In my years of guiding there has been many a debate whether tracking animals is a stroke of luck or a skill. I have to add that his was mostly based on Kruger Park Trips.
As on a private reserve one actually does have to possess some tracking skills and most of the time that is all you have to rely on.
But in the Kruger National Park we cannot go off the beaten track, so most of our driving is done on the same roads and pathways that all the guests from all over the world use. Thus approaching the point I am trying to make. I think driving in the Kruger Park is roughly about 10% skill and 90% luck. With luck, I mean being at the place at the right time.
Jesse (newest addition to the Vuyani Team) set out on his first Kruger Park trip last week, accompanied by Kris the resident chef. Bright eyed and bushy tailed the vehicle was prepared, breakfast and lunch packed and cameras and binoculars charged and cleaned. The excited chatter was infectious as everyone was preparing for a thrilling day of game viewing. Wishing them luck we waved them off as they left the Lodge.
The whole day went by in a flash as the rest of us staying behind at the lodge went about our daily routine. We hadn’t heard from our Kruger Crew the whole day and we were starting to get a bit antsy as to what was happening or had happened.
Finally the group returned and we rushed to find out what they had seen. As soon as the doors of the vehicle opened everyone looked very sullen and my heart sank right to the bottom of my shoes. I immediately assumed that it had been one of those days were one sees absolutely NOTHING! (And trust me, those days DO occur every once in a blue moon.)
Gordon (one of our Australian guests) said to me in a very serious voice: “What an absolute waste of time, we had seen nothing, I am extremely disappointed in Jesse and Kris” I did not know what to make of this. I immediately shot Kris and Jesse a look. But both of them just stood there stone faced.
The next minute the whole group erupted with flamboyant and cheerful laughter. They had definitely fooled me! They had seen all of the Big 5 before lunch! I was dumbfounded. Then everyone started to excitedly report back on the day’s events.
The minute they had entered the control gate of the Park (before even paying the Conservation Fee) they had spotted a Leopard (as you might well know, this is one of the most elusive animals in Africa) Mr. Leopard was very calmly strolling down the road as if he had no care in the world. The vehicle had managed to stay with him for about 45 minutes, where he had put on quite a show. Lying down right next to the road (as if actually posing for photographs)
After the Leopard encounter it could not have gone better, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo and TWO prides of Lion. Now, seeing one pride of Lion is already amazing, even spotting a solitary male is sometimes considered a bonus. But two prides! That is just magnificent. All in all I would call that a successful day.
Returning to what I had earlier said about either having luck or possessing skill. In this case I might call it beginners luck, but I know Jesse would disagree. As he had said to me “it has nothing to do with luck it is all skill” Well, luck or skill – it made for a very exciting and action-packed day in the Kruger Park which has been captured in the memories of each and every individual who had been fortunate enough to be a part of it. And these are the kinds of memories we want our guests to take with and cherish. Every day is a superb one – as long as you are in Africa.
By Justine Ferreira