M.A.C in Africa: Makuleke #2: Flooding, evacuation and Trails Guide course

20th Jan - Rain, rain, go away!

We had a day and a half of dry weather and managed to achieve two days of 8 hour walks which was great. We explored the Sandveld area - one of the only parts of the concession that is accessible and not under water - and managed to get some fantastic encounters, seeing white rhino, elephant and buffalo to name a few. One of the highlights was walking though the veld and bumping a male and female rhino. We moved up onto higher ground and sat on a koppie to watch them for a while. They didn't see us and we watched them graze slowly towards us, getting to within 15m before the wind changed direction, they smelt us and moved off - it was all very exciting!

The rhino walk! L to R: Mike, Georg, Blake, Angus, Kobus, Marianne

Another great encounter was with a lone female elephant, in the Mashisiti Springs area. We were walking up a ridge about to cross the saddle through a narrow gap and on the right, half way up, we saw her feeding. It is quite rare to see a female elephant alone, and if you ever do they are usually very grumpy, but this cow was very relaxed and when she saw us (crouching just 15m away!) she calmly moved off down the side of the koppie - epic sighting.

The walking we've managed to do has been brilliant, but yesterday the rain started again and it is not looking good! Yesterday afternoon we were walking the Makwazdi Pan area, and after an awesome buffalo encounter, we rounded a koppie and saw a very black sky and sheets of falling rain in the distance. It was quite amazing to see, and I got some great photographs, but it was just a matter of time before we were all absolutely soaking! We did managed to squeeze in a quick hippo sighting before the thunder and lightning hit though, but afterwards we all looked very sorry for ourselves cowering under a tree on the side of the road waiting for our pick up!

Watching the rain come in - incredible view over the grassland

Overnight, we had 100mm of rain in a huge torrential storm - a massive tree even broke and crashed down in the wind right outside my tent! The rain has continued today sadly, so we're all cooped up in the classroom and all activities have been cancelled. There is almost 200mm of more rain forecasted for the next 2 days, and with the ground already fully saturated and flooding, it’s not good news. The Pafuri Wilderness camp remains evacuated and the Limpopo River is getting a bit high for comfort, but we’ll see what happens! In the meantime, it’s more fun and games with the kayak...

21st Jan: The Outpost

The rain in the last 48 hours has been incredible, with over 250mm falling. We woke up yesterday after a sleepless night lying awake listening to the storm and worrying about the rain coming into the tent. All activities were cancelled which was a relief really because it was effort enough getting from our tents to the classroom, skipping over small rivers that had formed and wading through mud. By lunchtime, with the rain still bucketing down, we got a call from the head ranger of the Kruger Park advising us to evacuate as the Limpopo River was in flood up-river and we were in danger of getting washed away! So we piled a few of our belongings (we weren't allowed to take everything, only enough for a few days), and our mattresses and bedding into the landrovers and set off to The Outpost (in the still pouring rain) - the highest lodge on the concession. Wilderness Pafuri camp had also been evacuated there as well, so space would be tight, but at least we'd be safe. We all got soaked on the 45 min drive up, including all the mattresses which were later deemed useless. Of 5 landrovers, only 4 of us got to The Outpost, with Bruce, Dee, Matt (a volunteer), our cook and all the food getting stuck at camp because the drainage line river rose so high and so quickly, that they couldn't get across the road anymore!

At The Outpost, needless to say, as far as evacuation spots go, a 5 star lodge and a room looking down over the valley below is pretty cool! We heard from Bruce and Dee on the radio that they were safe, but that the Limpopo had burst its banks and the water around camp was rising. Crazy! They were going to wait overnight for the water to hopefully subside and try make it to The Outpost in the morning.

Evacuation! L to R: Angus, Georg, Marianne, Ed

This morning (21st) with no activities planned due to our situation, wake up was leisurely, but by 7am I was up on the main deck with a nice cup of tea and my book, overlooking the valley and listening to the birds - I think I could get used to being evacuated! This afternoon we took a drive to see how far the Luvuvhu River had come up, and what we saw was absolutely incredible. The road was completely washed away, tarmac littering the side of the road, and the extent of the damage to the trees and bush was astounding. The water, which although had dropped some, was still high and flowing fast, it was amazing to see. My heart went out to all the poor animals that must have been caught in the flooding, most of which was flash flood - they simply wouldn't have had the time to get away. We got very stuck on the way there and the way back and learnt some important lessons about driving in black cotton soil and also about towing/ digging/ pushing the vehicles out of the mud! In the landrover vs. landcruiser competition, the landrover won hands down, able to get out of the mud and through it much more efficiently, and then tow the landcruiser out! It was all good fun though, and good to get out of camp.

We were advised that of the rain stayed away tonight, we'll be heading back to camp tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately our ARH is completely cancelled as the shooting range has been entirely washed away, however Bruce has spoken to FGASA who said that we can continue with our trails guide course without the ARH qualification given the circumstances, and try to get it after.

22nd Dec: Amazing walk and move back to EcoTraining camp

This morning, for the first time since we've been in Makuleke, we had a real sunrise! The forecast predicted no rain, so we decided to get up sparrows and go for a walk. We headed east from The Outpost, down into the valley to have a look at the flood damage. As we were walking along the base of a ridge, we heard a loud trumpet on the other side, so decided to climb up over it to try and get an encounter with the elephant. The ridge plateaued at the top and even before we got there we could smell there had been elephants in the area. Arriving, we saw that this was an area frequented often by a breeding herd - the earth was well trampled and disturbed, and there was lots of dung. We found some particularly fresh tracks and followed them all the way down the other side of the ridge, and as we reached the bottom, we saw a huge male in musth feeding in the thicket below. To our right, we heard loud cracks and a few trumpets - the breeding herd. After spending some time watching the male, we set off south, following the fresh tracks, very fresh dung and the noise of feeding. Getting closer, we crept forward step at a time, and followed them into a thick Lebombo Ironwood thicket. With elephants feeding just metres from us, unbelievably we still couldn't see them - the bush was just too thick. It wasn't safe to get any closer though, so we sat and enjoyed the sound, crouched down behind the bushes and out of sight. Dale thought that perhaps they may be making their way to the river, so as that was our route too, we set off and hoped to maybe catch them down there later too.

Amazing views from the cliff - and
Alex borrowing some water from me!

We walked further south and hit the end of the cliff, below in which the Luvuvhu river roared. After admiring the view and watching some beautiful Bateleur, Crowned and Booted eagles, we set off down towards the river, scaling the cliff face, sliding down most of hands and knees! Reaching the bottom, we meandered down an absolutely stunning gorge, shaded by huge trees, the still high water trickling downwards. The flood water was evident everywhere, reaching several meters high, debris and mud way up high on trees and on the gorge sides - it was amazing to see. After slipping and sliding along the water’s edge trying to stay dry, Dale decided it was probably a lot easier just to walk in the water. Shoes off, we all padlded along admirning the gorge, when all of a sudden we all dropped bum deep in mud! The next 20 minutes were probably one of the funniest moments in my life, with everyone trying to pull themselves out of the mud in the stream, stuggling with rifles, holding their boots and cameras up high, it was hilarious. After struggling forward for some time, tears now streaming down our faces, we decided the only way out was to scramble up the gorge side. Evidence of the water hight with mud on the bushes all the way up was incredible, but things got funnier still when we reached the top because Dale and everyone who had taken off their boots (cough, they should have worn water shoes like me), decided to walk bare foot to the Luvuvhu River about 100m away to wash off the mud before putting their shoes back on. Of course they didn't anticipate the thorns (cough again, we're walking through Acacia scrubveld), so I couldn't stop laughing at them all and it was a very long 100m indeed! At the River eventually, we sat on a new beach, a result of the flood destruction, had a wash and a rest, and set back upon our way back to camp.

Walking bare foot trying to avoid thorns...hahah yeah right! Check out the muddy legs!

30th Jan: Elephant change; Shoot to kill

Really tragic incident today, the other group were walking in the Caracal Link area - the same area as us, but the other side - towards Palm Springs. On the way back to the vehicle, they walked straight into the middle of a breeding herd of elephants, with the Matriarch on one side, and rest of the herd on the other, in dense Mopane thicket. On sight of the group, the matriarch turned and charged right at them, head down, ears back, trunk tucked away. Bruce shouted for everyone to get back and they ran back towards a big koppie that they all scrambled up, but made it safely. In the meantime, Bruce had to head off the elephant that was out to kill him, and when she didn't stop, he fired his first shot at just 4 meters and the second at 3 meters. His sights broke at some point before the shots though and so although he got a head shot, he missed the brain, so she didn't go down. After two shots though, she turned and ran, along with the rest of the herd, and Bruce’s rifle jammed before he had time to get a 3rd shot in the back of the head.

Everyone was really shaken up after the incident, and Bruce went with the concession rangers the next morning to try track the cow down - they followed a heavy blood trail to begin with, but after some time, the blood started to lessen, then stopped altogether. They decided that although she'd have hell of a headache and be mighty pissed off, that if she'd survived it would be better for her herd if they left her alone and let her live. So that was what was decided, and we haven't seen her since. A horrible experience for all involved, but certainly some valuable lessons learned, notably how quickly dangerous situations can develop, and you can never become too complacent.

1st Feb: Tracking the leopard

Another fantastic few days in Makuleke - as it has dried out we've been able to do more and more walking and explore new areas. We managed to cross the plain in front of camp to get into the Fever Tree forest again which was brilliant, had some fantastic buffalo encounters, and spent some time watching some duggaboys wallowing in a big mud hole. On the way back to camp though, our choice of route was somewhat less dry and we ended up wading through ankle deep water and mud...hmm, good laugh though!

Another highlight was tracking down and encountering a leopard! We were walking in the Sandveld area and doing some rhino tracking when we heard some kudu alarm call in the distance. Dale suggested it may be a leopard, so we decided to check it out. En-route to the kudu, we walked smack bang into a breeding herd of buffalo which was pretty cool. Then, to make things even more exciting, we suddenly heard a leopard call, a deep raspy groan, not far away from us at all! Having let the buffalo pass in front of us, we hot footed it after the leopard in the direction we had last heard it call. For the next 30 minutes, we stop-start chased after the leopard, stopping to listen for its call and changing direction accordingly. It got to a point though when it stopped calling altogether, which was really frustrating as they were getting louder and louder meaning we were close! We decided to take a break on some rocks and wait and listen to try hear it again. After 15 minutes or so, we decided it must have moved off, so we got up ready to start walking again, when all of a sudden we heard the loudest call yet, super close to where we were sitting! Sacrificing sound for speed, we raced off again in pursuit of the leopard, hoping to catch just a glimpse of this illusive cat. Following the calls and getting closer and closer, we also picked up its tracks - it now being a 'her' which we could identify using the size and shape of her tracks - which certainly helped in finding her. Suddenly, turning a sharp corner through some vegetation, she called just meters in front of us, sending shivers down all our spines and there she was, standing on some rocks. We saw her for just a few seconds before she jumped away and ran off, but it was absolutely incredibly and so rewarding to see her after tracking her down for well over an hour! Such an amazing experience.

4th Feb - Sleepout under the stars

Following our disastrous first sleepout in Karongwe back in November, Bruce said that we could do a wilderness trail with him instead to make up for it - i.e. walk, sleep out under the stars, then walk again the next day. So yesterday afternoon, we set off from camp and walked south past Lala Palm windmill and up towards Mashisiti spring. Three hours later, after some great birding along the way, we found a perfect spot to camp alongside a freshwater spring, with a large koppie to escape to for safety if need-be. The whole idea of a wilderness trail is to be completely submerged in nature and get back to the basics - so it is just you in the wilderness, no frills, and certainly no watches or electronics. So we rolled out our sleeping mats, dug a hole for the fire to go and set about cooking some dinner - two minute noodles with some tinned chicken! The chicken would have been fine if it had said tuna on the tin, because it tasted suspiciously fishy, however it was considerably better than option B - "boily" beef, which looked and smelt a lot like cat food!

Wilderness trail...walking to find a camp spot

I wrote the next part of this entry in the middle of the night whilst on watch (we all took it in turns to keep watch to make sure no-one got eaten by hyenas!):

Sitting around the campfire this evening, we discussed the importance of the wilderness and why as humans it is so important for us all to experience it and spend time out in the wild, to appreciate nature itself but also to use it as an opportunity for self-reflection and to get away from "time" that rules our lives today. It is a very humbling feeling sleeping out in the bush, knowing how vulnerable we are without all our gadgets and how small we are when it comes down to it. In fact, I'm not all together sure what I'd do right now if some lions or hyenas actually did come and investigate us, though I can hear the rumblings of lion calls far in the distance and keep flashing my torch into the bushes "just to double check". It’s so special being here though, and it really does make you think how everything was created and we as humans play such a small role in wilderness places like these.

So I'm sitting now doing my bit of reflection, or trying to, with the rather deafening chorus of frogs, toads and insects, the fireflies buzzing around everywhere, and the glaring light of the most amazing stars I’ve ever seen, been somewhat distracting. It’s funny to think where I was this time last year, in Dubai living such a different life. But you'll all be happy to know that I feel very proud of the decisions I have made to be here and at this point, sitting in the middle of the bush trying to make sure no-one gets eaten, I feel that I am exactly where I want to be, going in the direction I want to be going, and feel very happy in doing it. It all sounds a bit mushy, but I really would recommend each and every one of you do something like this - not guide training, but just get out into the wilderness - and not even necessarily Africa - but somewhere where you can get back to the basics of life, feel free and un-distracted...it is quite an incredible feeling. It makes you realise how really important it is to conserve this wildlife areas.

My sleeping spot on the camp out :)

20th Feb - 150 hrs walking, exams, and back to Johannesburg

Fair to say the last few weeks on course were pretty hectic! We got all the encounters we needed for our back up qualification and all too soon it was time for assessment. We had to lead a 3 hour walk which needed to encompass a big-5 encounter, then had to walk as back-up on a second 3 hour walk, being assessed on group control, situational awareness and safety. We had an observation test, bird sight and sound test, area map test, VPDA (Viewing potentially dangerous animals) situation test...and the list goes on! So it was pretty busy as you can imagine! You'll be glad to know though that I passed with flying colours which I am over the moon about, however we still need to get our ARH to be fully qualified back-up's. As of the 13th Feb, our class have all gone separate ways for the 6 month lodge placement - I was very fortunate to be selected to work as Bruce's back-up at Makuleke. It’s a massive opportunity to learn so much more, and him being so well known in the industry will certainly give me a head start come September when it comes to finding a job in a lodge, so I'm really excited about the next 6 months!

In the meantime, I am back in Jo'burg catching up with friends and family, enjoying some down time and having a much needed rest after all that walking. I ended the trails guide course with some 150 walking hours, just short of 40 encounters and 270km, so giving my feet some TLC before heading back to Makuleke on the 25th to start it all again. Yippee!

25th Feb: Back to Makuleke

As always, holidays pass too quickly and my time relaxing by the pool has come to an end - its time to start walking again! Very excited about heading back to Makuleke, though somewhat apprehensive about having to do my ARH (advanced rifle handling) - I need to pass this to be able to work as Bruce's back-up, and my past shooting (including the day of practise I had in Jo'burg last weekend) didn't go too well at all, so I'm bit worried about that. Fingers crossed though, practise makes perfect I hope! Thanks Doug, Dad and Chris for your words of encouragement!

Not sure when I'll next be in radio contact, but will upload my next entry as and when I can. In the meantime, take care all of you, missing everyone lots xxx