Only when it hits you in the face do you really get a wake-up call and that’s what happened to me recently at Tau Game Lodge in Madikwe… sadness, remorse, frustration and then anger.
I was in the middle of nature as it’s intended to be, animals roving freely in 75 000 hectares of bush, food being their only thought.
Then the call came through on the radio – two shots heard in one of the sections and two black rhinos down, a mother and calf.
After the authorities had finished, the bullets taken for identification etc, the park was left to feel the pain and suffering of their loss. But nature took over and the lions found the dead carcasses and started feeding on their find, along with an opportunist brown hyena waiting on the outskirts for his turn to take a bite while the lions slept off their first go at the meal.
When faced with this scene, I could not believe how, in this day and age with all coverage that we have in the papers, radio and TV that rhino are still being killed… but then again, people will do anything for money.
I was listening to the news the other day and heard that somewhere overseas a law has been passed that you will be shot on sight if found poaching tigers… well, we should seriously be thinking about going the same route.
They had shot the rhino then the defaced the mother with a panga (not expertly done as some of the horn remained) along with removing her ears and tail. This was done to make it harder for the park to pinpoint which rhino it was for tracking reasons.
The baby had its horn, as little as it was, removed as well.
Madikwe does run poacher patrols, but once you see the area and denseness of the bush you see just what they are up against.
We were out on our first game drive and had already seen lion, rhino and buffalo and were off to find elephant when this call came through. Marielise, our ranger, stopped the vehicle to listen to the call more carefully and from the look of sheer horror that crossed her face, we knew something was really wrong. As she told us, the tears welled up in her eyes. We tend to forget these rangers see these animals at least once a week and have been with them as they grow up, studying them as well as caring for them when they get sick, so they become like our pets are to us.
Before you go out on a drive, you’re asked a few questions – such as do you have any neck or back injuries, if so sit up front and not on the back; do you have any allergies, then they know not to go to certain areas and finally… do you have a cellphone, if so, they want to see you switch it off or leave it behind. Why, you ask? Well, if you take a picture of a rhino you can also, with GPS-enabled phones, record the co-ordinates.
The whole of Tau Lodge took the assassination of the two rhinos rather badly, but this didn’t reflect in the service they still had to provide to the clients they had for the weekend.
Moving away from this scene, Madikwe offers some of the very best game viewing around and we were treated to some awesome sights, not only on the drive but back at the lodge… While sitting having lunch on the open veranda, a herd of buffalo came into the watering hole for a drink. A little girl of two got so excited she started screaming with joy. We had to try to keep her quiet while the animals drank, but then the trumpeting elephants arrived and the herd moved off.
They have introduced five crocodiles and this is causing much amusement among the rangers as one croc goes for a walk for kilometres but returns later that night and has been attacked by a honey-badger as well as a lion and has lost part of her tail, but still goes out. They are keeping a close eye on her these days.
When you return from a drive, a warm welcome and a hot face cloth is waiting for you to wipe away the morning dew and dust. It’s winter and the drives can be a bit fresh, so it’s best to wrap up in warm jackets. They do, however, supply you with a lap blanket just to keep the chill off.
The rangers keep in constant contact with each other, so when a sighting is found there are strict rules of engagement: only three vehicles at any given time on site.
So the chances for your photo shoot are excellent and, as one vehicle moves off, the next can pull in quietly as not to disturb the animals.
We did, however, have a traffic jam on returning from our sundowner drive… as we were heading home, a herd of elephants decided to cross the road and, because of their size, we let them.
It was awesome to sit there and watch the destruction they cause as they forage through, pushing trees over and uprooting grass in huge chunks and stuffing them into their mouths, not to mention the sounds and smells. They move quite quickly with very little noise other than the cracking of trees and sometimes you hear the deep rumbling of their stomachs as they communicate with each other.
We were fortunate to have possibly the last bush-camp dinner for a while as it’s now getting too cold to be out at night and, again, the food and hosting was outstanding.
We had booked a treatment at the spa of a hot stone massage and, again, they do a couple at the same time which saves any embarrassment for old fuddies like me who prefer to be with the missus in these situations.
While lying there being worked on we were talking about the day’s events and how one reacts to what had happened – and if you had a gun would you, in the heat of the moment, go chase the poachers down? Luckily the massage took effect and we relaxed tenfold.
We eventually got back to our five-star accommodation.
It’s like chalk and cheese: one minute we are out in the rough and tough, cold bush with the dust still sitting in your earlobes and you feel as if you’ve been driving all day, and then you’re having a massage and retire to an air-conditioned room.
A quick shower in the outside shower or a hot bath with lovely smelly bathsalts to soak in and you’re ready to go again.
Dinner in the boma around a huge open fire and another fantastic gourmet meal (they have a new chef and he’s trying out all new versions on some winter dishes); have a natter about your day with the other guests and retire to the bar for a drink or two or.
Maybe the day has taken its toll so it’s back to the room which has been turned down while you had dinner. The room has been heated and the French nougat has been laid on your pillow, the electric blanket has been on for a while and you tuck yourself in for the night.
But no, the sounds of elephant cavorting in the mud outside your balcony has you up again and we grab the torch and watchthem for another hour as they play in the mud and shower themselves with it. - Saturday Star
l Contact Tau Game Lodge at: phone 011 314 4350/49; fax 011 314 1162; e-mail [email protected]
Go to the website at www.taugamelodge.co.za