Africa Day 5: Zulu Nyala, Walking Safari Part 1

After four days of riding in safari vehicles, today we were to set out on foot. We got to sleep in a bit and didn't have to meet William until 8am to head out. Jim and Jenny joined us so it would be five of us going on the walking safaris, the first of which would last for 3.5 hours this morning. We think that given the fact that we had a small group, William was more willing to push the boundaries of what he would normally do taking folks out on foot.

As a teaser to this post, we both agreed that this day was the highlight of our trip. We didn't see anything new of note and we didn't get anywhere near as close to the animals as we had on our game drives--with one notable exception. However, encountering the animals on foot was a completely different experience and we also learned far more about their behavior by being able to see things on the ground that we hadn't seen from the truck. You could tell by the serious tone that William adopted as he gave us the 10-minute instructional talk covering what we should do in various scenarios. Oh yeah, he also carried a rifle that could take down an elephant. He told us about the dangers of hippos and buffalos again, but particularly warned us about elephants. He described the difference between a mock charge and a real charge, pointing out that if we saw a real charge, he would have to shoot. He also told us not to run from a mock charge because that would lead to a real charge and that he would be better off shooting us.

We took off and first passed the hippos watering hole. We were hoping to see some of the hippos out of the water, but they had all already settled in to their spots. William then began showing us many things that we hadn't seen on the game drives. He showed us the trail that the hippos used to leave the water to feed and he explained how they mark their territory by spraying bushes with their dung. After we left the hippos, we immediately became aware that the animals react quite differently with us on foot. Oddly, outside of the vehicles, we immediately became a threat. The first indication was from a small herd of impala. They were bounding among the trees in the distance, but once they were aware that we were there, all of their heads turned to assess the situation.

Before long we came across a few buffalo grazing. We gave these animals the most distance with William hesitant to go closer than about 100 yards. One of the buffalo eventually spotted us and lifted its head up from grazing. Lisa asked if it would alert the rest of the herd and William's response was that it would if it perceived a threat. As if on queue, the buffalo trotted over to the rest of the herd and before long there were five buffalos staring in our direction. Time to move on for us.

We next came upon the same mother and child rhino that we had seen on our first day at the Zulu Nyala. The mother immediately was aware of our presence and kept a keen eye on us. At a distance of less than 50 yards, we were well aware that the rhino could close that distance rather quickly, but while she was watchful over us, she didn't seem overly concerned by us and they eventually strolled off.

After the rhinos, we quickly came upon several giraffes. Similar to the impalas, the giraffes immediately all turned as we approached. William, for obvious reasons, was less concerned about the giraffes, so he led us closer to see how close we could get to them. But each time we advanced, the would gallop away and then keep an eye on us. They would lose interest rather quickly until we started to advance on them again and the process would start over. Upon leaving the giraffes we saw several different animals off in the distance: zebra, wildebeest, and impala.

We then hiked for quite a while in the heat of the morning to try to find where the cheetahs were hiding out from the late morning sun. After hiking for a while we came upon an area where a cheetah had been spotted. We spent a fair amount of time moving through the brush. It wasn't that dense because there had been a controlled burn in the area in the not too distant past, but there was still a maze of small trees, some with pretty sizable thorns. Then, through the branches, we spotted the young male cheetah, relaxing in the shade. We were a bit concerned when William laid the rifle against a tree, out of reach, as we moved closer to the cheetah.

As we moved closer, we saw the mother, lying a few feet away from the youth. Then, William excitedly pointed out that the male was nearby as well and told us that the family unit was very rarely together. The male typically travelled and hunted on its own and the young male stayed with the mother until it went out on its own. William again surprised us by telling us we could approach the cats and kneel in front of them for pictures. His caveat was that if they reacted in any way, we should stand up immediately to make ourselves big to dissuade any aggression by the cats. We took turns approaching, each of us getting within 10 feet of the animals. Another amazing moment.

We then began our long hike back to our game vehicle so that we could head back for lunch. On the way, William took a few moments to get into a conversation with some birds, tschagras. He whistled their call and then after a few seconds one of them mimicked it. After another short pause, another call from another bird in a different tree in another direction, then a third, and so on. Very amusing. William also stopped to show us a nest in a tree. He approached and shook it, sending thousands of cocktail ants scurrying over the nest and his arms. He encouraged us to grab the nest as well to get ants on our own arms, but his reactions to the bites on his own arms discouraged all of us.

Shortly after that, we found ourselves again approaching the hippo's pond. In the distance we could see that a few of the hippos were on the bank. William quickly and quietly ushered us into the brush in the hopes of getting closer for photos without alerting the beasts. However, before we could get a
sightline, we heard loud splashes telling us that they had returned to their afternoon napping place. We emerged onto the bank to view them in the water, when we heard a sound close to the shore, far to close for William. He chambered a round in the rifle (not the last time he would do that this day) and hustled us along for about 50 yards until we were clear and certain that no hippos were after us. Clearly William had a great deal of respect for the danger posed by these animals. After a short stroll, we arrived back at our game vehicle and returned to the lodge. We figured that we probably covered eight or so miles during our morning walking safari. William told us to meet in mid-afternoon for walking safari, part two.