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FEAR AND FASCINATION ON SAFARI WITH TEAM
FREDERICKS by Anna Bruce
Anna Bruce follows Lucinda and Clayton Fredericks on their
South African safari adventure at Wait A Little.
Lucinda:
We’d waited a long time to go on safari – an idea first mooted by a Fiona
Boughton, a former member of our staff, who had so enjoyed her own
experience at Wait A Little, courtesy of horse-riding travel specialists, In
The Saddle.
But,
as our diary relates, it was worth the wait, and spending six hours in the
saddle each day, a good way to get back to fitness ready for the season
ahead!
Saturday 1st
December
Lucinda:
After a six and a half hour drive from Johannesburg airport our minibus
finally drew into Wait A Little.
The
journey there had taken us from the city across the country with wide,
empty, tarmac roads running past fruit farms and out towards the Kruger
National Park.
A
small sign indicated a turning into a dirt track, scarred from water erosion
in the rainy season and as we bumped along for the final 14km it felt like
we really were on the road to nowhere.
So
welcome then was the riverside camp comprising several well camouflaged
tree-houses – canvas tents erected on wooden stilts comprising a balcony,
double bedroom, loo and a shower – the latter open to the skies.
Greeted by proprietors, Gerti and Philip Kusseler, Clayton and I, and our
friends and owners, Vicki Miller, Frances and Rhod Smart, Donald Reid and
Michael ‘Bomber’ Dagostino, were shown the swimming pool, the communal
converted barn complete with bar and then to our respective abodes.
After
a quick change it was straight into the saddle and a safety briefing from
Philip; stay behind him in single file but close up when the game are
nearby; ride on a loose rein, stay relaxed, and let the horses graze when
standing.
Within
five minutes of leaving the Wait A Little camp – so named after the local,
innocuous looking bush that once caught in requires you to ‘wait a little’
to get out due to its hidden thorns – and we were riding 50metres from three
young giraffe.
No
sooner than we had got over our shock, and Philip heard a bull elephant
nearby and so we quietly followed him to see it tucked into some trees,
moving silently and only audible when it ate!
We
then moved on with Philip giving his first offering of what was to be his
catchphrase of the trip, “Shall we warm the horses up?”
This
was to mean galloping along stony tracks, through rough bush, pushing past
overhanging branches and leaning out over sharp turns for some kilometres.
Impala
and baboons galloped or jumped out of the way as we turned towards home,
stopping only for a ‘sundowner’ of beer, wine or G & T, and allowing the
horses to graze freely before we got back into the saddle and walked them
home.
Handing them over to the grooms we then headed for our respective huts,
showered and changed for what was to be the first of many delicious meals
together under oil lamps and with the sounds of the bush – particularly the
frogs and the baboons - all about us.
Sunday 2nd
December
Clayton:
We had expected to hear things in the middle of the night but at 2am I woke
up in my bed with the mosquito net all around and heard the most
overwhelming sound.
Lions
were on a kill and I heard them stalking and capturing a wildebeest. Their
roar was so loud that in the pitch black it felt like they were almost under
our tent and when they began to eat they were purring so loudly that I
wasn’t just hearing it, I could feel the purr vibrating in my chest.
I was
a bit dubious about getting up but when Cinda woke we listened for a long
while before exhaustion overtook us.
It was
an awesome experience and set the scene for the whole week and I was
relieved when Philip said that the lions wouldn’t come close to our tents as
they’d think it would be a trap and be fearful of it.
No one
else had heard the lions but as we set off for our morning ride at 6.30am,
Philip spotted a 220Kg lion just 100m from our hut on the far side of the
riverbank.
We
edged our way nearer down through the thick bush and watched the contented
lion with his three lionesses sleeping off their night’s supper.
Turning away we saw the giraffe again and then when Philip saw some cheetah
tracks we began to follow them, finding the stinking carcass of a giraffe
killed possibly a day or two before.
As our
guides, Philip and Gerti, pointed out signs of animals like the trees
de-barked or pushed over by elephants and taught us to listen to different
bird calls.
I’d
been sceptical about coming on a safari because as a kid I’d ridden through
the Australian bush chasing kangaroo but this was really special and I like
to think I learnt to track animals pretty well.
We
came across warthogs and more baboons before returning for brunch, a swim
and snooze by the pool and the preparing for our next 3 hour ride in the
evening during which we photographed Nyala and galloped alongside the
giraffe astonished at seeing how the faster they travel the more in slow
motion it seems.
Monday 3rd
December
Lucinda:
We were fortunate that our morning ride brought us close to a stallion zebra
and in-foal mare.
Traditionally spooked by horses they let us watch for about 10 minutes
before scarpering and hiding in the dense bush.
We too
then warmed up the horses until reaching the biggest watering hole on the
reserve where we watched and listened to the conversations of a pod of
hippos wallowing in the water 30m away.
Slowly, from the far side of the water, a three-metre crocodile swam to
within three metres of Philip on his chestnut mare but she didn’t move a
muscle.
We
were told to be quiet but I could hardly breathe.
After
four hours in the saddle that morning and many more now familiar sightings –
giraffe, impala and warthogs – we opted for an afternoon drive around the
nearby park, home to a buffalo project.
In our
open-topped Land Rover we watched them up close and on the drive home saw
porcupine and the lions again who took little interest in us driving up
close.
Tuesday 4th
December
Clayton:
Philip found the overnight work of an elephant in our camp – a fallen tree
and broken fence – so we decided to track it.
And,
finally, after 3 hours, we found it, protecting a cow with her wobbly
newborn calf – about 3 hours old judging by the afterbirth that was still
with the mother.
She
flared her ears in warning and we retreated and, once a safe distance away,
opened the horses up for the return to camp where, after a quick brunch, we
bundled in to the Land Rover in search of some cheetah cubs seen by the
gamekeeper that morning.
We
were not successful but, back in the saddle, we began a fast ride to an
overnight camp before the light failed.
On
route we encountered a remarkable experience – one which even Gerti in her
10 years in the bush had never enjoyed – a two and a half year old Rhino
suckling from her mother and making the most amazing, and rare, squeaking
noises.
Our
overnight communal camp was to be of mattresses laid across rock under a
corrugated iron roof, nestled under an outcrop of rock that we climbed to
the top of to see mile upon mile of uninhabited bush.
Climbing down however, and a huge bonfire was built up and a table laid for
yet another amazing meal, cooked on the fire with the horses tied up beside
us and our loo being any bush you dared choose by moonlight!
We had
no trouble sleeping under the stars though with Bomber’s snoring no doubt
deterring any wild animals from approaching!
Wednesday 5th
December
Lucinda:
Even with a cobweb-blowing 5km gallop and various canters including jumping
over fallen trees and racing the wildebeest through the bush it still took
us four hours to reach our mid-week riverside camp at Makalali.
Deep
in the bush, the camp consisting of various mud huts – complete with
air-conditioning - is an oasis an no sooner than we had settled under the
thatched shelter by the pool than 28 elephants joined us, relaxing in the
river just 75metres away.
I had
goosebumps watching them - and it was 35C!
Giving
the horses a well-earned rest we enjoyed a drive around the park meeting a
young rhino who bopped around the Land Rover while his mother looked on.
Being
a hilly region the scenery during sunset was astonishing and as we drove
back we came across two lionesses – one eating at tortoise – but once the
spotlight was turned off, five more cats approached the Land Rover and began
to lead us down the road towards home.
As we
broke off into a side route we took up speed but astonishingly our tracker,
sitting on the bonnet of the Land Rover, still spotted a chameleon in the
half-light so we reversed up to see it!
Thursday 6th
December
Clayton:
A quiet ride along the rocky riverbank was in order, and although we had to
walk back the final 2km due to Philip’s lead horse throwing a shoe, we still
encountered zebra, giraffe, baboon, hippo, kudu, waterbuck, hyena and saw
birds of prey like vultures, eagle and kite.
The
day was not to be without drama and I was to use my whistle to alert the
camp staff that I was in danger before our second ride.
Quietly downloading some video footage alone in my bedroom I became aware of
a presence, and looking to my right there was a light brown snake.
I
thought it might be a dangerous bastard so carefully I began to move and
back out towards the door but it reared up and flared out its neck.
I blew
the whistle 10 times and the camp leader came running, and hooked it up with
a big stick, flicking it into the bush though it still struck out at him a
couple of times.
Returning to the resting group who hadn’t even bothered to stir from beside
the pool I told them of my encounter with the ‘hissing cobra’, and no doubt
they were a bit more vigilant after that when told that it had probably been
nesting in among the logs in our hut’s open fireplace all along!
That
was enough excitement for one day so it was welcome to have a quiet ride,
chatting and laughing, although we did inadvertently interrupt a bit of
hippo-humping when we came across a couple mating it the river in the
afternoon!
Friday 7th
December
Lucinda:
The ride back to Wait A Little took us across open velt and we enjoyed
cantering through the more open country, jumping logs and bushes along the
way as well as repeating our 5km flat-out gallop along the wide dirt road
with Clayton and I up front with Philip and the others a little way back!
To
ride into Wait A Little felt like we were returning home and we all fell
asleep after lunch but were back on the horses by 4pm – Philip determined to
turn this one a serious tracking experience.
Our
efforts were rewarded when we found a herd of 16 elephants and enjoyed
watching them for some time but when Gerti whistled we retreated as a big
bull elephant warned us it was about to take charge.
Back
to camp and we enjoyed celebrating Frances’ birthday before collapsing in to
bed.
Saturday 8th
December
Clayton:
Even before our final ride, elephants were to be the order of the day again
with Bomber and Donald having had a nocturnal visit at 3am and Frances and
Rhod waking to feeling something rub against a tree just six feet from their
tent shortly afterwards.
A
fresh dropping was just eight feet from Vicki’s tent but she hadn’t heard it
at all!
So we
set to tracking the culprits and found a small herd and the newborn calf
we’d seen on Sunday now much stronger at six days old.
It was
a super way to round off a phenomenal experience – one which will stay with
us forever.
We
were made so welcome by Philip, Gerti, the grooms and all the tracking staff
and grew very fond of our amazing horses – Lucinda even likening her
favourite, Steiner, to that of the late Bally Leck Boy such was the lovely
ride he gave her.
They
were so surefooted, capable and comfortable and without them we’d never have
been able to get up so close to the wild animals.
We’d
managed to call Ellie during our stay and told her she’d have to wait until
she was 12 to join us again but she’s assured us that she’ll be capable by
the time she’s five so it may not be too long before we return again to our
new friends, Gerti and Philip, whom we must thank for making this such a
memorable trip.
Clayton, Lucinda, Gerti & Philip
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