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 Sharpville 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.
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| Emily & Sarah on game drive |
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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| Manuela, Courtney, & Emily on bush walk at Kruger National Park |
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