Madikwe is my all time favourite game reserve. It is situated up in the north west part of South Africa, right up near Botswana. It is one of the very few game reserves which is malaria free. It also has more buck species than the Kruger Park and has a completely different eco system, and vegetation. It also is home to the African big five - lion, buffalo, leopard, rhino, and of course the aforementioned great beast, the elephant. Wild dog, and cheetah also roam its vast 75 000 hectares.
On a visit to Madikwe, the owner of one of the lodges in the reserve,took me and my husband (now my ex husband) on a special early morning safari in his jeep. We know him well, and have been to his lodge many times before.
This is not your usual five star lodge with all bells and whistles, but is what I call "bush appropriate". Lovely wooden chalets with no windows, just canvass shutters; no electricity - but how fantastic the camp looks at night, and very romantic, with only paraffin lamps, in the chalets and all along the pathways between the chalets, and around the boma and dining areas. Bathrooms are built of bamboo and as there is no running water, the loo is flushed the really old fashioned way, by pouring jugs of water into the pit below the loo - which in all other respects looks just like a normal loo. The shower water is collected by guests from a boiling hot donkey boiler, fired by coal, and put into an upside down bucket with a trolley system. The bucket is pulled up and with the switch of a little tap, guests have a wonderful hot shower.
Not for everyone - but it really is rustic, and truly fitting for the African bush. But I digress from my story.
We were woken at 5 a.m. and soon afterwards went to the safari vehicle. Owner, Chris, checked that he had his shot gun with him, which all game rangers carry as a precaution (against dangerous animals, not against human beings!). Once happy that we were in the vehicle, we started off on our journey. Chris told us he would take us to an area that he particularly liked.
The "roads" in Madikwe are not tarred, and are simply single track dirt roads. Along our drive we saw impala, too many to count, waterbuck, kudu, wart-hog, and many of the beautiful bird species that exist in South Africa. We also glimpsed a cheetah which hurriedly disappeared into the long grass.
As we trundled along slowly, admiring the scenery and absorbing the peace of the African bush, we drove along a narrow dirt road which had large rocks on either side for about a mile. Where they had come from Chris could not explain. As we drove slowly, Chris suddenly stopped.
Some distance away from us, about half a mile ahead, we saw an elephant walking along the very same dirt road. He had not noticed us and simply continued walking towards us. Chris turned to us, and said, "Just keep still". As the elephant came closer, Chris turned to us again and said, "Keep VERY still. This is a young bull and he is full of testosterone."
We were in a tight spot - We could not move backwards, because cars reverse slower than an elephant charging, and we could not move forward, because of all the rocks on the side of the car and the elephant in the way. We could not move off road, though the vehicle had that ability, because the rocks were far too large for the vehicle to drive over. And all this time we could see that this was a very stroppy teenage elephant, walking right towards our vehicle.
I knew we were really in danger when Chris quietly picked up his gun.
I froze in the vehicle – not only do I have a huge respect for elephants, I am also terrified of them because I know what they can do when they are angry. I wanted to crawl under the seat but felt myself mesmerised and watched in horror as the gap between us and him became smaller and smaller.
He had by now noticed us, and was angry that we dared stand in his path. He was now only about 3 yards away from us, and his trunk rose and he trumpeted loudly, shaking his head from side to side, and flapping his large ears – a sure sign that he was not kidding about his anger. He did a mock charge, digging his enormous feet into the dust, while bringing his body closer to the vehicle, and again another mock charge – which turned me into jelly. I knew I had to sit absolutely still.
As he moved again, this time more seriously, Chris pointed the gun directly at the elephant’s head, now only just 2 yards in front of our vehicle. I did not even want to imagine how awful it would be if Chris had to shoot the elephant – it was an image I simply did not want to think about, yet I knew in those split seconds that this could be the only way our lives could be saved.
The angry elephant trumpeted loudly and again made what seemed like a more serious charge, with his head now right up near the front of the vehicle. At that point, I heard Chris cocking the gun, still aiming it directly in the middle of the elephant’s head, and I knew this was undoubtedly the end of the elephant or the end of us.
Suddenly, as the gun was cocked, something in the elephant’s brain appeared to register that he himself was in danger, and a split second afterwards he shook his head angrily and quickly turned to the right of the vehicle, easily stepping over the large rocks, and moving quickly to the side of the vehicle, where I could clearly see the sticky fluid staining the side of his face, a clear sign he was deeply in musth.
As he moved to the side, and in one movement, Chris flung the gun onto the seat beside him, and shoved the vehicle into gear, pressing the accelerator down flat. We roared away as the elephant turned around and made a feeble effort to come after us, but to no avail as a car going forward can outrun even an angry elephant.
I was so shaken, that I burst into tears. A few miles down the road, safely away from the angry teenager, Chris stopped the car, and turned to me, and said, “ I am so, so sorry! This is the first time in my many years as a ranger, that I have ever had to aim a gun with the intent of shooting – and thank heavens I did not need to!”
He never lived this down! On a subsequent visit, I jokingly reminded him about this incident – and he looked suitably embarrassed!
(Story: Toni Hasler - All rights reserved. Image: Adam Foster. Creative Commons License)
