Johannesburg - Gimme five! Better still gimme the Big Five. That’s the chorus often encountered by game rangers in the bush when tourists come to South Africa in the hope of seeing lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo.
So desperate are guests to capture the animals on camera at various luxury game lodges that they are even prepared to pay big bonuses for sightings.
One Canadian guest at Imbali Safari Lodge, which is situated in the 10 000ha Mluwati Concession which adjoins the Kruger National Park, had visited Africa 12 times in his search for a leopard.
So he offered concession manager Roel van Muiden, who hails from the Netherlands, R3 000 for the privilege of sighting a leopard.
By an amazing stroke of luck, Roel hit the jackpot less than 100m from camp.
“I could not believe my luck. I drove around a corner and there was a leopard in the road,” said Roel. “Previously I had not seen a leopard for many months.”
Game rangers are sometimes subjected to peculiar requests from tourists who strangely believe that the South African bush is home to bears and tigers!
Attempting to find animals can place rangers in tricky situations.
Roel once found his Land Rover surrounded by elephants in a river bed. His 10 guests enjoyed the drama until one bull elephant – “a troublemaker”, says Roel – pushed his tusks into the front cab.
“Everyone just froze, so I radioed for back-up. Fortunately the bull got fed up and went on his way. But we were lucky,” says Roel, who relates the time when a white rhino charged his vehicle and a lion was an uninvited guest at a bush braai.
The excitement of the bush never stops. Of course many do not realise the danger that the Big Five can present, but they thrive on the thrills anyway.
There is a healthy group of eight Southern Ground Hornbills in the area, a rare sight, along with over 500 other bird species, including the impressive African Harrier Hawk.
The birds can be seen among the apple leaf, jackalberry, knob thorn, marula and sausage trees.
History
The Imbali Safari Lodge was officially opened in 2002 and is located on the Nwatswitswonto River.
During the construction of the lodge, an ancient African settlement was discovered, dating back 400 years.
Building was halted to enable excavations of the site, which uncovered clay pots, grinding stones, bone tools and animal bone remains.
Imbali has 12 luxury chalets for 24 people, while the sister camps of Hoyo-Hoyo Tsonga Lodge and Hamiltons Tented Camp each accommodate 12 guests.
Hamiltons is named after the founder of the Kruger National Park, Major James Stevenson-Hamilton, who earned the title Skukuza – he who sweeps clean – for his battle to protect animals against hunters, ivory poachers and cattle farmers.
The Imbali, Hamiltons and Hoyo-Hoyo lodges provide various activities, including safaris, bird-watching, bush walks, self-drive vehicles, storytelling, local Shangaan entertainment and waterhole viewing.
The camps have swimming pools and Jacuzzis.
l For reservations contact 011 516 4367 or [email protected] - Saturday Star