Safaris can be notoriously expensive. However, due to the lack of tourists, some game reserves are currently offering tours at a considerable discount.
We realized that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. We searched for an eco-friendly lodge and booked four nights. There were indeed very few guests – for the first two days, we were the only ones!
When we arrived, we were introduced to Brad, our ranger, and Herold, our tracker. Every morning and every evening, they took us out for four hours to explore the bush. It was a spectacular experience.
Herold was sitting at the front of the jeep looking out for interesting animal tracks. He would stare down at the dirt road, raise his hand and say “we have a young female leopard going west”. It was amazing!
I was worried that we were intruding and disturbing the animals, but they were very relaxed. In fact, they didn’t even bat an eyelid. Even when we quietly talked, they didn’t show any interest in us – as long as we stayed in the jeep.
Once, a pride of lions killed a wildebeest during the night. By the time we got there in the morning, only the cubs were feeding on it. The older ones already had full bellies.
It was nice to see rhinos with their horns still intact. Many game reserves have decided to cut the horn to protect them from poachers (the horn regrows).
The bushwalks were my favourite. Without the noise of the car, it was nice to be more in touch with nature and to focus on the smaller things that are often overlooked.
We learned a lot about termites, beetles, ants, spiders and even ticks.
On the second day, Brad and Herold suddenly got all excited. Over the radio, another ranger had reported a sighting of a pangolin. A what?!
Brad explained that this was a nearly extinct, scaly-skinned mammal – he had only seen one twice. He quickly turned the jeep and we hurtled in the direction of the sighting. The first ranger waited there for us to show us where the pangolin was.
Brad and Herold were delighted to see the little guy and enthusiastically took a million photos. Then, they insisted that we needed to take a photo with him. Which we did.
Being far away from civilization, the night sky was spectacular.
Obviously, running around in a game reserve was not on. Fortunately, there was a small gym which we could use every day.
Another thing that I appreciated was only having limited access to the internet. With all that’s going on in the world right now, it felt like a peaceful oasis. So wholesome!
- Have you ever heard of a pangolin before?
- What’s your favourite animal? -Herold said he loved the elephants best. I think I agree with him!
I’m joining Kooky Runner and Zenaida’s link-up, Tuesday Topics. I’m also joining Runner’s Roundup with Mile By Mile, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, Runs with Pugs and Laura Norris Running.
Liebe Catrina,
wow, da hattet ihr wunderbare Tage in einer beeindruckenden Umgebung! Danke für die tollen Bilder. Diese Art der Safari, die alle Tiere leben lässt, ist mir absolut sympathischer als Trophäenjagd! Ich finde ja alle Tiere beeindruckend. Die Elefanten ganz besonders, aber fast schon zu beeindruckend, jedenfalls in der Nähe. Löwen und Leoparden gefallen mir auch immer, die Leos mit ihrem schönen Fell und die Löwen als die Könige Afrikas, aber beide auch am liebsten aus der Distanz!
Ein Pangolin, was wir hier alles lernen bei dir, nie gehört vorher. Toll, dass die Ranger euch diese Möglichkeit bieten konnten.
Ich glaube gern, wie eindrucksvoll der Nachthimmel. Mir hätte es auch gefallen, unter kundiger Begleitung nicht nur herumgefahren zu werden, sondern auch zu Fuß ein wenig das Terrain zu erkunden. Das ist sicher nochmals eine andere Art des Erlebens.
Ja, ihr konntet wunderbare Tage genießen, leider hat euch dann das Weltgeschehen auch eingeholt. Schlimm, was da gerade passiert :-(.
Liebe Grüße aus dem sonnigen Rheinland
Elke
Liebe Elke
Es war sehr beeindruckend, die Tiere in ihrem natürlichen Lebensraum zu sehen. Ich glaube, wir werden davon noch lange zehren. 🙂
Das Fell der Leoparden hat mich auch so beeindruckt! So ein elegantes Muster – schöner als irgendein menschlicher Designer entwerfen könnte.
Bin ich froh, dass du den Pangolin auch nicht kennst. Hier in Südafrika scheinen wir die einzigen zu sein, die nie davon gehört haben. Ein komisches Tier, aber leider sehr begehrt wegen seiner schuppigen Haut.
Wir sind nachts auf der Heimfahrt mitten im Busch angehalten und Brad hatte uns den Sternenhimmel erklärt – wie man den Süden bestimmen kann und wo die wichtigsten Sternenbilder sind. Die paar Tage waren wie ein Intensivkurs – wir haben so viel gelernt! Auch wie man Wasser filtert oder welche Pflanzen man auf die Haut reiben kann, damit die Mücken wegbleiben. Wir würden wohl trotzdem nicht überleben… 🙂
Ja, jetzt sind wir wieder in der garstigen Realität… kaum zu glauben, was gerade abgeht.
Liebe Grüsse aus dem ebenfalls sonnigen Cape Town!
I´m absolutely green with envy right now – a safari to see all those wonderful animals has been on my bucket list for ages! Your trip sounds heavenly, and not just because of the animals: that night sky is only available when there´s no light pollution in the air.
My favourites would be all the wild cats, love them. 🙂 Elephants are a very close second.
PS: No, have never heard of pangolins, it looks very interesting indeed! Could you touch it?
For sure you will get to do a safari one day, Riitta! It’s a wonderful experience which your family would enjoy.
I imagine that you must have a similar clear night sky in the unpopulated areas of Finland. Brad explained the constellations to us and I wish I understood more about the stars and their movements!
Oh yes, the wild cats are so cool, especially the leopards with their wonderful coat. So elegant!
Yes! We could touch the skin… it felt like touching an armour of soft metal… so weird! 🙂
The safari is one of the reasons I really want to visit Africa.
Thanks for sharing your awesome pics.
Put it on your bucket list, Darlene! You would love it.
I’m sure you could combine your visit with a local race, too!
What a fun expedition! Ummm, is he toughing the elephant poop with his bare hands???? (EWWW) The closest we’ve ever come to a safari was at the Animal Kingdom (at Disney in Florida), where we took a “safari ride” and saw numerous animals in their habitat. That doesn’t quite compare to the real thing, LOL
Haha, yes! In fact, I dug into the elephant poop as well, we were looking for a special fruit seed. The dung is completely fine because the elephants only eat grass and leaves. 🙂
The funny thing is, we often talked about the movie “Lion King” during the safari. Brad and Herold loved the movie and commented on how accurate it was. I imagine that Disney also would do a great job with their safari rides in the Animal Kingdom. And it’s more efficient too, because you don’t have to look for the animals for so many hours!
I have dreamed of going on a photo safari forever. It’s so darned expensive (getting there, the safari, etc.).
Your photos are spectacular Catrina! I have never even heard of a Panglion. Here I was thinking it was some sort of lion mix.
I love cats, including big cats. I think I’d be most excited to see a Cheetah! I would love to see leopards, too (I realize they do not live on the African Savannah!).
So many of my mom’s aides came from Africa originally — although so far none from South Africa.
I know! It was so expensive! That’s why we held off for so long. Even at a substantial discount, these 4 nights cost us more than a 10-day holiday in Switzerland. A lot of the money goes into the protection of the reserve and the animals, so I understand why it is pricey.
Haha, it seems I’m not the only one with a knowledge gap about the pangolin. Such a weird animal.
Oh, I can understand that! They did have cheetahs, but over the whole reserve (which is about as big as Wales in the UK), there are only 120 of them. They had leopards, but I guess you mean tigers? They are also beautiful!
That’s interesting, Judy. Let me guess – are most of your mom’s aides from Zimbabwe? They are very popular health care workers here in South Africa and from what I hear, they do an excellent job.
Wow, more expensive than Switzerland is pretty darn expensive! I though leopards were more norther countries. I do like tigers, too, of course. Such beautiful animals.
Nope on Zimbabwe. One was from Ghana, the most recent from West Africa. There was another one but I don’t know where she was from, she was pretty quiet (another temporary one).
Very expensive Judy! We had a 50% discount, so it was more affordable – but we still spent thousands of dollars. I don’t think we will be repeating this any time soon. 🙂
Ah, yes, we had leopards (there are a few photos of them in the trees).
Ah, Ghana! How nice that your mom has aides from other countries – it broadens her horizon without having to leave her room!
My parents actually were big world travelers, although they never made it to Africa.
How awesome! I’m so glad that you got to go and that you let us live along vicariously through your wonderful photos. Without your recap, I might have lived my whole life without knowing what a pangolin was!
Exactly, Birchie! And who wants to go through life without having such crucial information?! 🙂
The safari was awesome – but also pricey. I think it will be a long time before we get another opportunity like that – if ever! The photos are great souvenirs.
No, I’ve never heard of a pangolin! The whole experience sounds amazing. I’m a cat person, so of the animals you saw I’m partial to the leopards and lions. But elephants are amazing too. I would be thrilled to see any of them.
The leopards were so beautiful and flawless, Jenny. As if someone had groomed them before we came.
The size of the lions’ paws was quite awe-inspiring, even of the smaller cubs. You would have loved watching the big cats!
Hallo, nach South Africa, ich denke, ein Aufenthalt OHNE Safari ist kein richtiger Besuch in South Africa – toll, was man sonst nur in Filmen sieht, hast du jetzt hautnah erleben dürfen, wunderschön, das würde mir auch gefallen. So richtig urig mit den erfahrenen Führern . Das wirst du wohl nie vergessen – einfach nur super !!
Und – wer Catrina kennt – kein Aufenthalt nirgendwo ohne Laufen, irgendwo und irgendwann findet sich doch die Möglichkeit, die Füße wackeln zu lassen, wie man sehr gut auf dem Foto erkennen kann – YEAH !!
Rundum perfekt – sag’ ich doch!
Voll abgeschieden von den schrecklichen Nachrichten in dieser Zeit, die dich jetzt wohl wieder eingeholt hat !!
Das Tier, namens Pangolin kenne ich natüüüüüüüüüüüüüürlich auch nicht !!
Tiere mag ich im allgemeinen sehr, ganz besondere Freude habe ich an Seeadlern, ich liebe es ihnen zuzusehen, und wenn ich noch einmal auf die Welt komme, dann werde ich Seeadler, da werde ich eben fliegen, statt zu laufen, mache ich eh oft genug hier am Strand mit viel Wind !
Lass es dir/euch gut gehen und hoffen, dass dieser Krieg bald ein Ende finden wird, liebe Catrina !
Genau, liebe Margitta, eine Safari gehört einfach dazu!
Es war fast wie im Film, wirklich einmalig. Dieses Erlebnis werden wir so schnell nicht wiederholen (teuer, trotz Rabatt), aber dafür haben wir schöne Erinnerungen.
Ich war froh um das Laufband – sonst hätten wir uns überhaupt nicht bewegen können. Zum Glück hat die Lodge für Läufer vorgesorgt. 🙂
Ah, du kennst den Pangolin auch nicht! Da bin ich froh, dass ich nicht die einzige bin.
Seeadler! Was für majestätische Vögel! Gibt es welche bei dir oben? Ich kann mir allerdings nicht vorstellen, dass du das Laufen zu Gunsten von Fliegen aufgibst….obwohl, wenn ich es mir genauer überlege, das Laufen kommt dem Fliegen doch sehr nahe.
Die Realität hat uns wieder eingeholt – kaum zu glauben, was man da Lesen und Hören muss. Der schöne Lichtblick sind die Geschichten von mutiger Hilfsbereitschaft, das die Menschen weltweit bieten. Das gibt Hoffnung.
Geniesse die Ruhe und den Frieden bei deinen Läufen am Meer, liebe Margitta!
Ja, es gibt sie hier die Seeadler, ein fantastischer Anblick, sie segeln zu sehen !
So schön!
That pangolin looks super cute! How cool that you were able to see one in person! I’ve never been but I’d definitely love to go on safari. I think it would be neat to see the big cats and the elephants! Your guides also looked like a bunch of fun!
Isn’t it a cute little thing, Virjinia! It’s a shame that it’s hunted for its skin – nearly to the point of extinction. I hope that their population will grow again, at least in the game reserve.
If you can, you should try and go on a safari one day. I’m sure you would love it!
Liebe Catrina,
vielen Dank für die vielen Bilder, auch diejenigen, die ich vorab schon sehen durfte! 🙂
Dein Bericht ist spannend, mit all den ‘ausgefallenen’ Namen der Tiere. Pangolin kannte ich natürlich noch nicht, aber ich wusste, was ein Schuppentier ist! 😆 – In fremder Natur, immer mit Ranger und Tracker, weil sie viel von der Natur und den Tieren erklären können! – Ich hab mich schon immer viel für Tiere und Natur interessiert, schaue gerne Dokus über andere Regionen der Welt … mal abhängen von den Irrungen und Wirrungen der Welt, nicht nur in Kriegszeiten, wie jetzt! 😥
Sternenhimmel sind faszinierend, aber bei uns, nur diese Lichtverschmutzung, man sieht zu wenig von dort oben. Als Pfadfinder haben wir draußen viel mehr gesehen und haben auch ordentlich was gelernt. Und doch ist es auf der Südhalbkugel anders und schön, wenn es Einheimische erklären können!
.. und dann mal raus aus dem Jeep, nicht nur um mal zu laufen, 😛 sondern auch um näher dran zu sein! Toll gemacht, wird für ewig hängenbleiben!!!
Mich faszinieren Vögel, besonders Greifvögel. Mein Favorit ist ein Steinadler!
… über die anderen traurigen Dinge möchte ich hier nicht reden!!! 😥
Aus dem sich eintrübenden Darmstadt
liebe Grüße Manfred
Lieber Manfred
Gerne! Ich glaube, mein Lieblingsbild ist das vom jungen Leoparden auf dem Baum. Seine kleinen Pfoten!
Ah! Gerade habe ich nachgeschaut – du hast Recht, auf Deutsch ist es ein Schuppentier! Und weil ich gerade dabei war, habe ich gleich Pangolin vs. Armadillo aufgerufen. Jetzt weiss ich, dass die beiden Säugetiere zwar ähnlich aussehen, aber aus unterschiedlichen Tierfamilien stammen. Tierdokus schaue ich auch gerne! Besonders diejenigen, die von David Attenborough kommentiert sind. 🙂
Als Pfadfinder wirst du dich wahrscheinlich auch mit den Sternbildern auskennen, oder? Komischerweise ist der letzte klare Nachthimmel, den ich gesehen habe, bei Kais Mutter gewesen! Draussen auf dem Land bei Mölln hat man die Sterne erstaunlich gut gesehen.
Ah, du hast am liebsten die majestätischen Vögel, wie Margitta? Das muss mit der Liebe zum Laufen zusammenhängen! Steinadler sind so erhaben und kraftvoll. Vielleicht sehen wir dieses Jahr noch einen! 🙂
Liebe Grüsse aus dem regnerischen (!) Cape Town!
This looks and sounds spectacular! I love all the animal photos! The leopards are so darling – I wish I could take one home! (I never would.) And you saw a PANGOLIN in the WILD?!?! That is amazing!
It was, Suzanne! Seeing all the animals in their natural habitat was an amazing experience. I would have loved to take that little leopard home, haha!
Right! I appreciate it more now that I’ve read up on the pangolin. So sad that they are poached so much.
What an amazing adventure! So lovely to see all your pictures, and I really like that you chose a place that doesn’t cause distress to the animals or affect the environment too much.
Yes, I have heard of a pangolin before, but I have never seen one before. Such a special moment for you and the guide. It looks so funny lying in the grass 🙂
It was a great experience, Kat!
Yes, choosing an eco-friendly place was important to us. It’s a delicate balance: the game parks need the money from the tourists for the upkeep (eg maintain a fence around the enormous park against the poachers) and at the same time, they don’t want too many tourists for the sake of the animals and environment. I guess that explains why safaris are so expensive.
The pangolin is such a weird little creature! I’m sure he was wondering what all the fuss was about! 🙂
wow what a super cool experience! We have talked about doing this as a family but one of our kids is not into it at all. I am sure I would be petrified and amazed at the same time! Looks like a once in a lifetime trip
Definitely a once in a lifetime trip, Deborah!
The first time we drove up to the lion pride I was terrified – we were so close! But the animals didn’t even look up, they just continued dozing. It was so peaceful – very much like a bunch of house cats. 🙂
Oh my, how fun! I love animals but I’ve never been on safari. It must have been amazing to see so many of those animals up close.
It was, Kim! It was refreshing to see the animals in their natural habitat and to learn wonderful new things about nature.
This is just awe-inspiring! I was showing my husband your photos and yes, he had heard of pangolins. He said that it’s a delicacy in certain parts of the world, which is why they are endangered. I had never heard of them. I swear, he always keep me on my toes. Anyways, what an amazing experience. I cannot believe you were the only people there!!
Congratulations to your husband, Wendy! You must tell him that I’m in awe! He is absolutely right, the pangolins are endangered because people love the meat. The scales are grounded to powder and used in Asia in traditional medicine, much like the rhino’s horn.
So weird to be the only guests. It was also a bit claustrophobic because all the staff were focused only on us. I’d rather disappear in a crowd of guests!
Wow, this looks amazing! I can’t believe how clear all of these photos are. Thanks so much for sharing!
It was a lovely experience, Lisa. Imagine, all these photos were taken with Kai’s iPhone!
I had never heard of a pangolin. Thanks for the info and the photo. This trip looks amazing! I’ve always wanted to do something like this. Beautiful photos! And as a cat lover I am fascinated with the photos of the lions and the cheetahs.
It was an amazing trip, Zenaida. Seeing the animals in their natural habitat was so special. You would have definitely loved the cats! They had such big paws – I hate to think what would have happened if they had wanted to “play” with us humans. 🙂
As much as I like the cats, no, I wouldn’t want to play with them.
What a wonderful experience! All the animals look friendly and I am glad that Brad NEVER uses the gun.
I was shocked when a friend of mine confessed that he is member of a Big Hunter club and travels all over the world to shoot animals!
I prefer to feed and to watch animals!!!!
It was a wonderful experience, Stefano!
When I saw the gun, that was the first thing I asked Brad. It would be terrible if animals had to die just because of tourists.
After this safari, I understand hunters even less. Killing an animal with a gun is neither clever nor does it require any particular physical strength. Watching the animals in their natural habitat is so much more enjoyable!
What a find!! In all my safari trips and there have been many of the years, I’ve only ever heard of the mysterious pangolin! Never ever seen one – so what an incredible find!!!
Haha, I KNEW you would know all about the pangolin! This morning we met three South African runners who asked about our safari. When we told them about the pangolin, they were all excited. I’m so happy we had that privilege! 😉
Liebe Catrina,
ahhh, jetzt konnte ich deine tollen Fotos erst mal in Ruhe genießen! Zum lesen reicht das Telefon ja meist, aber nicht für die Bilder. Und schon gar nicht bei solchen! Ich wußte ja schon ein wenig, was du am Dienstag erzählt hast, aber die Tiere dann so “in Echt” zu sehen, ist gleich noch was anderes. Interessant finde ich, dass die Tiere gar nicht auf euch reagiert haben. Die mögen wohl kein Konservenessen, solange genügend Frisches herumläuft! 😉
Das muss wirklich ein sehr beeindruckendes Erlebnis gewesen sein. Wobei ich fürchte, ich würde bei sowas Lagerkoller bekommen und irgendwann einfach rausstürmen.
Liebe Doris
Das fand ich auch so faszinierend. Brad meinte, der Moment, wo wir aus dem Auto ausstiegen, würden die Tiere ganz anders reagieren. So lange wir im Auto blieben (und nicht im Auto aufstehen), waren wir für sie ein “homogenes Nichts” und unsere Präsenz liess sie kalt. Haha, ich war froh, dass wir sie in unserer Konserve nicht gestört haben. 🙂
Das mit dem Lagerkoller hat was, Doris. Ich war richtig froh, nach 4 Tagen da raus zu sein und sich frei bewegen zu können. Länger hätte ich es nicht ausgehalten, auch nicht mit Laufband.
I LOVE PANGOLINS!!!!
Oh, I am so jealous! I would love to do something like this!
You know Pangolins, Jenn! So cool!
Yes, you and your family who love animals would definitely love a safari tour. I hope you get to do it one day!
What a fascinating excursion! A safari is on my bucket list but who knows when that might happen? I’ve never heard of a pangolin but I love that you got to have a pic with one! That baby elephant is the cutest!
I love the baby elephant too!
I didn’t think we would go on a safari either, Marcia. But this opportunity popped up and it was perfect. I don’t think we will be repeating it any time soon, so we will savour the memories (and the photos!).
What an amazing experience! Those leopards are so lovely! I had not heard of pangolins before, but now I read up on them a bit more. Interesting about the preserves trimming the rhino horns. That hunting makes me so sad.
That’s a surprisingly well-equipped gym for a safari!
I loved the leopards too! Especially the baby leopard. The pattern on their fur coats is amazing.
All the poaching is really sad and it’s an enormous challenge for the game parks. Both the pangolin and the rhino are being hunted and trafficked because of their supposedly “medical” value. Demand is high, especially in Asia.
I was surprised, too! I would have been grounded without the treadmill!
Afrika wie aus dem Bilderbuch, liebe Catrina. Das habt Ihr gut gemacht mit der Nutzung des Angebotes. So eine Exklusiv-Betreuung in einem fast leeren Hotel hat doch wirklich noch einmal etwas ganz spezielles.
Sehr beeindruckende, aufregende Bilder!
Das Schuppentier hätte ich jetzt mit einem Gürteltier gleichgesetzt, eine Google-Suche ergab aber deutliche Unterschiede.
Ein Lieblingstier? Elefanten finde ich schon cool, Nashörner aber auch, und Flußpferde, und Giraffen 😀
Liebe Grüße
Volker
Es war wirklich wie im Bilderbuch, lieber Volker. Für den vollen Preis hätten wir das nicht gemacht, das wäre viel zu teuer gewesen. Auch der halbe Preis war immer noch genug, aber wir haben gedacht “YOLO” und haben es gebucht. Alleine in der fast leeren Lodge ohne Auslaufsmöglichkeiten war zwar schön, aber auch etwas klaustrophobisch. 🙂
Das Schuppentier habe ich auch gegoogelt…. ich verstehe immer noch nicht ganz, was es ist 🙂
Flusspferde sind cool! Wir haben sehr viele gesehen, aber ich wusste nie genau, wie viele es waren, weil man nur immer die kleinen Öhrchen und Äuglein an der Wasseroberfläche sieht. Sie sind leider nie an Land gegangen, war ihnen wohl zu heiss.
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnigen Cape Town – geniesse deine Hunteläufe!
That is so amazing, Catrina. I don’t do the zoo thing, but a safari would definitely be so cool. Seeing the animals in their natural environment is the way to go.
It would have been so hard for the rangers and safari outfitters to survive these past couple of years. Good you were able to take advantage of deep discounts, but also to help them out.
Although I haven’t seen any of these animals in real, I’m quite well read up on the pangolin. Sadly they are the most trafficked mammal in the world.
I might be wrong, but I think the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species operates out of Switzerland. On Twitter, I retweeted on of their tweets on the pangolin. A great video (just under 2 minutes) by Sir David Attenborough of how how beautiful a creature they are. 🌍
I’m not a fan of zoos, either, Carl! It’s so sad to see the animals in cages. The only good thing is that these days, many zoos are making an effort to create a more natural environment for the animals.
Exactly! The game reserves spend a lot of money on the fencing and on hiring anti-poaching teams that patrol the park and inspect the fences. Talking about fences: in 1993, the private game reserves decided to join forces and remove all interior fences. They only kept the outer fences. This way, the animals are free to roam around across all boundaries. That is why we saw no cheetahs – they prefer to be in another corner of the huge park.
You know about the pangolin! Why am I not surprised? 🙂
I just googled the interview with Sir David Attenborough – thank you so much for that pointer! I’ve just shown it to Kai, what a great interview. I wish I had researched that video before I wrote the post, I could have linked it. I love the glimmer of hope that it provides… maybe there will be less demand for this important little animal going forward.
And yes, you are right: the IUCN are in Switzerland. Thanks for retweeting their posts – it’s so important!
You are very welcome, Catrina. So happy to see what has happened with the private game reserves. 😀
A very lucky sighting indeed! Wow! Yes, here in the Eastern Cape, all our game lodges have great specials too. For many South Africans the normal pricing is just eye wateringly too expensive , so to get a chance to experience that sort of luxury and indulgence is just wonderful!
I’m glad we saw the pangolin and I got to learn a bit more about this little animal!
Oh yes, these safari lodges can be sooo expensive, Birdie! Even at a discount, it was steep. But well worth it – I will savour those memories for many years to come!
Amazing!
It was! 🤗
That’s so cool that you saw a pangolin! I like the leopards in the trees also. What a fun trip!
The leopard cub in the tree was my favourite, Laura. So sweet! 🤩
Wow – you had never been on a safari? I’m so glad you got to go. I once had a single day in Tanzania and it was so amazing. I thought you would look for hours for animals and then maybe see one, but the are all around all the time. So wonderful!
I had heard of pangolins, because they were traded in the market where the coronavirus was discovered (unfortunately to eat even so they are endangered.) So some early theories thought the virus came from pangolins. I would have loved to see one in the wild!
Up to now, it was always too expensive (we’re talking thousands of dollars for only a few days). But with the discount, it was more affordable. And it was totally worth it!
So cool that you could go on a safari in Tanzania, Roni! I guess the landscape must be a lot greener.
Yes, I just learned that pangolin-coronavirus connection from another commenter, Carl. Carl pointed me to the video of Sir David Attenborough where that point is made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNW4AgTk8zs
Interestingly, the coronavirus theory actually helped the pangolin, because demand declined. I hope people will stop hunting/poaching it altogether!
Thanks for the video – I’m happy it helped the pangolin protection a little bit! Safari in Tanzania was not that fancy – sleep in very simple tents (no glamping) and go out with a jeep for the day. I don’t remember, but cannot have been much more than $100. Of course you were staying in a nice lodge so that’s a different market segment.
I think I would have preferred your simpler safari-style, Roni!
It would have been more in tune with life in the bush and a more down-to-earth experience. I felt slightly detached from nature in the lodge. The only good thing was that most of the time, the wifi didn’t work and the rooms had no TVs! 😉
So jealous! That looks like an amazing safari experience. Those photos you got of the cats in the tree(s) are amazing. I’ve never seen a pangolin in real life. As for my favourites animal, I don’t think I can pin any specific one down in particular. Various species of monkey come to mind, purely because of the antics they generally get up to. I don’t like baboons though. In my opinion they are far too violent (and dangerous) to us, and even go as far as making incursions into human settlements and causing problems. I worked on large nature reserve in Limpopo and used to have to contend with them when I took the 4×4 up the mountain to repair communication equipment!
I was so glad we got to do this, Sean! The guides did an incredible job at finding the animals. The pangolin was discovered by accident – the other guides were looking for a leopard when they suddenly saw the pangolin in the grass.
Monkeys are hilarious! I even find the baboons quite funny, although you are right of course, they can be very aggressive. We have a Swiss friend in Knysna and she has a daily battle with the baboons. Windows, doors, roof, garage, pool – everything has to be baboon-proof. And even that doesn’t always help.
That’s awesome that you worked on a large nature reserve! Sounds like a dream come true. You must have had so many experiences with wildlife out there!