Call To the Wild

June 15 Day 6

About mid-morning, we headed for my friend David Barron's commercial farm and game reserve operation. Again the weather was brilliant sunshine and mid-60's, no clouds. The location is way up in South Africa's northeast corner, near Mozambique. We had directions, ending with 13 miles of gravel roads. Who knew if we could get where we were going 250 miles away, or whether we would be lost among the African bush, teeming with wild animals.

The road past Pretoria was an excellent expressway, with many nice rest areas. However, the road became less and less tame. At one point we folllowed a narrow highway over a mountain ridge. Before and after the ridge, we saw the famous African bush, as we know in photographs. However, the mountains have beautiful trees. We followed the directions very well, until, as mentioned, we came to the last 13 miles over gravel roads.

There was little sign of humanity. Often the road dipped where a gully drained over the road. Fortunately it was the dry season. At one point, a goat herd blocked our path. The shepherd tossed a few stones and the goats ambled away. We wanted rural Africa? We got it! We had to drive slowly over the gravel roads. Finally, we found the sign, "Faan Kruger, Chester." Faan is the Chester Farm manager.

As promised the gate was open. Now the way was a rutted path. Did Faan realize we did not have a 4-wheel drive vehicle? Even worse there were several forks. Somehow we guessed right each time. We came upon a water hole. There was a sign on the fence, "Danger--lions and elephants." Well, we asked for this!

Finally, we found Faan, supervising several farm workers. The farm is mostly for citrus growing. Faan can speak some of a local tribal language. He is a tall, affable man in his 50's. Faan led us to the farm house. He pointed to the nearby guest house and apologized because it was run down and in need of many repairs. Despite some broken windows and cement floor, it had a toilet and shower, with some working electric lights. Good enough for one night! The guest house will be really nice when rehabilitated.

As the winter sun was retreating, Faan took us out in his pickup truck to see the land, which comprises thousands of acres. We sat on a seat in the back. "Do not stand up," instructed Faan. Wild animals can be skittish. Just as we were about to depart, Fann said, "I better get my gun. A male lion escaped from our enclosure and we don't where he is." Faan went into his house and brought out a huge, long shotgun. I supposed it was too late to beg off from the excursion.

For 90 minutes Faan drove around the premises over winding dirt paths. There is a lot of low vegetation, more than one sees driving highways. Faan was adept at sighting smaller animals in the brush along our path. It all seemed so serene. Suddenly a herd of impalas dashed across our path.Wow, they were fast! With lions around, a surviving animal must be fast. We realized we were not in Kansas.

The farm breeds various animals such as rhinoceros and lions. They roam huge electric fenced- in areas. In the wild, the fences are intended to keep animals in or out, not people. After we returned to the house, darkness had fallen, Faan started a fire in a built-in pit, in the center of a circular African enclosure made of slim tree trunks inserted into the ground. We were insulated from the winds. Faan cooked steaks over the built-in grill. The southern African sky overhead was a vivid star multitude treasure trove set against a deep black background.

We talked about South Africa until around 9:00 pm. Faan is 13th generation descended German immigrants. His grandfather's great grandfather is a legendary South African leader, Paul Kruger, who founded Kruger National Park.

As went into the guest house, Faan said, "You will hear animals throughout the night. No matter what you hear, never leave the house. I have my gun in case we have lions or elephants or a problem rhino." Did we ask for this? Well.....yes.

Interestingly, Faan shone his flashlight and the light reflected off the eyes of several impalas who lay at the edge of the grounds, just about 50 yards from us. The impalas felt safe from lions near the farm house. They had learned self preservation and who their friends are. We did hear various grunts through the night but nothing worse than that.