ESCAPE
Blown away
IN THE BUSH
THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE DRIVING
in the middle of the vast sandy expanse of
a dry African riverbed. It’s late afternoon
but although it’s officially winter, Jo the
ranger and his two passengers are still in
short sleeves and T-shirts. As our open
game vehicle bumps and pushes its way
through the sand, we navigate small pools
of water and splash across patches where
the mighty Sand River is still flowing.
We pull to a halt as a breeding herd of
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BMW INTERNATIONAL POLO
elephants with small babies in tow come
down to drink but, although they keep an
eye on us, they’re not bothered we are so
near and continue to siphon up trunkfuls
of water before padding silently up the
bank and back into the bush.
Huge ancient jackalberry and fig trees
guard the banks, the haunt of giant eagle
owls, vervet monkeys, green pigeons…
and leopards. Stretched out fast asleep on
the horizontal branch of a mighty sausage
tree, his stomach rising and falling, his
nose occasionally twitching, is a big male
leopard. His prey, a half-eaten warthog,
is safely tucked away among branches
higher up. Just as well, because, as we
watch, another leopard, this time a young
female, appears in the riverbed below.
She has smelt the warthog and wants her
share. She has a couple of deep puncture
wounds in her side – she’s obviously tried
to muscle in before – but with no luck.
PHOTOGRAPHS: SUPPLIED
On a recent visit to MalaMala, veteran travel writer Kate Turkington
discovers the same standards of service excellence, superb game viewing
and magical bush experiences as she has done for decades.