We parked the Land Rover under a large Jackal Berry tree, “Let’s walk from here” I said to my brother Rodney and his friend Kirk “It’s the best way I know to get rid of the big city lethargy and awaken the African senses.”
Rodney and I had invested in a piece of land near the Kruger National Park and Kirk, a friend and architect, had joined us on this trip to help us design a small residence. All of us, having a keen appreciation for our natural environment.
The walk to the river was relaxed and mostly silent as we absorbed and relished the spirit of the wild re-energizing our souls. The smells, sights and sounds fast replacing the pressures of modern day living with excitement and joy. The call of a Fish Eagle confirmed our arrival on the banks of the river and as we halted, Rodney pointed to a movement on the opposite bank. The flicking of a tail confirmed the spot on which to focus and starring at us intently was a magnificent lioness. I quickly scanned the surrounding area and detected four more lionesses, all of them watching us. “What do we do?” Kirk asked nervously. “Just don’t run! That would be like rolling a ball of wool in front of a kitten!” I replied the adrenaline apparent in the tone of my voice. The lions now realized that our focus and attention was on them and they reacted by loosing interest in us, they appeared more relaxed and only glanced in our direction casually. It is hard to tell what time had passed since we started on the walk or how long we had been standing on the river bank watching the lions but the light had changed and the sun was beginning to set when two big male lions emerged from the grass behind the lioness, they knew we were there and lifted their noses to the air to pick up a clearer scent. “It’s time…” I said to Rodney and Kirk “Let’s head back.” With the light now in their favour, the lions crossed the river towards us.
The grunts and roar of the lions could be heard all night and they sounded close…very close! Early the next morning, before coffee I recommended that we do another walk. There was a little bit of banter and a few jokes before they realized I was serious, “What are you nuts, there’s lions out there!” came the response. “Yeah, they are always there” I replied “Them and thousands of other creatures, the difference between now and all the other times you’ve been out there is that now you are aware of their presence. It’s that awareness that makes the experience magical, and the beauty of it is that if we take time to understand the tracks and signs of the wild every visit to nature can hold that magic.”
We picked up the spoor about 50 meters from camp and followed it along the road until it headed towards a bush thicket. “This is as far as we go for now, they will be under the bushes ahead and might have settled there for the day had we not come along. They are probably as yet unaware of our presence as the wind is towards us. We don’t want to surprise them so let’s just talk at a normal rate and see what happens...?” Almost immediately a soft rustle could be heard from the bushes ahead and the pride moved directly away from us, only fleeting glances of a tail or ear could be seen as they returned to the Kruger National Park and the balance of power had changed again with the rising of the sun.