Mahango Game Reserve

In the late afternoon, we clambored into an open air vehicle for our game drive. Mike stayed behind to work on his motorcycle, but a couple from France joined us. It was still very hot, but the sun was lower and it was just a matter of time before the air would be tolerable. Daren was our guide. A very likeable fellow from South Africa, with rasta braids and tatoos. Peter, our driver, was from a local tribe.

We were all geared up to see game, but Daren warned us that there's no telling what we'd find. The week before he'd been on a three-hour drive and all they'd seen was impala. But as it turned out, ours was one of the most fruitful drives he'd been on. And the McCord kids, who are game drive veterans, insisted this was the absolute best. No giraffes or lions, but we saw many elephants, hippos, cape buffalo, sable, baboons, monkeys, zebra, antelope, impala, kudu, reed buck, warthogs, tortoise, and even a few dung beetles. We all came back charged and enthusiastic, chattering about what we'd seen.

The whole three and a half hours, we only saw two other vehicles. It felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. Several times we nearly got stuck in soft sand. Each time, Daren would hop out of the vehicle and adjust something on the front tires to put it into four-wheel drive. We'd hold our breath as Peter rocked the vehicle back and forth, cheering when he finally pulled it out.

Once we saw a lone hiker, an African. The sun was close to setting, and Daren shook his head. "They'll find his bones tomorrow." A little over dramatic, maybe. But he said that many times criminals or smugglers try to make it across the park on foot, and it's not unusual for human bones to be found. I guess that explains why we didn't offer the fellow a ride.

We were headed back to camp, 45 minutes late, when we saw four elephants right by the road. "Whoa! Go back!" we begged the driver. He reversed and stopped next to them. We were so close to them, taking their photos in the setting sunlight, when they turned and walked toward us to cross the road, just a few feet behind the vehicle. Kate, Judith, and I were in the back row, a perfect spot for photos. The driver had turned off the engine, and I hoped he could start it up quickly if needed. As each one passed, he faced us and opened his ears in warning. Judith, who has been charged by an elephant before, abandoned her camera and crouched behind the seat. But Kate and I just clicked away with abandon.

What a perfect topper to a great game drive. We came back happy, with the sun setting behind us.

Photographer's disclaimer: I'd finally determined that my telephoto lens was really broken, so I was limited to my smaller zoom lens. It worked great for wide angles, or when subjects were fairly close (such as the elephant above), but for close-ups, I relied on Kate and her Canon Powershot. Without Kate, it would be a very disappointing photo album!