Apologies for the lack of captions so far. Just working out how to manage on my phone!
Overnight at Buffalo Rock
For more, see Buffalo Rock Photos
After an excellent night's sleep and a good breakfast, a group of 16 of us got on the mini buses to take us to our overnight camping adventure. We were only able to take a small backpack so we travelled as light as we could.
We mainly booked this guided holiday rather than book independently as we knew that South Africa was not all that safe and we are risk averse so imagine our slight concern when we discovered that we were going on a bush walk and that our 'camp' had no fencing and that members of the Big 5 animals could wander through.
On arrival at reception we were sorted into 2 groups of 4 couples and were introduced to our guides who were carrying rifles and wearing a bullet belt. Graeme asked if they were stun guns but were told it was live ammunition as stunning takes too long to take effect. She told me she had never had to fire in anger. We had already been told to wear neutral colours, to walk close together in single file and to keep noise to an absolute minimum. They assured us that they had never lost a guest; the electric fence was switched off, the gate was opened and in we went.
Our guides were amazing; one kept lookout whilst the other pointed out interesting things (mostly poo from various animals such as hippo, cape buffalo, antelope and impala) 🤣 and plant life.
We mainly booked this guided holiday rather than book independently as we knew that South Africa was not all that safe and we are risk averse so imagine our slight concern when we discovered that we were going on a bush walk and that our 'camp' had no fencing and that members of the Big 5 animals could wander through.
On arrival at reception we were sorted into 2 groups of 4 couples and were introduced to our guides who were carrying rifles and wearing a bullet belt. Graeme asked if they were stun guns but were told it was live ammunition as stunning takes too long to take effect. She told me she had never had to fire in anger. We had already been told to wear neutral colours, to walk close together in single file and to keep noise to an absolute minimum. They assured us that they had never lost a guest; the electric fence was switched off, the gate was opened and in we went.
Our guides were amazing; one kept lookout whilst the other pointed out interesting things (mostly poo from various animals such as hippo, cape buffalo, antelope and impala) 🤣 and plant life.
They were a mine of information and so interesting and we began to appreciate how clever the animals are and as Mufasa would say it's the Circle of Life and nothing in the bush is wasted.
She firstly pointed out some fresh buffalo poo which was a little disconcerting as they are extremely aggressive. We didn't see him!
One of the guides told us that a dead body was once found on the track. They believed he was a poacher who had been attacked possibly by a hippo and that his body had been dragged onto the track.
We also came across the totally stripped bones and skull of a buffalo which the guide said would have been an old male who couldn't keep up with the herd. Stripping was courtesy of hyenas.
The walk was around 2 hours and eventually we left our guides and waited for our jeep to take us to Buffalo Rock and our overnight camping stay.
For about the 4th time in two days, we signed indemnity forms saying that they weren't liable if we got eaten, and were given the keys to our 'tent'. We enjoyed a drink before an enjoyable buffet lunch of curry or fish and spaghetti (never had that combination before), fish and fruit.
We understood there was no WiFi here 😱 but there was in the bar/restaurant so all was well with the world.
She firstly pointed out some fresh buffalo poo which was a little disconcerting as they are extremely aggressive. We didn't see him!
One of the guides told us that a dead body was once found on the track. They believed he was a poacher who had been attacked possibly by a hippo and that his body had been dragged onto the track.
We also came across the totally stripped bones and skull of a buffalo which the guide said would have been an old male who couldn't keep up with the herd. Stripping was courtesy of hyenas.
The walk was around 2 hours and eventually we left our guides and waited for our jeep to take us to Buffalo Rock and our overnight camping stay.
For about the 4th time in two days, we signed indemnity forms saying that they weren't liable if we got eaten, and were given the keys to our 'tent'. We enjoyed a drink before an enjoyable buffet lunch of curry or fish and spaghetti (never had that combination before), fish and fruit.
We understood there was no WiFi here 😱 but there was in the bar/restaurant so all was well with the world.
Apologies for duplicate photos, posted by accident. Can't find any way to delete them or add captions.
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Antelope footprints |
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