the topless trucks and set off into the bush. We drove along the rough dirt roads looking for the Big 5. The Big 5 in South Africa are Giraffe, Elephants, Leopard, Rhinoceros and South African Buffalo. We had already ticked off the Giraffe, so we were all very confident we would see some more animals.

Victor is a tracker that sits on a jump seat on the front bumper of the truck, while Andre pilots the Land Cruiser through the bush. The 2 of them filled us in on some of the birds, plants and trees we encountered on our search. These guys know more about this area than you would ever believe. We rounded one bend and saw impala bounding down the road. Around another were some wildebeest. Things were looking good as we tried to capture photos of the fleeing animals.

Then we saw what we’d been looking for. Off in the distance on one of the hillsides, we saw several elephants making their way through the brush. They were too far away to get a good concept of the size of these enormous creatures. Then the radio cracked with news of more elephants farther along the same road. We headed east and saw them up ahead. Seven elephants popped into view as the truck came to a stop on a ridge. It was awesome to see them feeding on the trees around us. They are extremely quiet giants until they break off a branch to feed. Victor tells us that an elephant could sneak up on you and you wouldn’t even know it until he taps you on the shoulder. With that I think I stole a look behind me.

At one point one of the elephant bulls came out into the road and started walking towards our car. Andre was quick with the engine and we backed up as the beast continued to advance towards us. It really wasn’t a dangerous situation, but after all the crazy stories Victor had told us about these big guys it was quite exciting. We left the scene and continued around the corner to see if we couldn’t cut off the heard as they marched (and ate) their way through the thick brush.

We stopped on a straight road to make a pit stop and have some drinks. At this point the men walked forward a little to let the ladies use the “facilities” right behind the truck. Victor made me laugh by saying, “Watch out for anything you see bigger than the truck. If you see anything, yell but walk slowly away.” I told Victor you can have yell and run OR talk and walk, but you can’t have yell and walk. Those two just don’t go together.

It started to get dark and we headed home. We startled a few wildebeest on the way back to camp, but we didn’t see anything else for the night. We pulled into the compound with big smiles and appetites. We headed to our tents to freshen up and put on some warmer clothing. Even with the very hot daytime temperatures, it gets quite cool at night.

They served us dinner in the open air main tent, and we sat around reminiscing about the great time we were having. They lit a huge fire in the Boma, which is a common area around a fire pit designed for socializing. Van and I visited with Victor and Andre while watching the “bush television”. I had never heard that term used before, but I will use it from now on when I talk about the fire. There is something mesmerizing about staring into an open fire, regardless of your culture or language. I enjoyed the entire evening very much.

Walking back to our tent, we saw some of the most amazing stars we’ve ever seen. There is no light pollution this far out in the bush, so the sky is alive with stars. They twinkled and flashed with an energy that is appropriate for this enormous place. Sam and I fell asleep under our mosquito net listening to the bush radio (that’s my term). The sounds were amazing and it was fun to try to pick out as many different sounds as I could. I heard lots, but of course, I couldn’t identify many of them.

I have to say that this is a real thrill being here. It was on my bucket list and now I’ve checked it off. I wonder what will be next. It sure will be hard to top this.

Giant with 1000 Eyes

Sunday we rode the 2012 Cape Argus Cycle Tour. This 110km bicycle race is the largest timed cycling event in the whole world. This year, over 34,500 people participated and we were all treated to one of the best weather years in a decade.

The event is so big, that they assign you groups at the start and you have to line up inside your “chute” to start at a designated time. As foreigners, we were all assigned group “Y” to start at 7:34am. The pros go off at 6:15am or something and there are many other groups in front of us. We estimated that there were about 1,000 starters in our group, so you get the idea of the scale of this event.

We arrived downtown Cape Town with the assistance of Superstar Tony and his van and trailer. That’s not actually his name, but he’s a superstar to us. He picked us up early at  Hampshire House and transported us and our bikes all the way to the start in the center of Cape Town. This saved us from riding an extra 20km in the dark to get there on time.

When we got to the start, I was amazed at the number of people I saw riding around. It was a sea of people everywhere you looked once you got to the start area. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised as they said they cut off entries at 40,000 people. It’s just that I’ve never seen so many riders in one place at one time.

We loaded up in the pen to stage with our group and everyone was very excited. I found that I was really looking forward to the ride. Sam and I had decided that we were not there to race, so we were just going to stick together and enjoy the day. That turned out to be an awesome plan. Teenie and Randall agreed to the same plan, so the 4 of us rode together for the entire day.

One of the best features of the Cape Argus is the scenery. We were treated to some amazing views of Table Mountain right out of the start gates. The city totally embraces the ride and they allow the organizers to shut down the roads for the entire course. This was fantastic as we rarely get a chance to ride an event where you get the whole road. It made things much easier and safer as well. It was quite interesting riding our bikes down the middle of the south bound lanes of the same highway we’ve been driving on since we got here.

Emily showed her climbing prowess early and left Sam, Randall, Teenie and me on the first substantial climb of the day. She was feeling great and wanted to put in a fast effort. We never saw her again. Wayne, Duane and Van took their time on the first hills and settled in to their own pace for the day.

The number of riders was truly amazing. I thought it would thin out a lot and there would be stretches of open road later in the day. Not so. There was never a time when you couldn’t observe cyclists for as far as you could see. We spent a lot of time passing people and getting passed by hammerheads from the groups that started behind us.

Roughly 20km into the ride we came across our cheering section on one of the bigger climbs. Sam’s parents Dave and Sandy, her brother Richard and his girlfriend Tammy, Valerie, Melinda and several others were all sitting on the sidewalk just out behind her parent’s house. They saw us coming and gave us a great welcoming. We stopped and had a chat before getting back underway with the task at hand.

The number of spectators on the side of the road was amazing. There were people all along the route cheering and partying and having a grand time. Some were dressed in costumes, several had signs and a few were wearing less than we were. It was really awesome to see all the people cheering us on. That is one of the best parts of the entire ride. Awesome fan support all day.

Speaking of support, the aid stations were probably the most amazing I’ve ever seen. From a logistics standpoint, these guys have this ride dialed. There were lots of water stations along the route. Every one of them offered water, coke or powerade. They also had portajohns, medical stations and physiotherapists that would massage tired legs. The support was first class. I was super disappointed that they didn’t have cookies at the rest stops, because I always like to eat the cookies on cookie rides. They call this thing a race, but let’s be honest…its one huge cookie ride…but without the cookies.

After narrowly escaping a collision with some crazy, out of control Malawian riders, we made it to the east coast of the peninsula and headed for the Cape of Good Hope. The ride goes by the park entrance but not out to the actual point. Not to worry, as we had toured that on our first day in Cape Town.

We continued on past the half way point to what I consider to be the most beautiful part of the ride. The highway along the western coast up to Chapman’s Peak has to be one of the most beautiful roads I’ve ever ridden on…anywhere. It is a steady climb along a twisty road carved right out of the cliff-side up to an amazing lookout. Since we had been stopping all day to take photos and enjoy the scenery, Teenie, Randal, Sam and I stopped at Chapman’s Peak to look out over Hout Bay. It was beautiful and well worth the time and effort.

By the time we got to Chappies, (as Chapman’s Peak is affectionately called by the locals) it was getting very hot. So hot in fact that I would find out later that the organizers stopped the ride when the temperature reached 45 degrees celcius, that’s about 104 degrees F. I feel terrible for anyone that was not allowed to complete the ride, because it was absolutely beautiful the entire way back to downtown Cape Town.

One of the last beach areas we rode through is rumored to be one of the most expensive places to live in Cape Town. The houses are built right on the cliff-side and they extend vertically up the faces like a wall of windows and balconies. There is a local ordinance that prevents anyone from building anything that obstructs the view from the coastal road, so the view is fantastic along the entire stretch. This zone is also known to be one of the least windy places in the area, but you wouldn’t know that from the saddle of a bicycle. The trees give up the truth when you see them growing inland at a 45 degree angle. Even in the richest areas, there were hundreds of fans and supporters lining the ride route.

When we saw the 5km to go sign we started to think about the end, and Sam picked it up a little just like she always does when she can see the barn. We rolled under a Powerade archway and we both thought we were finished. I started to compliment Sam on a great ride when I noticed that there was another banner up the road about 500m. That would turn out to be the real finish line. Amazingly, my right leg cramped up terribly right there at 500m to go. We had ridden all day very strongly and had a fantastic time, and my leg decided that it was finished before I was. I had to coast and soft pedal through the Cape Argus Archway, only to stop and stretch 100m past the finish line.

Overall it was an amazing ride and we all had a great time. After lots of discussion I realize that everyone is just as impressed with the experience as I am. We found out later that Argus is a Greek giant with 1,000 eyes. I think that’s an awesome name for something. I also know that it could have stood for a giant with 1,000 smiles. We’re still smiling about the whole thing.