returned it to the lady, then went and nursed my very
swollen neck.
Straight after the New Year my mate returned from leave
and the camp got a little quiet, so we did what we did
best. We went out walking in the reserve and practised
our Track and Sign skills. We also managed to get some
shooting practise in on one of the other reserves Moholo-
holo Mountain View. I hasten to add it was target shoot-
ing and not wildlife! I don’t think it matters how long you
have been involved in wildlife and walking in the bush it
is such a pleasure every time, as its never the same twice.
The downside of loving this environment so much is that
sooner or later I must leave to get on with other projects.
That time had come around far too soon and on a Sun-
day morning I was walking around with my chin on the
floor because I knew the time had arrived. Well, in fact
the actual time was going to be 11.30 when my flight left
Hoedspruit, so I had a few hours still.
“Wanna go shooting?” ask Jared the manager. I was
already in the bakkie (small truck) waiting for him. We
went and shot some paper targets of attacking lions and
buffalo and at about 10.30 my lift arrived to take me to the
airport. Just had to pack first ... nothing like being pre-
pared. I had an excuse … I didn’t want to leave!!
Toss everything into the big bag and chuck laptop,
cameras, binoc’s etc into the back pack. I now needed
to focus on the next bit. It was just a short drive to the
airfield where, once inside, I put the hold luggage onto
the not plugged in scales where they weigh your bags and
handed my passport to the lady behind the desk.
“Alex, your backpack,” suggest the person who had
driven me there, she wanted me to put the bag in the
hold.
“What? Not a chance,” I was quick to reply. “I am keep-
ing that with me, or I will never see the valuables ever
again.”
“No!” she exclaimed. “Take it off … Slowly!”
Four days after being beaten up by the wasp I was now
thinking, “Oh, this is jolly exciting, I wonder what it could
possibly be?”, or perhaps something a little more colour-
ful.
I suddenly felt like I did when I stood in the doorway
of the first plane I ever jumped out of. I did as my driver
suggested and turned my head slowly to look at the bag as
it slipped down from my shoulder.
“Phew, it’s not a wasp,” I thought. It was only a snake
sliding out the top of the bag between the two zippers. I
honestly felt super calm which is more than I can say for
the lady that used to sit behind the desk … never did see
her again. I simply walked out to the grassy lawn area at
the front of the building and put it down to allow ‘Sid’ to
slip away. Later, once I had read up on the type of snake,
I wasn’t so happy but hey ...
THIS IS AFRICA!
NEWS MAGAZINE
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