Wow. The first proper summer rains have arrived at Pafuri. 100mm has fallen out of the sky in the last 24 hours, which is plenty considering that the usual annual rainfall is only around 350mm. Receiving almost one third of your annual rain in just one day means one of two things: either you live in a seriously dry place or you have had a shedload of rain coming down in a very short space of time.
For us it's both actually. Pafuri is the driest region of Kruger and it has been raining non-stop for 2 days solid now, and it certainly doesnt look like easing up any time soon. It is great though, soon soon, very soon everything will be green green green. The trees and their leaves and the grass........and the insects and the birds and the animalia. Ahh the place will come alive!
Just a couple of days ago, we spotted the first impala lambs of the season. Two tiny little youngsters bouncing around after their mothers. I'm sure that after these rains a flood of new impalas will enter the world. Some will be welcomingly snaffled by the predators, but many more will grow up and join the other 130,000 odd impalas in what is the largest herbivore population in the park.
On a birding note - it is starting to kick off madly! The Woodland Kingfishers arrived back and were first noticed on the 12 November, and are now everywhere and their calls are ever present. A real charateristic sound of summer, you know the, TRPPPPPPPP TRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr.....
The cuckoos are becomingly more vocal, with Red-chested, Diederik, Levaillants, Jacobin & Klaas's all been seen so far. I notched up a good lifer with the addition of a Bohm's Spinetail to my list with the help of 1 Frank Mabasa - the local Pafuri Picnic Site birding guru. This dude is quite famous in birding circles - he's based permanently at the picnic site and has an impressive collection of something like 250 species just seen around the picnic area. I was actually after a Black-throated Wattle Eye, but will settle for the Spinetail instead. The best news is I think Andria has been converted to a 'serious' twitcher! We'll be needing to get her some binos asap.
It's been pretty quiet around the lodge since we have been back, with only 4 guests staying here over the last week. A young Swiss couple, who we got on nicely with kindly offered us an invitation to go snowboarding near Geneva with them. Other than that, 2 ol Germans just rocked up without a reservation and lingered about for 2 nights. The lady was clearly enjoying the luxury after her unpleasant Mozambiquan journey stating that 'she vill never go baack zehr'
Sightings have been decent in the few drives done since our return from leave. Watched a beautiful big male leopard run across the road right in front of us on a night drive, saw 3 white rhinos chilling near Lanner Gorge and as usual have seen plenty of buff all over the place. The most special for me have been the elephants. They are my favourite animal, and always stir up some sort of emotion amongst people when viewed at short distances from the vehicle. The first encounter I had since the charging ellie episode 2 weeks ago, took place on my second drive back at Pafuri. I had wondered how I would feel about getting up close to one again and how I would deal with it. Anyway it went well. The 2 Swiss guests and I were parked next to a pan focused on some yellow billed storks when I noticed 2 big bull elephants standing 30m away drinking from a water trough. I drove forward to get a better look and turned off. The one chap closest to us was drinking away happily, but seemed to take objection to my interpretation of elephant feeding behaviour when he spun around wildly and unexpectedly ran a few meters towards us displaying his massive bulk to us. I reprimanded him by saying ' OK BOY' in my sternest voice which seemed to stop him in his tracks, to my relief and very much so to the two Swissies relief.
I love elephants. The only animal that can get your pulse racing even when you're in a car. Every elephant I've seen since the 'incident' has seemed to look at me funny. I think they know.... Could that be possible??
Andria's dedication to her comrades training is amazing. Every day she continues to pound away on that treadmill totally focused on being ready for the big day. She is definitely doing it now, as her application was successful. 6 months to go....
Will write again when I have some more interesting news. That may be a while if the rain she keeps on fallin....
Cheers for now.
Pierre
20 November 2009
14 November 2009
Some more pics from the Makuleke Concession...
A breeding herd of ellies crossing the Limpopo Floodplain at dusk.
Andria & I at Lanner Gorge. Where the Luvuvhu River has been cutting its path through the sandstone for a very, very long time.
A lone wild dog male. The same chap that I saw hunting impala twice. He never was successful and seemingly missed the efficiency of the pack when hunting.
6am one morning....
Me, 2 germans and 1 wild dog.
This boy is part of the Punda Maria pack of 5. Ive never seen the other 4. They fear that the rest of the dogs may no longer be around.
Ben & I. The 2 swiftest barmen this side of the equator. (he taught me everything I know......I mean, I can now make an espresso :)
Andria & I on our 1 year anniversary.
Andria posing on the Luvuvhu floodplain at an awesome spot called Mangala.
Andria chillin at emergency plan B site. My first secret spot for our anniversary picnic got disrupted by a trumpeting breeding herd of ellies.
Mangala and some kudu cows.
The driver - rushing to find another nice spot for our picnic....
Twin Baobabs. And the road that passes between them.
Andria in relaxed mode, cruising alongside the Luvuvhu in the shade of the tall riverine trees.
Anniversary picnic site A. (Shortly before we made our hasty retreat after the elephant alarm went off)
A very nice shady spot under a big old Natal Mahogany looking out onto the Luvuvhu.
The 'other' guineafowl. (Crested Guineafowl.)
Also known as the bob marley bird, thanks to it's hairstyle and reggae like call.
10 November 2009
The Fine Line
The last week has been a life changing one.
On Monday the 2nd November I arrived at Transfrontiers Walking Safaris looking forward to spending a week walking as a back-up guide in the Klaserie with the hope of notching up a few hours & encounters towards my full trails guide qualification. Never could have I imagined the experiences Brian, myself and the seven first time safari going guests were destined to walk away with.
Thursday the 5th of November was a strikingly beautiful day. The kind you really take notice of when the 3 days before have been grey and overcast in contrast. The morning started off as usual with the 4:30 am wake up call. This time it was easy to rouse the seven European guests, as a large troop of baboons had occupied the tall Jackalberry trees above our tents that night. The combination of barks, grunts and screaming infants, together with the regular showers of baboon droppings smashing against the roof of your tent is enough to ensure that even the deepest sleeper isn’t allowed their full quota of overnight rest.
After coffee and rusks, and a short unsuccessful drive aimed at locating the lions that had been roaring close by all night we started our morning walk from camp at 5:30 am. We headed South from camp walking parallel to the Klaserie river. I clearly remember thinking on more than one occasion what a magnificent morning it was. So clear and crisp, with out a breath of wind – a perfect day for a nice walk in the bush. How quickly that was all to change...
After about 30 minutes or so Brian spotted an elephant down in the river bed to our right. It was a good spot, as although the elephant was very close it was below our level and just the head could be seen sticking out amongst some bushes alongside the river. Before the guests had even seen it Brian instructed me to lead the guests out as we were too close at approximately 25m. So I walked around the back of the seven guests and began to lead them back down the path we’d come. This is the normal walking formation when getting out of a sighting on foot. Lead guide closest to the animal, guests in the middle and then back-up guide leading guests away to a safe distance. As we were walking away the elephant became more visible as it began climbing up the river bank. There was very little cover between us and her.
Now we were about 50m away when the elephant had climbed fully out of the river onto the same level as us. Brian again instructed us to retreat further which we did at a very brisk pace. I remember seeing the elephant cow standing there looking at us with her head held high and her ears spread out. She took a few steps forward towards us and then picked up her pace to a full charge. No trumpeting, no head shaking, no kicking up dust, no warnings at all – just a clean, quiet and full on charge.
At this point with all of us still on the retreat Brian stood his ground and began shouting loudly at the elephant in the hope that it would stop and turn. Most often a charging elephant will stop and turn metres in front of you trumpeting and displaying wildly, or so I've been told. I saw that it was covering the ground fast and getting too close, so I ran back around in front of the guests whilst chambering a round just in case. Now the elephant was almost on top of Brian and seemingly not planning to stop. Most definitely a committed charge. I saw Brian lift his rifle to his shoulder and put in the first shot at just 3m. I clearly remember the bullet making a little round, red hole as it entered the top of the trunk but the elephant didn’t go down. Immediately after his shot I began firing and in that same instant the elephant hit Brian who hadn’t had time to reload and his rifle, cap and water bottles went flying. As I fired off 3 head shots I remember being aware of Brian being somewhere in a cloud of dust amongst the elephants trunk and tusks. Thank God, after my 1st or 2nd shot the elephant’s front legs buckled and it toppled over onto its side. One of the shots must have hit the brain. Unbelievable relief is how I’d describe the feeling after seeing those front legs buckle. Brian miraculously then got up and moved clear as I put a fourth shot in to make sure.
He had survived. He could walk. Gratitude. Massive GRATITUDE.
The guests behaved really well considering the circumstances and had remained in a tight group a little further back down the path. Understandably shaken, we all marched the 1 or 2kms straight back to camp, leaving the scene just as it was with Brian’s rifle, cap and bottles scattered around the dead elephant’s feet. None of us could believe that Brian had escaped pretty much unhurt and I just noticed him being particularly dusty as I walked back behind him to camp. As we got back to camp at around 6:20 am Brian radio'ed the authorities who arrived really quickly as they’d heard the 5 shots and come to investigate.
Later on that day an official from the Mpumalanga Parks Board came out to look at the scene, so we had to go back and re-live the scenario and explain the whole story. While we were away the field ranger who was charged with staying at the site to make sure that no one changed the scene, told us that the whole herd had come up to sniff and stand around the dead elephant for a while. As we got back there the elephants were still in the river bed not far away, and I was just praying that nothing else would go wrong. We certainly were in no frame of mind to deal with another dangerous encounter that day.
Anyway, the inspector guy and the Klaserie Warden checked the whole scene out and listened to our story, and were satisfied that we had acted correctly and that it really was a last resort that couldn’t unfortunately be avoided. They also took statements from us under oath as he’d need to file a formal report on the incident. It was a little bit kak being questioned by some dude seemingly looking for reasons to say that it could have been negligence. Especially when he asked us where this one termite mound was in relation to the whole event. At first I honestly couldn’t remember and felt like telling him that when you’re being charged by an enraged elephant that is about to flatten your mate the last thing you do is look around and notice the scenery. I do understand though that he was just doing his job.
I picked up my empty cartridges at around 12-15 metres from the elephant carcass which I shot at about a 45 degree angle to the side of his frontal charge on Brian. Brian’s 1 empty cartridge was still inside his rifle, showing that he didn’t even have time to chamber a second round before he was hit. I’ll never forget going back there and seeing Brian’s cap totally dusted up lying at the feet of the elephant together with his scratched rifle and scattered water bottles. Indeed a miraculous escape. It could have so easily ended so differently. In the end Brian walked away with the best possible elephant injury one could hope for, a sprained ankle and a few bruises – truly amazing when you consider how much damage an enraged 4 ton animal is capable of.
For the rest of the day Brian, myself and the seven guests recounted our experience over and over, whilst drinking many cokes and allowing our adrenaline levels to slowly subside. It was really interesting to hear everyone’s version of how they saw the whole thing unfolding. Amazing how one truth can lead to 9 different stories after it has been passed through nine different peoples ‘filters’. Although the critical facts are the same, the minute details that people remember are varied and different. At the end of the day what we did have were nine people believing that the way things unfolded was the absolute best scenario and everyone understood that it could have been a whole lot worse. Understandably the guests weren’t keen on an afternoon walk that day, so we agreed on a short drive to a dam for sundowners to reflect some more. Here the Germans got properly stuck into the Amarula supplies.
Interestingly Brian said that after he put in his shot and was hit by the elephant all he remembers was making his body into a small ball, trying to protect his head and that he clearly remembered the feeling of elephant skin on him. He said that he felt the elephant trying to put its crushing weight on him and then heard my shots at which point he felt the easing up of the crushing pressure. I was completely unaware of what was happening to him besides knowing that it had hit him and a large ball of brown dust was being thrown up in front of the elephant. I find it quite remarkable at how when you’re faced with a really traumatic and intense moment your brain (may be the wrong word) only allows in information that is absolutely critical. For example I didn’t remember how many shots I had fired, and was completely oblivious to the usually deafening noise of 4 shots being fired right next to your ear. I just knew that I absolutely had to shoot it in the brain. I am really grateful that in the moment I could rely on the great training received at EcoTraining with Bruce Lawson kicking in, together with what I’m sure was a large dose of divine guidance :)
Coincidently or fatefully (you choose), it had been Brian who had also helped teach me how to handle a rifle before our shooting assessment on the EcoTraining trails guide course. Talk about coming full circle. Good teacher? Good karma? Who knows.
It all seems surreal now, much like a dream, and even though it happened in the blink of an eye, the events seemed to be all in slow motion. There really was no time to think, not even time to feel fear. There was only action. Action based on past training, instinctual knowledge of knowing that you have to do only what is necessary to survive in the moment and of course – divine guidance. At one point when we were walking back to camp in absolute silence and shock Brian turned around to me and calmly said ‘You saved my life’, which together with the whole experience seemed so unreal, and very much like a dream or a movie. Without doubt this elephant encounter and more specifically the exact moment when I knew I had to shoot accurately to kill and to save has been the most testing moment of my life to date. I do not like to think what would have happened had I missed.
Later the Warden told us that they’d been having quite a few aggressive elephant encounters recently, mostly with vehicles. He reckons it’s a combination of factors that’s causing this: the elephant population is too large, the increase in tourism is meaning that there are more elephant/human encounters than there were in past years, and at this time of year the elephant are most stressed because of the poor condition of the bush before the rains and the extra strain of there being more elephants that need to eat and drink.
On the last morning of the trail we took the guests back to the site, which was great for everyone to see and understand exactly what had happened. It became clearer and clearer for Brian and I each time we visited as each time you remember something else. In the end we were both clear where the elephant had come up and we could eventually even place ‘that termite mound’. I paced out the distances and it turns out that it was about 85 metres from where elephant came out of the river bed to where she eventually died. Certainly enough time and space for her to stop, turn or move off. Brian did everything possible to give this ellie the benefit of the doubt. No one can argue that when you see that he only shot it at 3m, which must have taken unbelievable courage in itself. This ellie definitely had it in for us that day, as there was no wind, or if anything a slight wind into our faces - the ellie charged purely on sight.
After that we all went on a short half an hour walk. It apparently is a good idea to get straight back up onto the horse, so that you don’t allow fear to take a grip in future. It was great being out there again, and as you can imagine the seven tourists had a new respect and militant like appreciation for the rules when walking. ie single file, silence, etc….
A couple of the guests did manage to take a few photos before and after the charge, which I will post in due course. I have tried to recount this story as objectively as possible, but I do realise that my perspective on events may differ slightly from others. Which ever way you look at it, it certainly was an unbelievable, life changing experience for everyone. Thankfully we are all able to walk away from this experience with a real appreciation for just how fine the line can be between life and death.
On Monday the 2nd November I arrived at Transfrontiers Walking Safaris looking forward to spending a week walking as a back-up guide in the Klaserie with the hope of notching up a few hours & encounters towards my full trails guide qualification. Never could have I imagined the experiences Brian, myself and the seven first time safari going guests were destined to walk away with.
Thursday the 5th of November was a strikingly beautiful day. The kind you really take notice of when the 3 days before have been grey and overcast in contrast. The morning started off as usual with the 4:30 am wake up call. This time it was easy to rouse the seven European guests, as a large troop of baboons had occupied the tall Jackalberry trees above our tents that night. The combination of barks, grunts and screaming infants, together with the regular showers of baboon droppings smashing against the roof of your tent is enough to ensure that even the deepest sleeper isn’t allowed their full quota of overnight rest.
After coffee and rusks, and a short unsuccessful drive aimed at locating the lions that had been roaring close by all night we started our morning walk from camp at 5:30 am. We headed South from camp walking parallel to the Klaserie river. I clearly remember thinking on more than one occasion what a magnificent morning it was. So clear and crisp, with out a breath of wind – a perfect day for a nice walk in the bush. How quickly that was all to change...
After about 30 minutes or so Brian spotted an elephant down in the river bed to our right. It was a good spot, as although the elephant was very close it was below our level and just the head could be seen sticking out amongst some bushes alongside the river. Before the guests had even seen it Brian instructed me to lead the guests out as we were too close at approximately 25m. So I walked around the back of the seven guests and began to lead them back down the path we’d come. This is the normal walking formation when getting out of a sighting on foot. Lead guide closest to the animal, guests in the middle and then back-up guide leading guests away to a safe distance. As we were walking away the elephant became more visible as it began climbing up the river bank. There was very little cover between us and her.
Now we were about 50m away when the elephant had climbed fully out of the river onto the same level as us. Brian again instructed us to retreat further which we did at a very brisk pace. I remember seeing the elephant cow standing there looking at us with her head held high and her ears spread out. She took a few steps forward towards us and then picked up her pace to a full charge. No trumpeting, no head shaking, no kicking up dust, no warnings at all – just a clean, quiet and full on charge.
At this point with all of us still on the retreat Brian stood his ground and began shouting loudly at the elephant in the hope that it would stop and turn. Most often a charging elephant will stop and turn metres in front of you trumpeting and displaying wildly, or so I've been told. I saw that it was covering the ground fast and getting too close, so I ran back around in front of the guests whilst chambering a round just in case. Now the elephant was almost on top of Brian and seemingly not planning to stop. Most definitely a committed charge. I saw Brian lift his rifle to his shoulder and put in the first shot at just 3m. I clearly remember the bullet making a little round, red hole as it entered the top of the trunk but the elephant didn’t go down. Immediately after his shot I began firing and in that same instant the elephant hit Brian who hadn’t had time to reload and his rifle, cap and water bottles went flying. As I fired off 3 head shots I remember being aware of Brian being somewhere in a cloud of dust amongst the elephants trunk and tusks. Thank God, after my 1st or 2nd shot the elephant’s front legs buckled and it toppled over onto its side. One of the shots must have hit the brain. Unbelievable relief is how I’d describe the feeling after seeing those front legs buckle. Brian miraculously then got up and moved clear as I put a fourth shot in to make sure.
He had survived. He could walk. Gratitude. Massive GRATITUDE.
The guests behaved really well considering the circumstances and had remained in a tight group a little further back down the path. Understandably shaken, we all marched the 1 or 2kms straight back to camp, leaving the scene just as it was with Brian’s rifle, cap and bottles scattered around the dead elephant’s feet. None of us could believe that Brian had escaped pretty much unhurt and I just noticed him being particularly dusty as I walked back behind him to camp. As we got back to camp at around 6:20 am Brian radio'ed the authorities who arrived really quickly as they’d heard the 5 shots and come to investigate.
Later on that day an official from the Mpumalanga Parks Board came out to look at the scene, so we had to go back and re-live the scenario and explain the whole story. While we were away the field ranger who was charged with staying at the site to make sure that no one changed the scene, told us that the whole herd had come up to sniff and stand around the dead elephant for a while. As we got back there the elephants were still in the river bed not far away, and I was just praying that nothing else would go wrong. We certainly were in no frame of mind to deal with another dangerous encounter that day.
Anyway, the inspector guy and the Klaserie Warden checked the whole scene out and listened to our story, and were satisfied that we had acted correctly and that it really was a last resort that couldn’t unfortunately be avoided. They also took statements from us under oath as he’d need to file a formal report on the incident. It was a little bit kak being questioned by some dude seemingly looking for reasons to say that it could have been negligence. Especially when he asked us where this one termite mound was in relation to the whole event. At first I honestly couldn’t remember and felt like telling him that when you’re being charged by an enraged elephant that is about to flatten your mate the last thing you do is look around and notice the scenery. I do understand though that he was just doing his job.
I picked up my empty cartridges at around 12-15 metres from the elephant carcass which I shot at about a 45 degree angle to the side of his frontal charge on Brian. Brian’s 1 empty cartridge was still inside his rifle, showing that he didn’t even have time to chamber a second round before he was hit. I’ll never forget going back there and seeing Brian’s cap totally dusted up lying at the feet of the elephant together with his scratched rifle and scattered water bottles. Indeed a miraculous escape. It could have so easily ended so differently. In the end Brian walked away with the best possible elephant injury one could hope for, a sprained ankle and a few bruises – truly amazing when you consider how much damage an enraged 4 ton animal is capable of.
For the rest of the day Brian, myself and the seven guests recounted our experience over and over, whilst drinking many cokes and allowing our adrenaline levels to slowly subside. It was really interesting to hear everyone’s version of how they saw the whole thing unfolding. Amazing how one truth can lead to 9 different stories after it has been passed through nine different peoples ‘filters’. Although the critical facts are the same, the minute details that people remember are varied and different. At the end of the day what we did have were nine people believing that the way things unfolded was the absolute best scenario and everyone understood that it could have been a whole lot worse. Understandably the guests weren’t keen on an afternoon walk that day, so we agreed on a short drive to a dam for sundowners to reflect some more. Here the Germans got properly stuck into the Amarula supplies.
Interestingly Brian said that after he put in his shot and was hit by the elephant all he remembers was making his body into a small ball, trying to protect his head and that he clearly remembered the feeling of elephant skin on him. He said that he felt the elephant trying to put its crushing weight on him and then heard my shots at which point he felt the easing up of the crushing pressure. I was completely unaware of what was happening to him besides knowing that it had hit him and a large ball of brown dust was being thrown up in front of the elephant. I find it quite remarkable at how when you’re faced with a really traumatic and intense moment your brain (may be the wrong word) only allows in information that is absolutely critical. For example I didn’t remember how many shots I had fired, and was completely oblivious to the usually deafening noise of 4 shots being fired right next to your ear. I just knew that I absolutely had to shoot it in the brain. I am really grateful that in the moment I could rely on the great training received at EcoTraining with Bruce Lawson kicking in, together with what I’m sure was a large dose of divine guidance :)
Coincidently or fatefully (you choose), it had been Brian who had also helped teach me how to handle a rifle before our shooting assessment on the EcoTraining trails guide course. Talk about coming full circle. Good teacher? Good karma? Who knows.
It all seems surreal now, much like a dream, and even though it happened in the blink of an eye, the events seemed to be all in slow motion. There really was no time to think, not even time to feel fear. There was only action. Action based on past training, instinctual knowledge of knowing that you have to do only what is necessary to survive in the moment and of course – divine guidance. At one point when we were walking back to camp in absolute silence and shock Brian turned around to me and calmly said ‘You saved my life’, which together with the whole experience seemed so unreal, and very much like a dream or a movie. Without doubt this elephant encounter and more specifically the exact moment when I knew I had to shoot accurately to kill and to save has been the most testing moment of my life to date. I do not like to think what would have happened had I missed.
Later the Warden told us that they’d been having quite a few aggressive elephant encounters recently, mostly with vehicles. He reckons it’s a combination of factors that’s causing this: the elephant population is too large, the increase in tourism is meaning that there are more elephant/human encounters than there were in past years, and at this time of year the elephant are most stressed because of the poor condition of the bush before the rains and the extra strain of there being more elephants that need to eat and drink.
On the last morning of the trail we took the guests back to the site, which was great for everyone to see and understand exactly what had happened. It became clearer and clearer for Brian and I each time we visited as each time you remember something else. In the end we were both clear where the elephant had come up and we could eventually even place ‘that termite mound’. I paced out the distances and it turns out that it was about 85 metres from where elephant came out of the river bed to where she eventually died. Certainly enough time and space for her to stop, turn or move off. Brian did everything possible to give this ellie the benefit of the doubt. No one can argue that when you see that he only shot it at 3m, which must have taken unbelievable courage in itself. This ellie definitely had it in for us that day, as there was no wind, or if anything a slight wind into our faces - the ellie charged purely on sight.
After that we all went on a short half an hour walk. It apparently is a good idea to get straight back up onto the horse, so that you don’t allow fear to take a grip in future. It was great being out there again, and as you can imagine the seven tourists had a new respect and militant like appreciation for the rules when walking. ie single file, silence, etc….
A couple of the guests did manage to take a few photos before and after the charge, which I will post in due course. I have tried to recount this story as objectively as possible, but I do realise that my perspective on events may differ slightly from others. Which ever way you look at it, it certainly was an unbelievable, life changing experience for everyone. Thankfully we are all able to walk away from this experience with a real appreciation for just how fine the line can be between life and death.
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