Big Five Safari Day Five Part Two: Here Come the Elephants! (18 June 2009 PM)

Our driver, Clifford, was a great impromptu guide as we drove back north from Sabi Sands Savanna to Camp Jabulani – he pointed out a lot of interesting things as we drove through several villages.

Camp Jabulani got its name from a male elephant who was rescued from a mud hole after his mom (uncharacteristically) abandoned him when he got stuck. Jabulani was hand raised for six years and attempts to introduce him to other herds failed. So, what does a rescue sanctuary do with a four ton elephant? Build a camp around him.

To help socialze Jabulani, 8 other orphaned elephants were brought in. Incredibly enough, both males and females stick together and there are no territory fights. Three calves were born this year. These elephants are not tame – elephants are too smart to tame, but they are trained. The SA elephant trainers use the classic operant conditioning techniques to train their elephants.

Our guest house is luxurious. All three of us could fit in the polished stone bath tub. Didi and Nadine have slathered themselves in the hand lotion provided. The view from our back porch is lovely and so is the plunge pool.

And now about the elephant ride. After freshening up and having a light lunch we met the elephant handler, Paul. He gave us a 20 minute introduction to elephants and we got to hand feed them (They have really bad breath). Mounting an elephant is something else. You ascend a two-tiered scaffold and sit atop the elephant on a saddle that is somewhat similar a horse saddle – except that you are 11 feet off the ground and your mount is bigger than a bus.

We each got our own elephant to ride, with a groom in front. Nadine rode “Joe”, Didi rode “Jimmy” and Scott rode “Mhotna.”

Elephants have a mind of their own, If there is a yummy acacia tree full of leaves on the side of the road, the elephant will stop for a nibble. And the rider has to wait. Fortunately, these elephants were well trained and didn’t stop often.

After an hour’s trek through the bush, we stopped at a watering hole for “sundowners” – drinks and noches as the sun goes down. The elephants bade us good night and went to their barn (which is better equipped than some homes). We continued our safari in a different type of land rover – this one had a top (but still no seat belts). Didi sat in the back row by herself.

We asked our guide, Stephan, not to concentrate on the Big Five, but to show us other nocturnal animals. He did a great job and he doesn’t work with a tracker. He tracks and drives at the same time (not quite as dangerous as texting and driving).

Didi really wanted to see a wild african cat – very similar to a domestic cat but completely wild. He found two. Nadine mentioned that she would love to see a hippo out of the water. He tracked them down (in the dark). He also found two bush babies. We didn’t get any pictures because they move so fast, but at least we saw them. He found a trapdoor spider on the road. Not only did he see it in the dark, he missed driving over it.

Dinner was ostrich and pork loin. Didi saw her first vegetable in about five days – crunchy baby carrots. Dessert was a South African specialty – malva pudding with a custard sauce. Tomorrow we head out to the cheetah sanctuary for a tour – we get to feed a cheetah!!