Jack Messitt (CA, USA)
March 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Having driven through Kruger National Park, I had already seen a lot of animals. But going on a walking safari with Transfrontiers was a completely different experience! Totally liberating and a much more exciting way to safari. It’s not only about seeing the big animals up close, but the chance to see the smaller creatures as well.
Here is an excerpt from the journal I kept on trail:
“Up before the sun, we walked in a single file line. Seeing Kruger on foot was so much better than being in the car. This morning I saw some unbelievably colorful spiders and their amazing webs! Brett, our guide, even found a baboon spider and coaxed it out of it’s trap door lair for us. We never would have seen that from a car.
As we hiked, we took turns behind Brett at the front of the line. As I took my turn, luck was on my side. Brett stopped. “Get down.” We all crouched to our knees. Then we heard it… A low ‘woomph.’
Everyone went quiet creating a deafening silence. I looked over the bush ahead of me. I could see a tree shaking in the distance. It felt like a scene out of Jurassic Park.
“Woomph.”
The flies buzzed about, seemingly loud as they flew by.
“Rustle.”
Standing next to me, Brett pulled a bullet from his belt loop and chambered it. He quietly brought the bolt closed and peered into the bush. I flicked on my camera and quietly switched off the manual focus to avoid the mechanical noise it makes as it searches. I extended the zoom lens to ready for a shot.
“Crunch, crunch, crunch…”
Whatever it was was definitely coming toward us. I brought the camera to my eye and focused where the bushes ended. Sure enough, I was right on the money. Brett raised his rifle as the female rhino filled the camera’s frame in a perfect composition. She was so close, there was no need for the 300mm lens. I widened out to compose a great profile head shot. Horn showing perfectly, ears twitching. Only about 4 meters away. My finger slid toward the button as I focused on her eye.
As another fly flew noisily by, I thought about the sound of the shutter. My camera is old and a bit loud. Would it scare off the rhino? Would it make it charge?
I looked to Brett who was focused on the mother rhino, rifle poised. Heart pounding, I looked back to the majestic animal and framed the shot up again…
As the rhino turned and ran into the bush, I thought about how great the picture would look blown up and beautifully framed. In the end, it remains my favorite photo of the trip.
If only I had taken it, you could see what I mean.
Turns out that I could have yelled at the rhino and Brett could have kept us safe. But coming from the city, how was I to know?
Like many times in life, a flash of memory is better than any photograph could ever do justice. So perhaps I am better off. But no matter how many rhino pictures I take in the future, the photo in my head will be the one I will compare them to and none will equal it.”
Going out with Transfrontiers was an experience of a lifetime! I look forward to returning sometime soon.
Cheers,
Jack Messitt
Los Angeles, California, USA
–> Visit Jack Messitt’s website and peruse through his photo albums Greater Kruger National Park.