Life with the Lions.

Well, I am actually back home now and have been for about a couple of weeks. Just taking a little while to get accustomed to being back. Will talk more about that later, but thought I should give people an idea of what occurred on my last volunteer project. Hello!! . . . are you still out there? Stay with me people, I know I have returned home and I am safe so some of the intrigue of whether I will be eaten by hippos is gone, but I still have a few more snippets to share. After surviving a day and a half in the fearsome streets of Johannesburg, actually I was in some nice suburbs, so not so scary, I then flew in my favorite little propeller plane to the city of Phalaborwa. Oh, wait, let me expand a little since I am not a huge fan of flying. Our flight was first delayed for an 1hr and a half for mechanical difficulties. THen we were taken out to the airplane where we sat for 20 minutes until the pilot mentioned we would have to go back to the terminal and wait til they worked a little longer on the plane. And then after waiting another 20 minutes for our ride back to the terminal, the pilot then states that we will give it another shot. "What the hell does that mean", I was thinking. Hello, this is an airplane, we can't just wing it (no pun intended), can we? Well despite all that, and me gaining a few more grey hairs, we survived and landed at the smallest airport I think I have ever seen. Two flights a day, and the baggage claim involves a guy walking out with the luggage in his hands and setting it in front of you. After waiting several minutes and starting to panic, because nobody magically appeared with a sign: MR. William Flanagan, a young brit named Kate greeted me, figuring that after 10 minutes of not having someone hug me or whisk me away and looking quite lost and scared, that I indeed must be one of the new volunteers. I also was met by two of my other fellow volunteers a wonderful couple from Holland, Marcel and Tamara, who would later fill me in on the wonders of the aviation world since they both worked for KLM as pilot and flight attendant. A later flight would bring our other cohort, a young Canadian from small town Alberta. Essentially the volunteer project takes place on the Selati Reserve which is a collection of farms that has been converted to a private reserve. Some of them are still working farms for raising game animals for sale. They, of course, have fenced off areas for this business, because within the reserve itself, you have a number of predatory animals such as a pride of lions, hyena, cheetah and leopards. It would otherwise be quite bad for business if these guys were chowing down on you livelihood. Typically, I think, farmers join this reserve for personal interests of being able to drive around and see a host of animals such as giraffe, zebra, rhino, impala, water buck,elephant,a etc, not to mention the other predatory animals. And I wouldn't doubt there was a little tax break in there somewhere. Now when I call these farms it refers mostly to owned tracts of land, not well groomed fields where once lay corn, wheat, etc. It is a variety of South African habitats, shrublands, rocky outcrops, forests, grassy fields, you name it, with dirt roads strewn throughout, with varying degrees of driveability. We stayed in a small 1 story stone building with one room for volunteers with 4 bunkbeds, a kitchen, a few rooms for staff and a couple of bathrooms. Also included were an outdoor shower and toilet were one could cleanse and crap under the sunny sky if you were so inclined. We also had an additional covered area where we had most of our meals and our friday night brai (bbq). Electricity was obtained through solar panels and if necessary a generator which was about 100 feet from the house. If days were cloudy and the generator was acting up, we spent the evening with candlelight and headlamps (this happened 3 or 4 times). And internet, well forget about it, not going to happen except for the weekly 1hr drive into town for groceries. The stove, refrigerators and freezer were run by gas and the hot water was generated by a fire that was constantly burning under a large metal tank outside. It was necessary for periodic firewood runs, to keep that going. Showers varied between scalding hot, cold, trickling, to a periodic heavenly perfection. On a daily basis, we each had assigned tasks that varied. Usually every other day, you were responsible for cooking the meals or doing the dishes. Meals were typically predetermined (though negotiable) by staff who rationed out the supplies and were things such as hamburgers and fries, spaghetti, stirfry, casseroles, fish and chips, etc, which could be seasoned with the repertoire of many outdated condiments obtained "fresh" from local grocers. Of note, mayonaise and mustard 6 months past their due date are remarkably edible. Also on a given day we would have a task for each game drive, which took place twice a day except on Sundays, our day off. The four tasks were as follows vehicle: checking fluids, tire pressure, fuel, emergency supplies on the safari truck (by the way, fuel was added from a gas can by siphoning with a big ol' hose into the tank), phuza: which meant snacks supplies meaning boiling hot water for tea and coffee, bringing juice, the ever precious and frequently forgotten milk, and rusks, which are a south african cookie/biscuit shaped like a small brick, and in my opinion tasting like a brick which improved when dunked into coffee or tea. Most people loved them, I could only appreciate them as a weapon or some type of building material. Next was data: involving logging in any of the less common animals such as predatory animals such as lions, cheetah, leopards, hyena or the larger game animals such as zebra, water bucks, elan (type of antelope), wildebeast. Elephants also fell into this category as did rhinos. Giraffes as amazing as they are, were too frequent in number. Part of logging them in was categorizing sex, age (adult, juvenile), names (some animals were electronically collared so we knew who they were), belly size in the case of predatory animals to determine food intake, and any important observations such as "lion juggling 3 small waterhogs while singing a catchy little melody"). The last job and most challenging was telemetry: which involved utilizing a telemetry device made up of a small antenna, cable and box which would emit a certain beeping sound if any of the collared animals were within a certain distance. Now this was a very inexact science. Basically 10 animals had a collar (4 lions, 5 elephants, 1 leopard) and you would dial in their frequency and turn the antenna slowly around in a 360 degree circle (I guess all circles are 360 degrees, aren't they) and when you got a beeping sound you started to turn it down til you barely could hear it, and this volume number would give you a "very" rough estimate of the distance from where you were. What was even more difficult to determine was the direction where the signal came from. Utilizing the clock system of direction, the signal could be in a range sometimes of 9 to 1 o'clock, or even greater range. It was really difficult to narrow it down to just one clock direction, say 9'oclock. And sometimes as you got closer, it seemed the signal was everywhere. The signal also varied quite a bit by elevation (getting higher could find a better signal), whether the animal was moving, hills, rocks, ditches, electric fences, or telephone/electric wires. So basically twice a day, at 6am til 11am or so and at 330pm to 8pm or much later, we went on game drives to find the animals. The project is with an organization called LEO which monitors the pride of roughly 12 lions in the reserve. They document lion behavior with focus on location throughout the reserve and also kills that they make to determine a balance of game animals and determination whether another pride can be introduced. It's an ongoing research project with periodic updates and a yearly synopsis paper to document all the findings. Our first game drive was just amazing. We neared the area where the lions were and came upon a group of elephants, probably 15 or so, in a small forested area. We watched as they moved around feeding on leaves and scratching themselves against the trees. Elephants typically leave quite a mark if they were in an area. Difficult to tiptoe through the forest when you are several tons. Trees are knocked down, grass is trampled and many times they leave the largest pile of poop you've ever seen. While watching these amazing elephants, a few of them had noticed our presence and come to check us out. One of them, made several warning charges within 15 feet or so of us, doing it's best elephant roar. Now, I don't know how many of you have witnessed such an event, but when you are in the back of the safari truck completely exposed to the elements and you have an elephant charging and making all sorts of racket, it makes you feel a little uneasy. Our guide, Greg, would turn on the engine and rev the motor a few times which caused the elephant to back up. Now, I don't want to discount the bravery of our beloved guide, but when you are in the front of the truck in a covered compartment, it is a slightly different experience and elicits a slightly different response than the surge of catecholamines raging through my body. This was further amplified when the elephant then bent down and began ramming it's tusks into the ground in a nice goring motion. I will never claim to be a zoologist or elephant expert, but I knew deep down inside, this was not a sign of peace. Again, the revving of the engine, the elephant backed off a few steps, looked intently at us, then turned away and rambled slowly away. We were safe for now or so I thought. We still had to meet up with some lions, only 50 feet down the road. We drove onward and into the bush to a sandy, treed area, where to my amazement lay two lions about 20 feet away. We watched for awhile, but as I was quick to learn, you were never too close to the lions, and we continued around the ground to a position within 10 feet of the two lions, with the spotlight shining on their beautifully regal forms. I was nervous, but excited and watched intently as our eyes met. "Wow", to be this close to 2 lions, was just incredible. A few moments later, the two lions stood up and started walking. "That was amazing" I said. Then as they moved away, another lion came from the bushes to follow them, then another, then another, then another. About 6-7 lions passed us. "Well, that was incredible". What a night I thought, but then we started driving, returning to the road for about 150 feet to where the lions had intercepted the road and decided to plop down in front of us. They didn't move, and nor did we. Just watching each other. A minute or two passed and from behind we heard a loud rustling of the trees 50 feet back. "Uhh, Greg, I think the elephants are coming back". 1st night, lions ahead of us and elephants behind us. Are you kidding me? Minutes passed and the elephants never got closer, but I sat there and wondered, what if they had? After several more minutes we started the engine and started driving, following the lions as they walked ahead of us for several yards until they disappeared into the jungle. Since it was getting late, we started heading back for the hr drive back home. The drives home were always a little bit of relief, because you were getting tired, but also a good bit of anticipation, never knowing what was round the next corner as we scanned our surroundings for the glowing eyes of some animal. Many times it was just impala (small antelopes) which populated much of the reserve. With these, we had to be careful, we didn't flash them too long, because they would be blinded and just stare at you and be paralyzed in their tracks making them an easy mark for any predator. On this magical 1st night, we would see what I have now learned to be the holy grail of animals, the unicorn of the african jungle, the Tutankaman of safaris. It's not a leopard, cheetah or even a hippo, but the ever reclusive, nocturnal, ferocious (not really) Aardvark, a rather small (2 feet long) pudgy, long nosed omnivore that not so gracefully waddles around. The chances of seeing them are quite rare, though and though we mostly just caught his butt end, as he lumbered away, it was quite a scene to be had, especially when we would mention to others who were awed by our stories of good fortune. Several minutes later we would also be lucky enough to see 2 hyena trotting down the road for about a quarter mile or so. These guys are just as they are portrayed in the Lion King (finally some accuracy in film). They are sneaky, mean, evil scavengers who wander the land looking for some poor lonely animal or some leftover kill from some more respectable predator. Well, I feel like after writing all this, that I am getting a little wordy, so I want to sum up some of the other things I did while I volunteered. On our day off, we checked out the Blyde River Canyon, which is the 3rd largest canyon in the world and took a small river cruise and saw some hippos, a crocodile and many different bird species. I don't mean to brag, but I have also seen the #1 largest canyon (grand canyon) and the 2nd largest canyon (Fish River canyon in Namibia). Another weekend we went to Kruger National Park, which is amazing and despite the pissy weather, we saw a variety of wildlife, most notably elephants (a few of which, I believe actually were moonwalking on the road in front of us. I have video footage, so you can be the judge), lions, hyena, giraffes, etc. We also were about 30 seconds too late from seeing a cheetah, which bummed me out. Also most notably, we had a particularly amazing night when we tracked down two leopards and watched them for probably an hour until, they walked away. As they left, we then saw a hyena pass by, and as we attempted to reverse our vehicle from our position, we promptly got stuck in the mud. Now this is a slightly tense situation when you have very recently seen a total of 3 animals that wouldn't mind you as a night time snack. But after 20 minutes or so, we were on our way. Probably the most scared I had been on the trip was one of the last nights when we, as usual, had found the pride of lions in pitch dark along the fenceline on the road. After watching 4 of the lions ahead of us, our guide wanted to get a closer look at the other lions in the grass and bushes off to the side, so we proceeded to drive into the grass about 8 feet and watch some of the lions, two of which got within 10 feet of the side of the vehicle. Warned by our guide to not make any sudden movements, I watched, hoping the lions didn't see my heart beating and pulsating through my chest cavity. As we pulled back and repositioned to leave the animals we moved onto the road and stopped the car to continue to watch those we had left off to the side, and the ones now behind us. Within a few minutes 2-3 of the lions walked by the side of the car and in front of the car, slowly moving forward. At this point, I wondered if this was one of those situations that might be considered near stupidity or at least a slight miscalculation. At present, there were 3 lions behind me, about 10 feet, quite interested in this vehicle with nice pretty shiny lights, another 2-3 lions on the side, curious about these people staring at them, only a few feet and a leap away, and 2-3 lions in front slowly moving away, looking for another spot to lay down in a more peaceful setting. Now as I was later to learn or at least be told, the lions perceive us and the vehicle as one big entity that is much, much larger than them and beyond their ability to overcome and kill. But at the time as you are staring into the eyes of these incredibly powerful animals and they seem to be staring right into your very soul, connecting to your very being, sensing each and everyone of your fears, there is an extreme urge to have a heart attack, stroke, or at the very least poop or pee in your pants. Now, I didn't end up doing any of these, but it was close and as we pulled away slowly, and the lions followed the truck, I felt increasingly scared. "Uh, Phil, they are following us, there's 3 lions following us!!" "Just let me know when they are close" he responded. "Uh, Phil they are about 10 feet away, maybe closer". "I am not worried about that, just let me know when they are right behind the truck". Occasionally he would stop the truck and reverse towards them to scare them off, but they always kept coming, and started to speed up a little. Now let me say one thing. I have figured out something, that there are different levels of fear directly linked to your proximity to the lions. In this instance with the lions following from behind, it begins like this. First level involves when you are driving in an enclose cab in full control of the vehicle, it is the "Oh, no, I hope these lions don't catch up to us, pick the lock or use a slim jim and get into the vehicle and eat me!!". The next 3 levels involve the seating in the open cab in the back. The 2nd level is the seat behind the cab or the "Oh, no, I hope these lions don't leap over the back door, eat Bill, digest their meal, then eat Mark, relax a little maybe have a little discussion about the philosophy of life and then devour me (Marcel)". The 3rd level is the middle seat or the "Oh, no, I hope these lions don't leap over the back door, ignore Bill or even just eat him and then move on to me in all of 2hours, with me frozen in fear (Mark)". Finally there is the 4th level of fear, which in the hands of my imagination can progress to the 5th level of fear which I will explain later. The fourth level is "Oh, no, I hope these lions who are now salivating and staring into my eyes don't make an easy leap into the back of the truck and forget that there is two other tasty morsels in the back and quickly dismember and devour me in an ironic end to my trip" (Bill, that's me). The fifth level is a little more involved and actually requires a fair amount of imagination, but gripped in this kind of situation, one's imagination like the rest of the body becomes infused with a strong level of adrenaline. This fifth level involves the safari truck hitting a bump in the road, my body being tossed in the air backwards, me inadvertantly throwing all sorts of insults at the lions as I'm flying through the air , something like "you are a bunch of pansy assed over sized kittens who couldn't spot prey if it flew off the back of the truck and fell into you mouths" and then the lions mistakenly mixing me up with a young good looking Brad Pittlike hunter who had many years ago come in and killed their parents in a ferocious bloodbath, and then me landing with each limb including my head in the mouth of a different lion, being quickly ripped too shreds, left for dead (well actually by that time I am), eaten by hyenas, torn apart by vultures and finished off by carrion beetles and finally peed on by an aardvark. Now I admit, this was highly unlikely, but at the time the adrenaline was flowing, and after finally pulling away from the lions, I went into a tirade of obscenities that I cannot repeat here for fear of government reprisal. Suffice to say, it helped and minutes later, I retained my senses, though I did have some intense discussions with the guides about volunteer safety. One of them did admit, that the comfort level of the lions around the truck was getting a little concerning. Anyways, it was a great experience and I recommend it to everyone, though I would also recommend a few extra pairs of underwear. As we said our goodbyes and headed to the airport, I prepared myself for what was going to be a very long day. I would fly from Phlaborwa airport 1 1/2 hours to Johannesburg, relax for a few hours, then fly 8 1/2 hours to Dakar (I was actually embarrassed when I found out where I would fly through, that I had no idea where that was, it's in Senegal, by the way), then 8 1/2 hours to Washington DC, run through customs, and another 6hours to San Francisco. Grand total-24 1/2 hours on the plane or about 30 hours from beginning to end. Topped off with an interesting landing at SF which involved descending towards the runway under slightly rainy and foggy conditions, about to touch down, when all of a sudden the plane lifted up, pulled up the wheels and started climbing. This was the "oh, crap, I am going to die, but I've had a good life, just finished an amazing trip, I love my family and friends. . . oh, wait, I don't want to die . . . oh wait, maybe I am not going to die" moment. The pilot announced that visibility had been compromised and that we would have to make another attempt. After many nerve wracking moments, and circling around we landed without difficulty and I thanked the Lord above for giving me a little more time. Thank you very much for your time. The trip is over, but I will share one more additional post after this one to sum up a few feelings and philosophies of the trip. Hope you enjoyed.