It is pitch dark. Anette and I are sitting on a deck about 3m high and are watching a water hole close by. We’ve been here for a while and not much has been happening except for the occasional antelope coming to drink. Suddenly we hear a soft sound coming from our right. To our absolute astonishment and excitement, we see four huge rhinos slowly grazing their way to the water hole! You can barely hear them even though they are probably only 30m away. You wouldn’t want to be surprised by one if you were on ground level! After some time they make it to the water hole and, suddenly, we can see them clearly because there is a strong light with a motion detector next to the water hole. After drinking, they start moving in our direction. It doesn’t look like they are aware of our presence and, eventually, two of them are grazing right in front of us – probably about 5m away. And then one of them slowly moves towards the deck, which is on stilts, finding some nice grass under the deck. I am sure his horn barely fits under the deck. He is so close to us that we can smell him! We do not want to use the camera because the flash will just spoil it. We are beyond ourselves with excitement! We sat there in awe until they were all gone.
One of the reasons we can regard ourselves as blessed in South Africa is because of the national parks we have. There are 23 proclaimed national parks spread across the country and, not only is the number growing, but some of them are continuously extended as well. South African National Parks is the organisation managing them and they are doing a great job. If you want to experience the diversity and beauty of South African landscapes, vegetation, animals and even her people, these are the places to go. The rhino experience I describe above, happened in one of them.
I have been to most of our national parks, starting as a small boy with my parents and later doing it with my wife and children. There is nothing as exciting as arriving at a park – far from city life with the expectation to see wild and fierce animals around any corner. Staying in a bungalow with the unique smell of its thatched roof, getting up before sunrise to go on a game drive, and sitting around your camp fire in the evenings discussing your sightings. At such times there is nothing in the world that worries you and you feel totally part of nature and its simplicity.
One night we went on a night drive (this can only be done by joining an official SANParks night drive) in the Kruger National Park. We came upon a pride of lions. We had strong spotlights on the vehicle and it blinded the lions for a while. I think if it wasn’t for that, they would have been tempted to board our open viewing vehicle! We also saw snakes and even chameleons thanks to the sharp eyes of the guide.
Oh, and being awakened at night by the roar of lions close to your camp! You are not allowed to leave the camp earlier than half an hour before sunrise, but if you hear lions roar at night you make sure you are in the queue at the gate the next morning to go and find them!
One year Anette and I did a three day hiking trail in the Kruger National Park. All these trails are lead by qualified and armed field guides. During the day we walked 10 – 15 kilometers and the guides were very knowledgeable – teaching us how to identify animal dung and telling us stories about the traditional use of the trees. We saw lions at a couple of hundred meters distance but (and I am not sure if this was a good thing or not!) they never approached us. We came quite close to a lonely elephant bull. Our camp was on a river bank with many animals visiting during the day.
Another year we visited the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and had the opportunity to drive alongside a cheetah that was walking down the dirt road for quite some distance. They are an endangered species and you will not find many of them – let alone in broad daylight next to the road!
As you will have noticed up to this point in the article, I just love the arid and inland parks. Going to the Tankwa Karoo or the Karoo National Park provide absolutely breath-taking views of semi-desert plains with hills or mountains here and there. If you stop in the veld and switch off your car, the peace and quiet is overwhelming with only a buzzing beetle or sometimes a snorting buck that brings your thoughts back to the moment.
If arid is not your thing, go visit the Table Mountain National Park or any of the other parks near the coast. I’ve been to the top of Table Mountain by both the cable car and by hiking on foot. Either way it is an unforgettable experience. To look down on Cape Town on the one side of the mountain or towards Camps Bay on the other side is an unmatched view. Or you can visit Cape Point at the other end of the mountain range and marvel at azure bays or learn why it is called the Cape of Storms on a bad day.
Maybe I prefer the inland parks because I live near Cape Town and I am more used to its presence and beauty. When I have a choice for a winter holiday (admittedly, those are wet and cold in Cape Town), I prefer to spend time amongst the fever and baobab trees of Limpopo province or the plains of the Karoo.
If you also feel blessed by our national parks, you can join me as a SANParks Honorary Ranger. I joined earlier this year and cannot wait to contribute as a volunteer to the conservation of our natural heritage. We do formal training on the different parks that one has a personal interest in, and you can then volunteer to do duty in those parks. Duty can be anything from inspections and gate duty to snare removal and maintenance depending on your interests and skills. The really dangerous or highly specialised work, like working with rhinos, is probably best left to the professional rangers employed by SANParks. Ánd you also get to wear a SANParks uniform!
