Sundowners With Rhinoceroses

Well, our work here is done. It’s time for a bit of emotional bonding with our hosts, and we spend our morning shopping. I’m not much a shopper myself, but it’s always fun to walk around the stores in foreign countries and see that they sell a lot of useless crap…just like back home! I did buy a stack of postcards and the stamps to mail them back home.

After a light lunch at one of the downtown Windhoeck shops, it was time for the main event of the day…a real-life, honest-to-God, African wildlife safari! I was so excited about killing big, defenseless animals that I nearly wet myself. It was only later that I found out we would only be allowed to take pictures. Africa has been greatly sissified over the past century!

We drove for more than an hour outside of the city. Along the side of the highway, we saw countless baboons. There were baboons lying about the side of the road, baboons resting atop the road signs, and baboons hanging out by water troughs intended for farm animals. We even saw a momma baboon carrying her little baby baboon on her back.

We eventually arrived at the game preserve…an 11,000 hectare hilly ranch surrounded by a very strong wire fence. The centerpiece of the ranch is a spa/resort that is incredibly beautiful. The centerpiece of the centerpiece is an indoor pool that overlooks a craggy valley and the sprawling hills beyond. The pool is an oasis of water in a very barren and dry landscape. Truly beautiful!

Shortly after we arrived, we were loaded into an uber-cool Land Rover and driven around the property in search of big game to shoot…with our cameras. The first animal that we encountered was a big thing. Wayyyy in the distance. Our driver killed the engine and pointed out a couple of big, black, quadrupeds resting mid-way up a hill approximately 1.2 light years away. I’m sure he told us the name of the species, described the animal’s behavioral characteristics and preferred diet. But as 1) I couldn’t inflict harm upon it with a bolt-action rifle and 2) I wouldn’t be eating it later…I found it hard to concentrate on the lecture.

Things got a LOT more exciting when we approached a herd of giraffes. These animals are tall…I mean, REALLY TALL! I’ve seen them before at zoos, but somehow seeing them in their “natural” environment…and only a few dozen feet away…gave me a new perspective on how big these creatures are. They were eating leaves from the tops of trees that had to be 20 feet high. And there were so many of them! I guess the “family” consisted of 7 or 8 individuals.

Another thing that I found interesting was how well the giraffes’ camouflage works. When a giraffe stands behind a tall tree…he more or less disappears. I knew that there was a giraffe standing a few dozen feet away from me behind a tree…but he was truly difficult to see…his form and colors blending perfectly into the landscape. Amazing!

The Land Rover is an incredible vehicle. It is perfectly designed for this environment. Not only was it comfortable for us as we viewed the various creatures in the park, but it had no problems navigating through soft sand or up steep inclines. It’s hard to believe that this is English engineering at work!

While we saw a ton of other animals (many of whom had relatives that I enjoyed eating for dinner last night), the ones that impressed me the most were the rhinoceros (rhinoceroses? Rhinoceri?). These beasts are built like Sherman Tanks…complete with armored plating! They’re huge! They have a very large and sharp horn sticking out their head! They’re kind of like a dinosaur, elephant, and unicorn all wrapped into one.

We saw a total of four of the beasts…two mothers and two calves. We literally chased them around, let them get worn out, parked the Land Rover a safe distance away, and set up a cloth-covered table to serve our drinks and snacks.

This is a memory that will stay with me always. Standing with my new friends next to a collapsible aluminum table holding snacks, beer, soft drinks, and liquor. Drinking one of those beers while watching four rhinoceroses that were watching us only a few dozen feet apart. The sun slowly sank behind the hills in the distance, and the temperature rapidly fell. Sundowners with rhinoceroses. Cheers!


Note: I added video to the last post. Check it out if you haven't seen it!