The Hindu Business Line : Pride of safari land

A leopard was spotted a few nights ago. But the leopard is a sly fellow, one minute you see him in front of you and the next minute he disappears to the back,” says Juan, the forest ranger, rather sinisterly, as he drives the small group of tourists on a night safari into Kruger National Park. A shiver runs down our spine in sheer excitement, as twilight gives way to darkness and visibility becomes more difficult for the group, though not for the wild animals. Hidden in the darkness, they have complete vision of the open, 4X4 vehicle and its occupants!

Only the ranger had some idea of where we were going. Searchlight in hand, we scan the dark and dusty horizons for the wild animals. Glassy eyes show up in the searchlight’s beam, and the ranger stops the vehicle to share information on the animal just spotted.

As we continue driving, and there are no more animal sightings, the ranger pipes in: “Just because no animals are visible, it does not mean they are not there. We just do not see them.” The thought of truly wild animals stealthily watching us as we travel through the dark forest, makes our already racing hearts beat just a little bit faster! And this anticipation, we realise, besides actually spotting the animal, is what makes for an exciting African safari.

Kilimanjaro!

Our trip to South Africa began with a 3.15 a.m. flight from Mumbai. Transiting through Nairobi at an equally unearthly hour meant not many passengers were left feeling too chirpy. Some slipped under their blankets to watch Black Diamond in-flight. The more restless ones tried to catch some sleep, rather uncomfortably, until arrival at the destination several hours away.

All that feeling of discomfort vanished though when, minutes after take-off from Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta airport, the pilot instructed the passengers to look out their left window to view Mount Kilimanjaro. The breathtaking sight of the classic snow-cap ring on the mountain (albeit quite depleted), suddenly made our circuitous air-journey seem worthwhile! The view from the top of Mt Kilimanjaro signalled we were in Africa! It also set the tone for a dirt-track visit to Limpopo, a region in South Africa that is currently not too hot on the tourist radar. A region that gave us a peep into the world of private game parks, as they co-exist with the mighty Kruger.

In lion country

Leaving Johannesburg’s chilly weather, we flew to Limpopo in the small JetStream 42 propeller aircraft. But as the low-flying aircraft prepared to land at Polokwane airport, for those among the motley group of 13-odd passengers who expected to see giraffes and lions running on the ground (blame it on the images beamed on several wildlife channels) — reality check: there were no such dramatic visuals to be seen from this aircraft. But hold those horses; our safari-packed journey had only just begun.

An Internet search later threw up the disturbing fact that Limpopo is seen by some as the hunting capital of South Africa. But on the road to The Ranch hotel, we are given more cheery details of Limpopo by our resourceful travel-guides, Lazarus and Paul.

A gateway to Africa, Limpopo is about 260 km from Pretoria, the seat of the South African government; several people in Limpopo are in government service, we are told.

Surrounded by Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana and Zimbabwe, the region witnesses a constant arrival of refugees seeking to enter South Africa. But the locals are benign and apparently even try to help the refugees. Located to the north of South Africa, Limpopo never gets too cold. And the dry yellow grass and the golden sunlight on the trees and mountains en route spell it out — we are in lion country.

Lion Park

Dropping off our luggage at The Ranch hotel, we head for the Lion Park, owned by the hotel, in 4X4 vehicles. The 1,000-plus-hectare park also houses a conservancy project.

Curious lions watch as we reach their open space cordoned-off by wires. They are actors and have performed in films, including The Gods Must be Crazy and Beautiful People. Our guide, Frank, loses no time in introd ucing everyone to the juveniles, who assess us as we enter their enclosure. Armed with only a stick each, Frank and the other guide Jock accompany us into the enclosure, and we are up close with 15 young and frisky lions!

It’s a captivating moment, as the lions lounge around and get comfortable with our presence amongst them. Frank, who has known the lions since they were cubs, explains that they came from troubled Zimbabwe. Lions are family bound and live up to 25 years in captivity, as against 14 years in the wild, he says. They are fed every Tuesday at 4 p.m. unlike in the wild, where they hunt and eat possibly only once in a few weeks!

Frank engages the young lions with “toys” ranging from a mere twig to a shining keychain. And though he plays freely with the young lions, he warns us: “The animal never loses its instinct”.

We meet the 25-year-old lion Jack, his girlfriend and several more lions behind fenced enclosures. But holding his own against the actors at the lion ranch is Schizo, the hyena who believes he is a lion, as he grew up with them! We are told the park-owners are actively looking for a partner for Schizo to calm him down. And with his yellow and black-peppered look, he is a must-see at the lion park.

We also visit the hotel-owned Bushville, where one can take wedding vows on a platform that overlooks a lion enclosure. And joining your list of invitees, though standing below the platform, could be the gorgeous big cats Simba, Romeo and Juliet, each linked to a delightful story.

Private game parks

Attempting to set the record straight on private game parks, The Ranch’s third-generation owner, Ryan Shearer says during an informal conversation that animals can be better looked after in a private park. The ethical question arises when one breeds to kill, he observes, referring to the hunting-related debate in the region.

South Africa is littered with over 2,000 private game parks and about 49 government-owned national parks like Kruger, says a tourism official. A fact borne out during the drive further east from Polokwane to Phalaborwa. But the hunting is not freewheeling, he adds, and the law is enforced by the ‘Green Scorpion’ group of environmental inspectors.

Besides permissions and regulations governing the disposal of animal carcass and so on, post-winter hunting (or rather, culling) is allowed to keep numbers in check, Shearer adds.

Hunting in Africa is fuelled by tourists from the US, Germany and Spain, says a private ranch owner, as “the bigger the trophy, the more expensive it is.” There is also the problem of poachers and people looking to circumvent the law by paying money,” he admits.

Olifant’s jems

Taking leave of the lions, we move further east to the Sefapane Lodge, a kilometre from Kruger in Phalaborwa. Grabbing a quick lunch, we bundle into a 4X4 and are driven by Aida to a river safari on the Olifant. The terrain is rugged, surrounded by huge mining areas, and the drive is peppered with Aida’s stories of how refugees walk by night from Zimbabwe through Kruger into South Africa. They brave lions and leopards along the way and some of them actually make it into this country, she says.

Near the river we see shy giraffes, hidden behind tall trees and spotted by Aida’s trained eye. With 19-year-old Peter as our navigator, we set off in an open raft, with a bright blue sky overhead. As our eyes get trained to spot crocodiles, hippopotamuses, African elephants, several wild birds including the cormorant, heron, the Egyptian wild geese and so on, our squealing excitement settles down to quiet, respectful wonder.

Silently sipping cups of tea on the raft, we watch crocodiles lazing in the sun, hippos spraying water as they mirthfully disappear underwater or African elephants herding their young ones away from the humans on the raft. As we head back, we cannot but agree with young Peter, that he has “the best job in the world!”

Kruger khaki

Juan, a freelance forest ranger with Kruger, waits to takes us on our final leg of safari for the day. Dressed in khaki and looking every bit the ranger, he tells us in sombre tones, “This is no zoo. These are wild animals.” Though he has a gun, he has never had to shoot an animal except when he put down an elephant caught in a poacher’s trap. Poachers are killed when they are caught anywhere else in Africa, he tells us, as he shares concern on the dwindling tiger numbers in India.

We drive in the open vehicle into Kruger, surrounded by trees with red-rust coloured leaves. Juan pulls up near a massive termite hill to allow us to grab a quick bite and drink, and we wait for nightfall to venture into the park.

We are run through a quick list of dos and don’ts. A couple of us on either side of the vehicle are given searchlights to beam into the darkness to try and spot animals.

“They can be seen only if they want to be seen,” he says of Kruger’s majestic resident — the lion, as we drive through an area frequented by lions. We scan with our searchlights, spot impalas, several tiny animals, elephants and many others at the waterhole. Juan provides us with details on animal tracks, their attacking behaviour and their dung! But the heart-warming story is about the mines around Kruger that he says care for the surrounding ecosystem. Miners are clear that if an animal from Kruger crosses their path, the animal has the right of way. And there has never been a man-animal conflict in these regions, he says.

As we leave safari-country the next day, we cannot help but hope that tourists visiting Africa take on this inclusive spirit and shoot animals with just their cameras and not guns.

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