On safari

South Africa – May 2017

To go on a safari in Africa was on the top of my bucket list ever since my mom showed me the book “Tippi from Africa” when I was little. It tells the story of the daughter of French wildlife Photographers who grows up in the Namibian bush. The incredible photos of the Kalahari desert, elephants and meerkats made me dream of the day I would get to see them in real life.If it weren’t for my friend Michelle who invited me to her wedding in South Africa in 2017, the safari probably would only have stayed a dream for a little longer. But with this opportunity I couldn’t say no and so I got to experience the great African wilderness firsthand.

After checking in and exploring the different areas of the huge villa, we are asked to take a seat once again in the Jeeps for our first game drive. Our ranger tells us that he is going to take us to the best sunset spot, where we will be meeting the rest of the guests who already arrived for a sundowner aperitif. Excited for what is to come, we agree on this plan and we slowly drive down the paved driveway to the beginning of the dusty dirt road.

We follow a group of zebras and pass some warthogs casually walking along the side of the road. On a little hill our driver suddenly stops. He and the ranger exchange a few words in Zulu and then proceed to looking through their binoculars. They excitedly nod and tell us that there is a family of elephants looking for food up on the hill on the other side of the valley. As none of us can see any elephants, a girl asks if they aren’t too far away. The other thing I am wondering is, how we are supposed to reach these elephants, as there is no sign of a road leading into the direction the ranger is pointing at.

The driver starts the car and tells us, that the elephants will be walking quite fast, and we will reach them somewhere in the middle. The ranger leaves his seat on the bonnet and gets into the passenger seat. Answering my silent question, the driver turns the Jeep to the left and off the dirt track. Grateful for the padded seats, we jump up and down as we drive through the bush. About 10 minute later, we are driving on the ridge of a hill when we hear a loud roar. A few seconds later a huuge elephant bull runs up to the Jeep in front of us and flags his ears. Everybody stops talking and nobody moves.

The bull stops close to the car and then slowly calms down a little. Behind him we see 5-6 more smaller elephants approaching the Jeeps. They are super chilled and only interested in the branches and bushes around us. The bull joins them in search for something to eat. But not without turning and looking back at us a few times to make sure we don’t follow them. Everyone is in awe of the beautiful animals and the amazing scenery. Even the ranger and the driver take a minute before continuing our path to the sunset spot.

Once we arrive on the highest hill around, we meet up with the 4 other Jeeps and the staff of the reserve quickly set up a table with biltong (dried meat), different drinks and finally a bottle of Amarula. Now everybody is talking at the same time. Our group tells everyone about the elephant encounter, another Jeep followed a lion’s tracks and the bride’s parents even saw rhinos. As I am sipping on my glass of Amarula, watching the sun set over the African bush, I am perfectly happy and wish for this moment never to end.

Later that night we enjoy an incredible barbeque in the middle of the bush, with the rangers watching out for rhinos. On the following day, the groom and his friends sleep in, while the other girls and I opt for a sunrise game drive. The cold winter air helps to wake everyone up and we ask the ranger to take us to the area where the other group spotted rhinos the day before. He is happy about our interest in his favourite animal and tells the driver to head south. A 30-minute drive later we arrive, just in time to see two white rhinos walking up to a waterhole. The ranger tells us that we can go for a short walk while he sets up coffee and breakfast tea. With the rhinos close by, knowing how fast they can run, we do jump out of the Jeep but don’t walk too far away. I hold onto my warm mug of tea and watch the animals around the waterhole drink and the birds chatter. And again, I am perfectly happy and grateful for this incredible experience.