Madikwe Game Reserve - Elephants Marching
Day Four - Madikwe Game Reserve
Days Four and Five were spent at the Madikwe Game Reserve as guests of the Tau Lodge. There are many things that I have been looking forward to on this trip, but this was probably at the top of the list.
Tuesday morning we pulled into the station at a little town called Zeerust and boarded a bus for the 90 minute ride out to the Reserve. Though there are 37 total Lodges on the Madikwe Reserve, they tend to be quite small so our travel group was divided up into three smaller "tribes" spread throughout three different Lodges.
When we arrived to the entrance of the Reserve, we transferred over to our third mode of transportation for the day: our Game Drive Rovers. These are massive 9 passenger vehicles that are about the size of a small school bus, but much closer to the ground and - of course - open air. Our driver Iggy led us the rest of the way into Tau Lodge, a small but charming little Game Lodge that sits over a very large watering hole where we were told most of the animals on the Reserve traveled to at least once daily. From almost the very moment that we arrived, that proved itself to be true.
As we walked to our individual Lodges to set our bags down before departing on our Afternoon Game Drive, we were greeted by a large herd of the most beautiful elephants you could ever imagine. There were no fewer than 30 of them - possibly more - all in a row, walking from one end of the watering hole to the other. Some stopped to drink while others just kept moving. Mothers. Fathers. Babies. One woman traveling with us who has been on several Reserves told us it would be an "emotional" experience. I thought, at first, it sounded a bit dramatic. I've seen elephants before and it's certainly never been "emotional". Awesome? Yes. Incredible? You bet. But emotional? Not so sure.
As it turns out - she was right. This was so different in so many ways. Seeing these elephants in their natural habitat ambling along across this huge stretch of land. And it was so quiet. Nobody said a word for about the first 5 minutes. Nothing but the sounds of nature. We just watched them. Their cadence. Their sheer size and beauty. Just steps from where we were standing.
This experience ended up playing itself out again and again throughout the day. Every time we encountered something new in this absolutely stunning environment - whether it was at the watering hole or along the Game drives in the Reserve - every experience felt out of body. And yes...emotional.
We departed for our first Game Drive in the late afternoon. Our guide Reggie was manning the Rover, a young South African "mate" who was kind of what you would picture a Ranger to be. The Madikwe Game Reserve is a massive conservation area located just along the border of Botswana. It is the perfect mix of topography for the animals who make their home here with its expansive grasslands, forests and rocky Tshwene Mountains bordering all sides. The Reserve is known for housing all members of "The Big Five": Elephants, Lions, Leopards, Rhinos and Buffalo. The theory is that if you've seen them all, your journey here to Madikwe Reserve has been a great success.
As luck would have it, we were able to knock off three of the five in just our first few hours here. There are three Rovers and Rangers for each Game Drive. When we departed Tau Lodge, they each took a different road through the Reserve. This is done intentionally to try and maximize the amount of animals we see. They keep in close and constant contact with each other to report what they see, or what they are on the trail of. They base this mostly on smells, prints and poop. What they refer to as the "Little Three".
As we drove through the Game Reserve, we saw no less than 200 Zebra. It's kind of an odd thing to see...so many of these incredibly beautiful and majestic animals just roaming around. Stopping for a bite. Walking across the road just in front or in back of our Rover. Giraffes just standing along the road eating leaves off a Thorny Bush Tree. Wildebeests playing a game of chase and knocking into each other with their horns. Everywhere we turned there was something to see. Wart Hogs. Kudus. Antelope. Ostrich. Everywhere.
Our first "Big Five" sighting on the actual Reserve came when we rode up over a ridge and found two female lions lying on the top of a small dried out watering hole. We maneuvered our Rover into the actual watering hole and stopped just short of where they were. They almost didn't look real. Just lying there soaking up the sun. They took notice of us as we sat there but they didn't seem the least bit bothered. They got up occasionally to take a walk or stretch, but always returned back to their original spot.
Our next "Big Five" sighting came in the form of a herd of White Rhinos. The Mother Rhino was leading the pack with a few calves following close behind. Behind them, was what Reggie referred to as "The Big Boy" and the male Rhino wears that nickname well. He was massive. They all crossed our path just in from of the Rover but stopped for a few moments...almost as if they were actually posing for a photo. Reggie told us that White Rhinos are nearly blind so people don't really bother them. They typically use their sense of smell to get from place to place but rely heavily on their parents for guidance.
After a successful day and early evening out on the Reserve, we pulled off the road and all enjoyed a beverage and a beautiful African Sunset. I know I am often mocked for my love of the sunsets back home, but this was one for the books. There will be thousands of pictures to prove it, once I can get them posted to the Gallery, which will come just as soon as connectivity becomes a bit better.
We arrived back to Tau for dinner which was set in an open air structure outdoors around a very large "bush fire" which is similar to a campfire but much larger. We had Kudu for dinner, which was yet another "first" for us. It's a bit odd to be eating something for dinner that you took pictures of just hours earlier. But when you are here having this experience, you don't say "no" to anything.
The moon was almost full and the sky was loaded with starts. When you are out in the open and in the middle of nowhere, you are quickly reminded of all those beautiful sensory experiences that you take for granted back home. Fresh, crisp air. Nature. Sounds. Smells. The beauty of it all happening all at the same time.
We have been spending a lot of our social time on this trip with a few of our favorite new friends: Matt and Shelley from New Zealand, Audrey from England and Richard and Jan from Sydney. We have sort of started to form our own little tribe. This may sound silly but it occurred to me that we are pretty similar to animals in how we socialize and identify our herd. People kind of sniffed around the first few days, tested the waters and now seem to be making their decisions on who to align with. It might be a shared language, the same background or perhaps just because we laugh at the same stuff. That seems to be our connection with our little herd. We all have the same sense of humor and love to laugh and have fun. Because the trip has us spending so much time together in some pretty close quarters, there is a lot of conversation that has quickly grown to much more depth about who they really are. Beyond the "ice breaker" formalities. Their families. Their stories. What they are passionate about. What they love. Who they love.
Richard and Jan refer to themselves as a "couple of old wrinklies who fell in love much later than everyone else". He was 53 when they married and she was 46. The first marriage for both. He told us he was sitting in a pub in Sydney with "grog pouring out of his ears" when he first saw her. He said she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. He could tell she was younger and thought she was "far too wise to come near an old bloke like me". But they got to talking and they fell in love. Just like that. Richard asked Jan's mother for her hand in marriage in a rather unique way. He told her he he would "take Jan off the shelf and dust her off every now and then." Most of their families had passed by the time they married so they describe their wedding as "Two Orphans at the Altar". But they had each other.
Richard and Jan do not have children, and because they have very few surviving family members, they are each other's family. Richard told me he thought it was really special that my Dad and I were taking this trip together and that we had close family back home to "take up the reins". In fact, this conversation was the rare time I saw Richard quite serious and almost emotional. He told me that because they had no family, it breaks his heart to see families that do not love and care for each other. "It seems a shame to wait until everyone has passed to realize how much you really need them"
Richard is now 83 years old and one of the funniest people I think I'll ever meet. He's got these great "Shaggy Dog" stories that he tells that can last anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes but they are always good. He calls himself a "retired cowboy". Born in England, fought in a few wars and then moved to Australia to become "a proper bush boy". I could, quite literally, write a book on all the "Richardisms" I've heard on this trip. One after the other. The next is better than the last. They are so good I've started writing them down. Like when I asked him if he got any good pictures on the Game Drive, he responded with: "My Dear, I only got 16 pictures and they are all of my fecking knee because I don't know how to work my bloody camera. I mean, for goodness sakes, I still have the flip phone that I bought 20 years ago if that gives you any idea of how far gone I am."
Jan is just as warm and wonderful as Richard, but says she prefers to give him the "limelight". She is soft spoken and direct but you can tell she rules the roost. Jan is a retired librarian and architect. Loves the outdoors and to be in nature. This was her "bucket list" trip and she told me she was "quite happy that Richard let me drag him along because I couldn't imagine spending 15 days without him". Richard laughed and rolled his eyes. Jan did too. I gave Richard a nudge and told him he had a pretty amazing woman by his side, to which he responded, "Yeah...she's alright. She puts up with me and she still actually loves me. Isn't that all you really need?"
I agree with Richard. It is all you really need. People in your life who put up with you and still love you. Sounds about right.
