Go On South African Safari ... Check!!!

I awoke early again, so that I could catch breakfast. Who knows when I'll get food again. We are planning on leaving for the safari at 10, and its a 2-3 hour drive. After splurging on more cereal, I checked my packing, to make sure I had everything I needed for this trip. I'm really excited for this trip, because for all I know, it might change my career interests. I've always had a love for animals and nature, and maybe this safari will cause that interest to bloom. I made sure that I understood that Aquila (the Game Reserve we were going to) was no Kruger (one of the largest and most famous of safaris in all of Africa), so that I would not be disappointed. I got off the ship around 9:50 to meet the group. There were about 12 of us, including the entire Davidson family (Mary, the mother, and Jim, the father, are the secret service agents), which is a good size for a trip. Not too few, not too many. Before leaving, we seperated into two vans, loaded our luggage, strapped in and headed off. For the first half of the trip I passed out, as did almost everyone else in the van... except Lorelei and Lander (they were literally talking the entire drive). When I did wake up, I looked outside to witness some gorgeous scenery. It was this interesting combination of mountains and farms (most likely wineries), and made this interesting assortment of colors. At one point, the driver stopped suddenly on the side of the road. We looked outside to see a clan of baboons crossing the road and off the side, back into the wilderness. That was definitely interesting. Our first encounter with animals in South Africa was in a car, not even to the safari yet, and they were monkeys (random thought: is it possible to say the word monkey seriously?). After that event, we continued on, passing by more farms and houses, an ostrich farm, and more hills/mountains. After about 2 hours, we reached Aquila Private Game Reserve (it was about 12:30). The entrance was nothing that great, regular wooden archway that you see at almost every national park, camp grounds, etc. However once we got inside, it was a different matter. The park's facilities were suprisingly fancy, and very well kept. Its not like I was expecting a dump, you know; I mean I knew that they would probably be nice since its a safari park, but I had no idea they would be this nice. After a welcoming of a glass of champagne (I respectively declined), we entered, signed in, and awaited lunch to be served. The park's buildings were in excellent condition, with a miniature "tropical" pool in the side of the main building, and a larger "fancy" pool in front of the building with seating areas surrounding it. To the left side were a number of cabins where we would be staying for the night, and off to the right were some more cabins (isolated because they were probably bigger and fancier than ours). And surrounding all of this was a wooden fence seperating the residence area from the park... the border betwen our world and the animals' world. It was very interesting looking into that vast expanse, knowing that somewhere in there are a number of different species living the closest thing they can get to a normal life in this human-dominated planet. Also, funny thing, there was a pet ostrich roaming around the facilities. Lunch was served, and I must say I was very happy. There were a large number of choices of foods, even for a vegetarian like me. There were pastas, very fresh salads, cheeses, fresh vegetables (different from the ones on the ship), stews, soups, freshly baked breads, and more. I ate to my hearts content and felt  great afterwards. We were also given the choices to either go ATVing or horeseback riding the next morning. Coming into the trip, I definitely wanted to go on ATV, but there I heard that on horseback you can get much closer to the animals. So I was having a difficult time deciding, but the park rangers told me that ATV would be much more fun and even though you can get closer on horseback, by ATV you can still get within a 100 meters of the animals, which is not far at all. So decision made... ATV it is. At 2, we were shown to our rooms. I was staying with Dan, Lander, and Lorelei. Our rooms were cottage like and very homely, and they had two floors. The bathroom was exquisite and had an outside shower. The roof (as was all the roofs of all the buildings) was made of nothing but reeds. I called one of the upstairs beds which was right under the roof, which was pretty cool. After setting our stuff up, and taking in how amazing this place was, we went back out to chill by the pool. I went up to the fence to take some pictures of the safari area, which was really serene. I noticed a hump in proximity of the fence, and looked long and hard at it. It was a Giraffe! We hadn't even gone into the actual park yet, and we had already seen an animal. And not any old animal.... a freaking GIRAFFE!!! It was so tall and such a beauty to watch. We observed it eating and strolling around the edge of the park for some time, marveling at its elegance. After a bit, it started wandering farther from the edge, towards the inner part of the reserve, so we stopped watching and sat around and talked for a while longer. Come 3:30, and we began getting ready for our safari ride. I got my camera, jacket, and excitment from the room and headed off to the entrance. We were so excited for this. The group was seperated among two 4x4 safari trucks which were a bit taller than normal cars, and completely open. Some other guys, who were from Cape Town, joined my group in our car. At 4, we headed off. The entrance was a short distance from the residence area in the back, and once we went through those doors, I got this very surreal feeling. I was finally in a safari park (one of my lifetime dreams). This is what South Africa is all about. Our first stop was next to a water hole. At first it looked like any other water hole: small and big birds walking along the sides, some floating in the middle, water as still as still as glass, and the sun reflecting off the top. Then, I noticed a few humped shadows in the water, which turned out to be the first big animals we saw in the park: hippos. Of course they did not look like much while in the water, but I know that they can be really big, and really dangerous. Our ranger told us that hippos are probably the most dangerous animals in the park, which is only expected given the sheer size of their jaws. There were at least 4 hippos in the water, all about the same size, except for one that had a noticeably larger head: the alpha male. There was a baby or two in the pack, otherwise the others were mothers. After a sharp turn on the road (these jeeps have monstrous power), we headed along the left side of the “pond” and ran into the first sighting of one of the Big 5 animals: the Water buffalo. From a distance, they did not look that intimidating. However once we got within 10 feet of them, I saw why they were one of the “BIG” 5. These animals were huge. Their heads alone were the size of my upper body (from waist to neck) and their horns were as long as my leg and nothing but pure bone. We were able to get really close to them because the three of them were laying down and chewing on some food, but our ranger remained vigilant, ready to drive off if they made any sudden moves. Basically, the water buffalo was like a normal cow times two. After marveling at them for a little while longer, we continued on. Ahead we passed by a group of springbuck (while are like a small deer like animal with twisted horns and a tan & white coat. They were fairly timid and kept a slight distance away from us, probably because they are so small they have to be very careful: survival of the fittest. We next hit up a group of zebra, also known as a dazzle of zebra. Our ranger told us how you could tell how old the zebra is based on how distinct its stripes are. One with more greyish colors in the white stripes were younger. A short while from this dazzle, we ran into another dazzle. Here, we learned about the difference between a male and female.... males apparently only turn clockwise and females only turn counterclockwise (or something about turning). The safari turned for the even better after we stopped at dirt roundabout. Here we saw Big 5 animal #2: the rhino. These animals looked truly epic: body was shaped as if they had a body of armor on them, a pike of a horn on their head, and their head always down as if ready to charge (like a jousting knight). Along with these three rhinos (we later saw another group of 4) there was also a group of ostrich, and soon joined by another dazzle of zebra, and a herd of wildebeest. The wildebeests were cool, but they looked so awkward: had hair on their back like a horse, had a hump like a camel, horns like a cow, and thin. Of course seeing one of the great wildebeest herds would be awesome, but in Aquila there were only maybe 30-50 of them. After these herds made their way on (the ostrich remained there, standing looking confused), we did too and continued till we hit another dirt space, which was next to a mini waterhole. Here we all disembarked our jeeps an enjoyed a snack of fruit, juice, and some dried fruit snacks. This is when I was really able to take in the atmosphere, the beautiful scenery, and the serene yet unreal feeling of being on a safari in the middle of South Africa. This was so cool. After finishing up the snacks, we loaded back into the jeeps and made our way to see the one and only Big 5 animal #3: the African Lion. The lions were being kept in a preserve, separate from the rest of the park because Aquila does not have enough animals to sustain a natural environment. This definitely takes a little away from the authenticity of the experience, but I can’t ask for much from such a small safari park. Upon arriving to the preserve gates, the ranger got out, turned off the electrical gate fence, opened it, drove us in, closed the gate, and turned it back on again. We were now in lion territory. We were told to keep quiet as to not excite or invigorate the lions. It was not long before we came across the lion pride. There were 4 females feasting on a carcass, just tearing it apart in turns. A little bit away, I noticed another female or two, and then two males, one old the other young (mufasa and simba :). We drove upto 5 feet away from the resting and eating lions, and marveled in silence of the situation. One of the females, then got up and started moving towards us. She got really close, probably within a foot or two at one point. The Ranger kept backing us up in bursts, to make sure she did not get close enough to be able to jump into the jeep. She stopped following us and plopped back down to rest. As we were taking pictures, one of the Cape Town visitors was so happy that he accidently clapped. The second his hands touched and made that noise, every single lion stopped what it was doing and snapped its head in our direction. This was a very tense moment, but the lions eventually resumed their activities. After that fiasco, we drove down a little to look at the males. They were so much hairier than the females (of course because of the mane) and also looked more lazy. It was interesting to see the two males, old and young, sitting next to each other: one the boss, the other the future boss. It was then time to leave. After leaving the preserve in the same process that we entered, we made our way back to the main building. Once back outside, we went to dinner which was spectacular. For once, I found a dinner dessert that I could actually eat. It was like a peanut butter cream crumble, and after the meal I was full for the first time since leaving home. As the group dispersed, most went to the safari’s bar to have some drinks. Lorlei, Lander, Dan, and I on the other hand went to the fire pit and made a bonfire. This was a much better way to enjoy the safari, and we talked for an hour or two about the trip, interests back, home, etc. I went back in to get more dessert. Around 11, we decided to call it a night. We wanted to get up early tomorrow to watch the sunrise. The beds were amazingly comfortable, like I was floating on a cloud. Eventually, my eyes closed, and I dozed off. Today was a stunning experience.
-Nimish
October 4, 2010