Madikwe Game Reserve - From Sunrise to Sunset
Day Five - Madikwe Game Lodge
Our second day at Tau Lodge began before the sun came up with an early morning Game Drive. Because so many of these animals are nocturnal, they spend much of their night roaming, hunting and visiting the watering hole. Heading out in the early morning hours often catches them settling in to sleep or finding what will end up being a sunny spot to warm up. The nights on the Madikwe Reserve, during this time of year, are quite cold. They are more docile, more relaxed. We headed out again with our guy Reggie and drove for a good hour without seeing much of anything at all. There was a lot of chatter on the radio and at one point, all of the Rangers found each other, pulled up around the same general area as one another, and all three Rangers jumped out of the Rovers and disappeared into the brush. Literally disappeared.
It was a little unsettling really. Being out here on these three vehicles without our Rangers to protect us....and not knowing where they had gone. We were like a large group of sitting ducks who didn't know if our Rangers were trying to keep us from a threat or find something of interest. The answer ended up being, well, a little bit of both. It turned out they were tracking Cheetah and had followed their tracks into an area where they often visit. After about 20 minutes in, Reggie re-appeared and hopped back into the vehicle and offered no insight into where they were or what they found. This seems to be the trend with the Rangers. Keep it close to the vest. They much prefer to surprise their guests than disappoint them.
We drove for about another 20 minutes and there they were. Two Cheetah sitting together soaking up thee sun. They were absolutely gorgeous. Because I have never been up close to a Cheetah before, I had no idea how beautiful their coloring was. And - much like the female lions we saw the day prior - they acknowledged our presence but didn't seem to care much that we were there.
Another 'Big Five" was crossed off the list when we came about two incredibly large, but very sleepy male Lions. While female lions are considered one of the "Big Five", the male lions are really thought to be the "real deal". This was another one of those moments that literally took me a minute to snap out of. Emotional.
We returned back for lunch at Tau and had a bit of time between the morning Game Drive and our Afternoon Game Drive so I headed out with my book and camera (my two "must haves" anywhere I go) to the "Lounge", which is essentially a tent with some comfortable furniture both indoors and out that sits right at the end of the watering hole. I walked through the tent to the outside observation deck (apparently a theme of this trip) when I noticed an Elephant just about ready to head into the watering hole, no less that 10 feet from where I was standing. When he saw me, he stopped and looked at me for awhile, probably trying to figure out what I was all about. I stood perfectly still so as to not appear threatening. Not less than 30 seconds later, who comes tearing into the Lounge but Richard, camera in hand with an excitement on his face that I will not soon forget. He and his wife call them "Heffalumps" and he just kept saying, "Bloody Hell....look at that Heffealump. He's gorgeous". He must have taken a hundred pictures. I took a picture of him with the Heffalump and told him he finally got a picture of his trip that wasn't of his knee.
I sat out on the Lounge Deck for three hours. Straight. I would read for a bit, look up and see another something or other wander into the watering hole, take a few photos, then go back to reading. Occasionally someone would come into the Lounge and we would have a quick chat, and then I would go back to my routine. There are a lot of things that wander through your brain when you have all this time. Down time. Quiet time. It has taken a lot of adjustment for me to not be in constant motion. Now place to be. Disconnected. Forcing myself not to keep fining things to do to keep my mind busy. The things that have been roaming through my mind during these down times - whether they are positive thoughts, worries, good or bad memories - have been good for me. I think its what this trip is really all about.
Thinking. Reflecting. Reliving. Understanding. Reorganizing. Reinventing. Prioritizing.
Our Afternoon Game Drive was just as fantastic as all the others. But, a bit more fun. We saw many of the same animals as we had seen over the past 24 hours, and because we had already experienced a good number of the "Big Five", the pressure was off. I rode in the front next to Reggie this time around, just to get a bit of a different vantage point. He has some pretty awesome stories to tell of his experiences, and also some pretty great animal jokes that gave us all a good laugh. At one point, we rolled by another large male Elephant and Richard, in true Richard form, commented on his "third leg". He said he "couldn't imagine to torture of being that rotund....and then having to carry round a third leg to boot". Reggie, without skipping a beat said, "well your know what they say Richard. Male Humans brag...but Male Elephants drag."
As the sun started to set along the Reserve, we pulled off with the others to have a nice beverage and watch another glorious African sunset. They have a liquor here called Amarulla that I have grown quite fond of, as have all the others. Amarulla Trees grow all over the Reserve and are great sources of food for Giraffe, Elephant and any of the taller animals that can reach up and grab their fruit. The liqueur is actually made from the Amarulla fruit but is fermented for several years before it is bottled. It is typically a "starter" and a "finisher" for cocktail hour and can be taken straight or on ice. I would liken it to a mix of Bailey's and Amaretto. It's dangerous and fantastic all in one. My Dad and I have already made it our mission to make sure a few cases follow us back home.
The other interesting Madikwe culinary treat that we had along our Drive was a leaf from the Buffalo Thorn Tree. The trees, as their name would suggest, have very large and painful thorns that surround a very bright green and beautiful leaf that Giraffes usually are the sole beneficiary of because of their height. Reggie bravely pulled a branch off of the tree and offered us a taste. Zulu mythology says that if you eat a leaf off of a Buffalo Thorn Tree, you will dream of your future in the days following. It's is also know to be a hallucinogenic and an aphrodisiac. None one of these three things proved true for me, but I'll keep after it and see what happens.
We finished off our night with a "Dinner in the Bush", which we were actually unaware of completely. We thought we were headed back to Tau but we pulled off a dark road and found ourselves out in the wide open, with music playing and food cooking and tables set for a meal. I know I have had a lot of "platitudes" along the way, but this truly was one of the most phenomenal dining experiences I have ever had. Not because it was fancy or overdone. Not even necessarily because the food was off the charts. It was the total experience. We were in it. Surrounded by nature on all sides. Oh, and if you thought perhaps Richard made a joke about eating dinner in the bush, you would be spot on.
