Jane's Journeyers

Jane's Journeyers

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Altered State

In the coastal waters of BC we have occasionally experienced the thrill of seeing a pod of Killer Whales. We also have the thrill of bear sightings, but these are usually tinged with a good dose of caution/fear. My very first Orca sighting, now many years ago, was on board a BC Ferries vessel headed for Duke Point on Vancouver island. While I have seen them many times since, I can still recollect the feeling of exhilaration I experienced that very first time. Likewise, I can still be that young boy camping in the Rockies the day when the hair on the back of my neck stood up with the thrill and the fright of confronting my very first bear whilst on the path to the outhouse. I have seen many since (some in our own back yard) but the first encounter is deeply imprinted. Now they are a bit routine.

Since yesterday afternoon we have all been in a state of sustained exhilaration, tinged with maybe a bit of fear and trepidation at being so close to these wild things, but, like my first Orca and bear encounters, I know this experience will remain with me always. Making eye contact with a lion only a paw swat away is not going to fade away any time soon.

Yesterday, Remembrance Day, after a very early departure from our hotel in Port Elizabeth we endured two short flights to arrive at the Kapama reserve. Right at 11am, as we waited for the second flight in the Johannesburg airport, Dave, Mary, Brian, Laurel, Julie & I stood together in a close circle as Laurel recited In Flanders Fields, from memory. Tears and silence all around.

Our group of twenty have occupied one of four camps on the reserve, the Buffalo Camp. Please have a look at their website, www.kapama.com. I could rave on about this place at some length but am going to restrain myself because it would take too long. Suffice to say it seems just about perfect.

Our day begins with a 5am wake up call. We then climb aboard our Land Cruiser with the spotter perched on a seat above the front left bumper and the guide behind the wheel at 6am.


For the next three hours or so we drive about the reserve, eyes roaming, necks craning, cameras poised, looking for the next encounter, which could be and frequently is just around the next corner. Please consider that in the 20 minute drive from the small airstrip to the camp we saw: zebras, giraffes, warthogs, wildebeest and Impala. Then on the afternoon safari we saw more of these and added to the list: a Hooded Vulture, owls, water bucks, hippos, spotted hyenas, chameleons. Our very last sighting was the male lion you saw in yesterday's posting.

So, after the morning sojourn we return to camp around 9 for breakfast. There so no fixed agenda for the day, save lunch at 1:00. Then at 4:00 we climb back on board for the afternoon safari, back in camp in time for an 8pm dinner. Our group goes out in three separate vehicles and once out of the fenced-in compound we rarely encounter anyone other than the wildlife.

We-saw. This is the word heard most frequently during our gatherings, as in: we-saw a Dazzle of Zebras, or we-saw a Tower of Giraffes, or we-saw a Pride of Lions. We are getting pretty good at identifying dung. Our guide, Jeffrey, delights in testing our gullibility, but we are on to him now. Each group, exploring down different pathways experience different sitings. As I write we are waiting for our second afternoon safari to begin. That last 90 minutes or so are pitch dark and the spotter employs a search light to try to pick up eyes shining in the dark. The darkness adds a decent amount of spookiness to the overall experience. We know the animals are out there. Will they find us before we find them?

I already have hundreds of photos, but I will leave today's posting with only a taste.























Location:Buffalo Camp, Kapama Private Game Reserve

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