Enjoying a magical safari to South Africa's animal kingdom
JAKARTA (JP): An open Land Rover trekked along the small meandering track while the morning sun caressed damp leaves and revealed glittering spiderwebs stretched between tree branches.
The morning dew was still sparkling when the jeep with a ranger, six journalists and a native Shangaan tracker on board quietly entered the wilderness at Malamala Game Reserve to hunt for the big five -- the lion, the leopard, the elephant, the rhino and the buffalo.
Nobody was allowed to make a noise or to stand up when spotting animals, let alone alight from the jeep during the ride.
"Otherwise you will scare the animals. Once they feel threatened, they will turn aggressive and chase anything they consider an enemy," the ranger said.
At one location, the tracker, who sat on the higher backseat, suddenly whistled to the ranger, alerting him that he had spotted a leopard.
The vegetation on the roadside was tall, and the jeep moved slowly to follow the leopard's tracks along the sandy Sand River.
A passenger whispered in excitement, "There ... the leopard!" while pointing at the animal's tail poking out of the vegetation.
The jeep slowly approached the leopard. The animal turned around and glared at the jeep, making all the passengers freeze. The ranger did not even touch the only rifle in the jeep.
The leopard ignored us and instead relieved itself. It slowly went on its way, strolling just half a meter alongside the jeep.
Judging from its size, the tracker said the leopard was male.
"He is marking his territory, so that other leopards will not trespass for food. The liquid smells like popcorn," the tracker, Bens Marmani, 25, said.
Like other natives, Marmani said that he could detect animals' presence easily because he had highly developed tracking senses, as did all people like him.
"A few years ago, when I had to go to school, I would leave my cattle wandering anywhere on the grassland. After school, I had to find the cattle again. So I had to know how to track them," said Marmani, who still herds cattle.
The previous night we spotted two lionesses preying on an antelope. They were not bothered by the camera flashes or the presence of jeeps some 200 meters away.
During the safari, we were lucky to meet towering giraffes, huge elephants and exotic birds.
Private game reserves
Such tours can be organized at any private game reserves, national parks and provincial parks throughout South Africa.
MalaMala is a private game reserve in Mpumalanga province which covers 5.5 million acres of land. It has an unfenced boundary of 30 km with the famous Kruger National Park. MalaMala was initially a cattle ranch.
Until 1960, it was a private hunting range. In 1964, it was purchased by the Rattray family. Michael Rattray then doubled the land size of MalaMala Game Reserve, making it the largest block of privately owned big game land in South Africa.
Safaris at the national park can be more exciting, especially if you are not very brave.
Tour groups ride in roofed jeeps along a paved road in the wilderness. The rangers do not mind if people make a noise while in the jeep. The only precaution is that one must remain in the jeep, and no part of the body is allowed to protrude from the vehicle.
At the Kruger National Park, where people may drive themselves, you may suddenly meet an elephant about to cross your path, or meet armed rangers on patrol in the park.
The two million hectare Kruger National Park stretches 400 km from north to south and 70 km from east to west. The extension of the eastern boundary into neighboring Mozambique and further north into the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe (all covering three million hectares) is being considered as part of the Peace Park concept.
It was inaugurated in 1898 by Paul Kruger, the then president of the Boer Republic, the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR), as the Sabie Game Reserve, after he became aware of how fast the animal numbers were dwindling due to unbridled hunting.
Game reserves provide visitors with rest camps which have electricity, a first-aid center, supermarket, laundry service, restaurant, public telephone and gas station.
Other reserves offer visitors bush lodges, which are exclusive, private lodges with a unique style and atmosphere. Only residents are allowed to enter the camp. Guest houses are also available.
There are currently 16 national parks and 300 provincial reserves. Most of them are part of South Africa's conservation efforts. (ivy)