My first rather large (absolute understatement) wildlife reserve experience; far too overwhelming, far too many animals and far too many photos, so I have decided to make a top 5.
Top animal encounter:
Watching a very brainless vehicle turn its engine off in the middle of the road to watch the ‘cute’ and ‘lovely’ elephants cross it. The photo says it better than I ever could. O and I can’t wait to see the footage.
Top animal blooper:
Lions and the warthog. Watching two lions chilling out by the waterhole. A warthog comes sprinting in for some water only thinking ‘one lion, ha, I can handle him, if it means I get a sip of water’. We know he only saw one because soon enough he slammed on the brakes, skidded a metre or two and just bolted in the opposite direction. If you have seen a warthog run, you would be laughing right now. Very short stick-like stumps for legs, running along the ground as fast as they can whilst trying to support a large log for a body, and a pathetically thin tail as stiff as 10 pieces of number 8 taped together; so bolt up-right in the air you could hang a surrender flag on it. No disagreement there.
Top animal defence mechanism – denial of the Kudu
While we watched the male lions rule the waterhole with absolute ease and the warthog flocking about like a headless chook, we spotted a Kudu in the trees, which had also just spotted the two lions. The only thing that gave this animal statue away was the sunlight hitting his horns – he would have been cursing those horns if we were game hunters you know. While the warthog was creating his own doom, the Kudu was trying his absolute hardest to do the opposite – he just stood there, so dead still it was incredible. All I could picture was this Kudu, talking between his teeth managing no lip movement what-so-ever telling himself, and us “you can’t see me. I swear, I am invisible….I am NOT here”. It was like you had just been spotted in a game of spotlight and you’re trying to tell your friend ‘don’t you dare give me away you bastard’ without movement of any kind, it was classic.
Top animal pun:
Seeing a zebra crossing. The first time we saw one I think I took about a hundred photos. By the end of the day we had seen so many I wouldn’t even bother to reach for my camera. How spoilt.
Worst animal camouflage:
Giraffes, without a doubt hands down no arguments. They look like a bloody skyscraper in a grassy 8-hectare paddock. Or, a teacher standing at the side in a primary school class photo the equivalent height to three rows of staggered primary students.
'Hakuna Matata for the rest of your days'
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