In the Wild Re Post

IN THE WILD ( Re Post) Early one morning, we begin our drive, An awesome feeling as we arrive, At our camp gate which, opens At six o’clock, Now we are in the African bush Which, will unlock, Moments that we have missed and Remember from our last trip, and Treasures recorded by camera, some Happy, some bring a tear, With some we recall our fear, One should not get too near, For this territory is wild animal land, It would be a mistake to let a situation Get out of hand! The maximum speed allowed in The Kruger Park, Is 50 kilometers , but we slow Down to 30 and embark, On a weekend adventure we so love, Yesterday, I put our binoculars into the glove Compartment, we are ready to experience Africa’s wildlife Of which we never tire, My husband puts his hand On my knee, so proud I’m his wife! Suddenly we see a pride of lions, sprawled Across the road, We jostle with other cars, for a good view, And place ourselves advantageously. My heart is racing, they are my favorite To spot, The lions aren’t in a hurry to leave And nor are we, We make a mark on the map with a dot, As when we get back, Reception would like a report What animals and where they have been seen, We do not want to fall short! Abruptly a lioness, his majesty, king Of the park‘s queen, Stretches and disappears into the bush, Followed by two lionesses and one cub, I feel privileged to share this time With them, and quickly bring my camera up, For just across the road is a leopard With his kill, among some branches, My husband puts a finger to his mouth shhhhhhh, But I am so excited I can’t keep the The camera steady, Fortunately he has his set and ready! The leopard gets the jitters, senses my thrill And jumps down, Vanishes into Africa’s bush leaving his kill In the tree, Ingraining in us an unforgettable memory! He’ll be back, to finish off A small impala buck, Which the Leopard hauled up With exceptional ease, If you please! We have seen two of the big five, Are hungry, forgot our lunch, so drive Back to Berg-en-Daal, our camp Eat what I’d packed and take a short nap. The sun is scorching, the temperature is 41 degrees, Not even a breeze, Gratefully, our rondavel is cool thanks to air Conditioning and a thatched roof, We sleep like babies, knowing the fence Around the camp is absolutely full proof! We set our alarm for 14.00 hours, and leave Once again, Our morning trip was short, we were very lucky in Spotting of game. Our afternoon trip we plan to be longer, and Drive alongside a river, We stop, When we spot, Hippos and crocs, We zoom in, get a great shot, but the crocodile's Razor-like teeth and the hippo’s enormous jaws, Make me quiver, And shiver! We turn around, hear an elephant’s trumpet, Keep a good space between mom and calf, Certainly if we get between them it will Be no laugh! Amazed, we watch a dung beetle collecting and rolling, Elephant dung, He is laboriously pushing His prize, whilst his mate lays her eggs, In transit – she’s got it right, the male is the worker, In fact they are co-workers, she is no shirker! A green mamba slithers across, On a mission, glad we are in the car, Seeking to ambush a squirrel, wonder if The mamba will kill it, I think it’s cute, run Squirrel, far! Next, we see a buffalo, too close for Comfort, a loner, maybe dangerous, Prefer to keep our distance, not get too near Its wary eye, He’s a bad tempered guy! We cut short our afternoon trip and Decide to call it a day. Go to reception and extend our stay. We collect coals and wood at the Shop in the camp, go start our braai, Under a clear night sky, And see constellations of stars Imagining what it could be like To one day live on Mars! During the rest of our short stay, We see rhinos, And a pack of wild dogs who we Catch unawares. We park on the opposite side Of the track, And watch them as they Tear apart their Afternoon snack! If any meager remains are left, The vultures and hyenas will scavenge, And ravage, With savage Delight, Until, no morsel is left in sight. On our last day, we see two baboons Fighting, Quite horrific, it was quite a sighting A tad frightening! Our windows are open half way, A precaution As we travel with caution, A foul smell reaches our nostrils, a Kilometer away, we see upwards of 30 vehicles vying for a spot, An elephant carcass has been around for A while, 10 lions are having a feast, Oblivious of humans, his majesty graces This orgy of eating, The odour takes some beating, It was stinking, No animals will dare come near, The Lions want it all, There’s no competing! We were engrossed, Forget to look at the time, Two giraffes pass, We brake fast, They look alluring with their tall legs and Long sexy eyelashes, They stare at us, eyes trying to seduce, Us, but in fact all they’ve done, is reduce Our time to arrive at our gate, We make it through, will enjoy our Braai a little late. We light our fire, settle down Whilst meat grills, foiled potatoes crackle And the cob turns a golden brown, My husband says hush, don’t move, a Snake was creeping over my foot, I freeze, Did not move a muscle, Imagine if we had got into a tussle, I would certainly be the loser And the snake the abuser! This was our last night, We left early morning Had glorious weather and, one after the Other wonderful sighting, Just around the corner is another Unexpected exciting Surprise at the top of a tree, The best sighting my husband could wish To ever see, A Fish Eagle perched right at the top, Ready to swoop down and catch an Unsuspecting dung Beetle with his long and Sharp talons, Poor little chap, He was enjoying a casual stroll, Fate, catches up with him, he dies All because he is slow! We see herds of wildebeest, zebras And a few warthogs, And say au-revoir to the Park Which I compare, To an eternal Noah’s Ark. We travel back, get home late My husband whispers in my ear, The Kruger Park brings out the wild In me, Says he, He found me hotter, And an excellent spotter!