Going on a safari has been on my
bucket list for as long as I can remember but I honestly never thought I would
have the opportunity. Little did I know that I would be able to during my time
in Cape Town. The whole adventure began as a part of our spring break
excursion. We started in Johannesburg and toured many fascinating and
contemplative museums. Johannesburg and many of its surrounding suburbs were
hubs of activism during the apartheid years and there are many museums to
commemorate the bravery of those who stood up against the injustice.
One of the most moving museums was
the Hector Pieterson Museum. It chronicled the movement against teaching
Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans in all schools. Over 20,000
high school students protested in the streets of Soweto where police killed
approximately 176 students. One of the defining images of the massacre was of
the body of 13-year-old Hector Pieterson being carried by another student with
the victim’s sister running by his side. The thing that struck me the most was
a quote that was said by the boy carrying the body of Hector. She commented on
those that called her son a hero saying, “he is not a hero. In my culture picking
up Hector is not an act of heroism. It was his job as a brother.” I thought the
sentiment of that statement perfectly embodies South Africa. Though it is
marred by tragedy and sorrow the underlying value is of Ubuntu- I am because
you are.
After going to the Apartheid Museum
and the Sharpeville Memorial, we headed off to Kruger. After a rather long
drive through the beautiful countryside of Mpumalanga we finally reached the
park. As we were driving into the entrance there were two elephants grazing
near by! I could not believe it! Never in my life had I been so close to a wild
animal in its natural habitat, and little did I know of the sites to come. We
quickly put our things in our rooms and ventured out for a sunset safari. After
driving only a few more minutes we saw a wide range of animals from more elephants,
to zebras, impalas, a lion with her cubs and my personal favorite was the
illusive leopard. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen!
We woke up very early the next
morning for a sunrise drive starting at 4:30 am. Although we did not see as
many animals this time I still saw buffalo and a very rare endangered vulture.
After a quick midmorning nap I was back up to go on the walking safari. I did
not know what to expect but out park rangers were very good explaining things
as we past them and spotting animals many miles away. We reached a spot in the
bush were we got out and began to walk. I hadn’t thought about thorns before
this but they definitely became apparent as the stuck my feet while walking.
After only a few minutes we saw a giraffe lazily munching on leaves. Though he
stopped and stared at us as we approached he remained. I was surprised at how
close we were able to get to him! We continued on our way and came across the
animal I had been waiting the whole time to see, the rhino! The rhino is
becoming seriously threatened as it is poached for its horns. Even in a
national park like Kruger it is a huge issue. That is why I was so excited to
see one. Though we were not that close I was astonished by the size of the
animal. Though it was so big it definitely took notice of us and pretty quickly
lumbered away.
The group continued to walk and we started
to see large bones. Our guide stopped us and told us that they were elephant
bones from a female who was around 50 years old; she apparently died of natural
causes. We came across the site where the majority of the bones were and I
noticed that the skull was missing. The ranger explained that when an elephant
dies it omits vibrations across the plains for many miles that the other
elephants pick up on. The other elephants then go to the site and wait for the
scavengers to eat the body. After that the elephants take the skull to a secret
location where they bury it in a funeral of sorts. That was the final stop
before we made our way back to the lodging.
The entire experience of excursion was
amazing but the safari was definitely something I will remember for the rest of
my life.
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