An Awesome Safari Experience

Eyes open. Alarm going off. Get out of bed. Wake the others up. It was around 5 am, but after sleeping in that marvelous bed, I felt out of this world. Outside, the rise had began its creeping into the sky. We made our way for the back of our room where there was a playground. Climbing on top of it, we watched the sky change in colors from a greyish blue into a reds, oranges, yellows, and brighter blues. The color change was great, however the actual sunrise was not necessarily that amazing because the sun was blocked by a hill during its initial rise. Nevertheless the situation was not one I would want to miss, as there also were bird chirping their morning song in the distance. We went back into our room and fell back asleep until it was time to ATV. I was so excited for this. Before going though, I quickly got a glass of orange juice to fuel my body. An Apple a day may keep the doctor away, but there’s nothing like freshly squeezed OJ in the morning. Outside we were introduced to our ATVs, taught how to run it properly, mounted them, and began our journey. This was so cool. The first time I’ve ever ATV’d and I was doing it in a safari; like killing two birds with one stone. When I reved that engine for the first time, I felt a shiver run through my hands (partly due to excitement and partly because the ATV was shaking so much) as I was now in control of such a powerful machine (I know I may be overreacting, but it was really cool). This time when we entered the safari, it just felt different, in a great way. The air blowing past us, the shaking of the ATV, and the tension in my body just created a different aura and was very exhilarating. The ATV had great acceleration, breaking, and durability. The shock system was outstanding, which was absolutely necessary since the road had a bunch of pits and bumps. Every time I hit one, I had to counter it by leaning in the opposite direction (inertia for all you physics geeks). There were so many things I had to pay attention to at once, but it was so much fun. We pretty much took the same route we took yesterday in the jeep, so our first stop was the waterhole again. It was the same as yesterday except for one thing... the hippos were out of the water. Or at least some of them. One of the mothers and two kids were strolling along the sides, while big papa stayed in the water. Even from a distance I could tell how large these animals are, especially their jaws. Oh my, they were large. I’m pretty sure their mouths could open wide enough to swallow a young child whole. As we continued on, we passed by the spot where the water buffalo were the day before, but they were not there today, which is a good thing because I’m pretty sure our ranger would not have allowed us to drive past that spot if it insinuated driving on an ATV past water buffalo 5 feet away. We next came upon the first dirt round about, where we ran into the rhinos again. Except this time we were on ATVs, and only 30 feet away from them. We were really putting ourselves out there, being that close to such a powerful animal with no protection. Of course we could always book it on our ATVs, but these animals were not slow (especially the hippo, which can actually hit 30-40kmh). Nevertheless, the fact of us doing such a thing made it that much more fun and cooler. We were only looking at the rhinos for a short while before they started walking in our direction. At first I thought this was so cool, until our guide told us to move (and he was very serious when saying this); that’s when I realized how close I really was to a wild rhinoceros. We only drove for a short while before we came upon a tree patch. And standing within this patch were more rhinos walking towards us. Ok... time to turn around, and head back in the same direction as the other rhinos that were walking towards us. Fortunately the first group had moved on so we were able to cross the roundabout safely and peacefully. Along the road the ranger suddenly stopped to point something out to us. In the distance on a far hill were two silhouettes.... Big 5 animal #4: Elephants. Oh even from so far away they looked so cool, I want a closer look but we have to stick to our route. But our guide told us that we would be going there later. I turn, and right behind us was a group of zebras and wildebeest on a close hill slope. They were just chilling there, all staring at us, as if prepared to run. We left them in peace and continued on our way. Soon enough, we came upon a treacherous hill. Not only was it relatively steep, but the road was also completely rocky and coarse with lots of ditches and holes. Making my way up quite slowly, my hands were shaking, my shoulders were tense, and my whole body was just bouncing a lot. Once we got to the top, my hands continued shaking for quite some time after wards. I look behind me to see Mary struggling with her ATV upwards, and Lorlei stuck behind her. I turn back around, look up and see them: two fully grown African Elephants within 20-30 feet of us. Seeing this so many things popped into my head: “Oh my God... ELEPHANTS,” “I Love this Safari,” “ATVing and going on a safari is so much fun,” “Nick will be so jealous.” SO we just stayed and marveled at these elephants for like 10 minutes. The elephants thankfully looked quite relaxed and at ease and continued in their activities (eating, throwing dirt on their backs with their trunks, etc) not paying attention to us. Seeing these elephants is when the magnitude of my situation really hit me: on an ATV in a South African safari, about 30 feet away from African Elephants, during a time when I should be in college studying.... SO COOL!!! Finally it was time to leave the elephants, and we made our way back to the park entrance. On the way we passed by a group of springbok naturally running away from us. These are really timid creatures, but they have to be since they are so small (relatively). One our way out, I saw the dirt roundabout again and saw all 6 rhinos there, along with a tree full to the branch with cranes and other birds. Now we hit a straightway with minimal obstacles, so I decided to punch it. I accelerated the ATV to its limit (I had been taking my time before on purpose, because now I had a big gap between me and the next person). As the speed on the speedometer climbed, the ATV began shaking powerfully until it hit 41 km/h, at which point it stopped accelerating, and so I slowed it down. As we exited the park for the last time, I thought about what I had just done. This ATV experience was much more real and exhilarating that the experience yesterday in the Jeep. I mean I didn’t see as many animals as yesterday, but it was more than worth it and provided me with a different experience in the park you just couldn’t get in the 4x4. Back at the main building, we went to the dining hall and feasted on breakfast and reflected on our experiences, while the other half of our group took their turn to ATV. Our number one reflection was: “Did we really just do that.... did that really just happen?” We could get over the fact of what we had just done and experienced. When we got outside we made our way back to our room and pack up. Me and Lander stayed out and saw a very large group of ostriches. There were only 3 or 4 males, and the rest (around 10-15) were female. The females are so much uglier than the males ;). As they moved on, I peered into the vast open space of the safari in front of us, until I my eyes reached the pond right next to the buildings. There among the reeds were 3 water buffalo, probably the same 3 from yesterday. As Lander and I observed them from the fence, they began walking in our direction. I should have remembered all the times in the safari: whenever an animal began walking our direction, we got out of the way. But for some reason Lander and I did not remember this. We moved to a brick enclave to get a better view and Lander even stood up on the wall of it. The buffalo just kept coming closer, and when they were within 15 feet of us and the fence, I thought, “Ok, probably time to get out of here.” As I began moving away, one of the waiters from the dining hall, began yelling at me and Lander to get away from the fence. Immediately the safari guides came pelting from the back of the park, and towards the fence. As soon as everyone was a good distance away from the fence, one of the guides crossed over the fence some distance away from the buffalo and began drawing them away from the fence. Almost like pet, the buffalo responded and began walking towards him. As soon as they were gone, a guide and few other people came to us and talked to us about what just happened. Apparently these three buffalo were very dangerous as just a few months before they had broken through the fence and killed 3 visitors. They were talking to us as if we were children, which is understandable given what just happened, but they also did not see that we were just watching the buffalo (the 3 visitors who were killed were apparently mocking the buffalo). Nevertheless, we probably should have moved away earlier. Soon after that chaotic experience, the second group returned from their ATVing, not knowing what they missed. We then got into the jeeps again and headed across the road where we came to some cages that the park owned. In these cages were a number of animals that were recently obtained from the park and came from traumatic backgrounds, so they were separated to allow them time to recover. The animals here included three lions, crocodiles, warthogs, baboons, and two of my favorite animals: two cheetahs that had a large cage and were hiding under a tree in the grass (so we only could see their heads), and Big 5 animal #5 (the last one): the Leopard (which was by itself in a smaller cage since it was brand new and still beginning to recover). We were not there for long, before we had to return to the main building. There we threw our bags into the vans, and left. We left around 12:30, 2.5 hours later than we should have left (I’m perfectly fine with that). That was the end to one of the greatest experiences of my life, as it has significantly affected me. The landscape on the way back was awe-striking. There were mountains everywhere, with light bouncing off of them beautifully. We then hit a tunnel, and when we got back out, the scenery was completely different with more open space instead of mountains (still gorgeous though). We reached the ship around 2:30, and relaxed while unpacking. As I could not really find anyone to do stuff with, I decided to get on the internet at the V&A. Once outside, I ran into Mezrim, who had just gotten back from a trip to the Archbishop’s house. He looked so different in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans, and just looked that much more carefree and happy. After walking with him for a little while, we parted as he continued on his own and I went to surf the internet for the first time since Spain. I had over 200 unread messages, so I had a lot to catch up on. After wards, I headed back to the ship, with the intent to go out for Thai food (I saw a flier in the ship at the Field Office). I found Kathleen and Chris, who were interested in joining me and so we headed out to Wang Thai. After getting the food (which took a while to order, since the waiters seem to have a laid back personality here) and diving, I was quite full after wards. The food was really good, but I had a feeling that my being fed up with the ship food contributed to the tastiness of the meal. After a thorough conversation with the two, and enjoying a pleasant sunset, we met up with Crystal and Nick and went to the Jazz Restaurant “The Green Dolphin.” It was a lot of fun to just chill there and enjoy the music. While the others conversed, I let it soak in what I had done today. Around 12, I decided to call it a night. I have to wake up early tomorrow (5:45am) to go shark diving. I am so stocked for that, and the post in the garden lounge bulletin board about a poacher who was killed by a great white near cape town just a few days before made me that much more excited. Tomorrow will be sick!!!
-Nimish
October 5, 2010