Written by Anja Riise
Four o’clock and the alarms sets off… it is still pitch dark and in the distance I can hear the two male lions we saw last night roaring. As I go to pick up my rifle from the safe at the Rangers’ Room, I bump into the only other creatures that are awake, my colleagues. My vehicle have lost some air on the front left tyre during the night. I know it has got a slow puncture, so I inflate it before heading to the main lodge for coffee. As me and the other guides make coffee and tea for the guests’ breakfast as well as game drive, before waking them up, we also chat about last night’s sightings, what direction everyone is going and who is keen to follow up on the lions, that seems to be moving closer. While sipping some black gold I go to the room of my guests to wake them up. On my way back I come across a bushbuck that just watches me warily as I pass. The sky is slowly turning less black when the guests walk in and manage to get some cereal and coffee, in a zombie like mode. They ask if it isn’t painful to get up at this hour every day. The answer is of course yes… but it’s always worth it. At 5:30 it is already getting light and sunrise is soon upon us. We quickly clear the tables, to avoid having the monkeys over for breakfast as well.
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
As soon we leave the lodge, a small herd of buffalo hurry into the thickets and out of our way in a cloud of dust. At least we saw them before blending into the greenery and my guests are happy we’ve already seen one of the big animals. Myself and a couple of guides from another lodge go in search of the lions, as they probably have made their way to a river crossing not far away. Watching them drink and then continuing their territorial rounds is an excellent start to the day. In the lush riverine vegetation we also come across plenty of waterbuck, another two buffaloes and a variety of birds. The morning’s highlight for me though, is seeing a herd of elephants having a bath a bit further up the river. Our morning coffee with rhino biscuits is enjoyed with a herd of zebras grazing nearby.
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
Coming back to the lodge, the guests scurry off the vehicle, eager to have lunch out on the deck while going through their photos. I get into my game viewer again and head off to the nearest gas station, just outside the reserve gate. As I wait for the staff there to fill up with diesel and fix my puncture, I indulge in a rare treat from the general dealer, ice cream!
The heat is building up, though it’s still just late morning. I arrive back at the lodge just as staff lunch is ready and I’m in luck, chicken stew! Before washing my vehicle I devour this delicious meal while discussing the evenings bush dinner with the manager. He’s worried about the heat meaning a build-up for rains. He might be right, and we sorely need it… just not during dinner.
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
I quickly throw my laundry into one of the washing machines at the staff village, so that it will be done by the time I’m done with the vehicle. After cleaning vehicle, clothes and getting everything ready for the afternoon drive, I am called on the radio as the guests that are checking in today are about 20 minutes away. It’s a nice couple from the Netherlands with a seven year old daughter, which is perfect, as the other family on my vehicle has two children, ages five and eight. It’s their first time on safari and they are very excited, having seen elephants by our waterhole on their way to the lodge. I drive the rental car around to the guest parking and carry their luggage to the room, after telling them I’ll meet them for high tea. By now I realise I have an hour before I need to be at the lodge again, so a shower and a much needed nap seems to be on the menu. However, I’d just dozed for about twenty minutes when the radio goes off… Apparently a guest has seen a snake by her room. Grabbing snake tongs and goggles I get into uniform again and drive my game viewer to the lodge, as there won’t be much use getting back to my room again. The snake is located just outside the room and luckily totally harmless. As I try to catch it, it quickly slithers up into the trees and the guests aren’t very fazed by it anymore, as I explain that it is harmless to people. Just don’t make a very good impression of a frog I warn them, before leaving them to get the cooler box with their drink choices ready for the drive.
Image by Anja Riise
Slicing up some lemon for the gin tonics I notice movement behind me as a vervet monkey sneakily has opened the one window and made its way inside. The fruit bowl is his goal, but running towards it while clapping my hands has the desired effect and he runs for his life past the scullery into freedom. The mini pizzas and meat balls go down well with my guests, as does the fruit smoothie and ice tea and the two families thoroughly enjoy the curious and brave monkeys watching us from a safe distance.
Image by Anja Riise
It is still very hot as we depart on our afternoon drive, but in the distance clouds are building up, with promise of relief. The afternoon turns out to be equally successful as the morning was, as the wild dogs, that Madikwe is famous for, makes an appearance just as the sun starts to set. Thrilled with seeing them active, we manage to stay with them for some time before other vehicles enquire about making their approaches. As we leave them to make our way towards the bush braai site, a brown hyena crosses the road in front of us, before roaming off on his foraging quest.
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
The guests don’t know about this evening’s dinner plans and are overwhelmed when we approach. Torches light up the braai site and flashes of lightning light up the clouds far west, while welcome drinks are enjoyed. The younger members of the families find it very exciting that we are dining out in the wild, but get strict orders to not venture off out of the lit up area around the fire and torches. Tracks of the two lions from this morning were seen leading in our direction during the late afternoon… I had barely told my guests about this fact before we hear them roaring. They sound to be close by, but I turn my radio on and find out from other guides, that are still out on drive, that they’re about a kilometer away. Sound travels well over open spaces and at night you feel rather small in the dark. Dinner goes down very well after a day out in the fresh air and the young ones soon start looking rather tired.
Making our way back to the lodge, the roars are getting louder as we close in on the lions. I switch off the vehicle and we sit for a minute listening to them in the pitch dark. They are only about 20 metres away, but obscured by bushes. When you are this close, the roar isn’t just a sound, but also a sensation you feel all through your body.
Image by Anja Riise
Image by Anja Riise
Saying goodnight to the families back at the lodge, the first few drops start to fall and we decide that if it’s raining tomorrow morning I’ll postpone the wake-up until it stops. However, I’m sure it will have stopped by then. I hurry to my room before the full fury of the atmosphere is upon us, thinking of tomorrow’s drives and the shooting practise I need to fit in between check-out and another check-in. Even though we had a late dinner, I will manage to get almost six hours of sleep… and what’s better than falling asleep listening to the rains down in Africa?