Photos By Mark

Cheetah

Male Lion

Baby Elephant

Zebra's




 

African Hotels Take Stand Against Poaching

Nairobi - Whilst nobody will say so publicly, for fear of repercussions, the suspicion is that ground rhino horn is leaving Africa in diplomatic bags, delegates heard at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) in Nairobi on Wednesday.

Poaching was declared at the forum to be the greatest threat to Africa's tourism industry and branded poachers as Africa's Public Enemy number one.

"Poaching is a global problem needing a global solution, Lazaro Nyalandu, Tanzania's deputy minister for natural resources and tourism said in an address at conference.

It is estimated that Tanzania has an elephant population of 100 000 today, but this is cut by 30 a day by poachers.

"They are so sophisticated that we need a military response," said Nyalandu.

"If their activities are not stamped out, we will have lost all our elephants in 10-15 years."

Nyalandu wants to see Tanzania's neighbours taking a stand too, pressurising the countries where the poachers' clients live to stamp out the trade.

The value of ivory and rhino horn continues to rise rapidly, as does the demand for "wildlife products".

Across Africa, one elephant is being killed every 15 minutes for its tusks. This continued illegal trade will lead to the species' extinction by 2025.

The hotel and tourism industry's concern goes well beyond statements.

Five percent of all AHIF revenues are being given to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, (DSWT), which looks after orphaned baby elephants and rhinos.

"Wildlife is the reason why tourists come to Africa," said Nyalandu.

As each herd is decimated, so too is the potential employment of thousands of people, most of whom are on low incomes. Poaching is not just about killing animals; it's about destroying livelihoods."

Poaching in Africa is happening on an industrial scale according to Nick van Marken, head of Deloitte's international travel, hospitality and leisure practice.

"Poachers are using automatic weapons to slaughter entire herds. They then hack off the tusks and horns. Rhino horn is ground down in Africa and then smuggled out," he said.

"Wildlife is part of Africa's natural infrastructure - remove it, and one of the primary reasons for visiting the continent will disappear."

He said it is time for the tourism industry to step up and speak out.

"Africa is so huge and the borders are so long that it's incredibly difficult to police," said Andrew McLachlan, VP Africa & Indian Ocean Islands, Carlson Rezidor

SANDF Soldier Killed In Kruger National Park

A soldier has been killed during an operation in the Kruger National Park, the SA National Defence Force said on Monday.

Private Thabiso Zulu, of Regiment East Rand, was deployed on Sunday with 2 SA Infantry Battalion.

“(He) was allegedly involved in a fatal shooting incident whilst on duty during Operation Corona in the Kruger National Park,” said Brig-Gen Xolani Mabanga.

A board of inquiry had been convened to investigate the shooting incident, he said.
Mabanga declined to comment on circumstances surrounding Zulu's death. He said further information would be released once the investigation had been completed.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Ngqakula expressed condolences to the soldier's relatives.

By:
 South African Press Association

R 1 Million Donation To Fight Rhino Poaching

In the last 11 months, for each vehicle sold within the 10 participating dealerships, Unitrans Volkswagen has pledged funds to fight rhino poaching in SANParks. At the end of July 2013 this amount stands at a fantastic R 1 175 500.

This phenomenal contribution which is assured to fight rhino poaching within the SA National Parks comes from the company’s bottom line and is related directly to motor vehicle sales (both new and pre-owned) made within the Unitrans Volkswagen group of dealers. Unitrans Volkswagen in co-operation with the SANParks Honorary Rangers ensures that every cent of this bequest is used to fight poaching and that no funds are used for administration purposes. Unitrans Volkswagen thanks all their clients who have supported them for making this donation possible without compromising price and service.

Unitrans Volkswagen initiated the Unite against Poaching trust to ensure that the rangers on the ground are adequately equipped to fight the ruthless poachers they are faced with on a day to day basis. There is no doubt that this objective is being met. Last year over R 3 million was spent ensuring that the field rangers have the basic equipment which allows them to spend prolonged periods in the bush. The funds this year are being deployed for specialist training to ensure that the rangers facing the poachers have the latest counter insurgency skills to successfully track and capture the poachers as well as making sure the forensic evidence to support successful prosecution is provided.

This year alone 540 rhinos have been poached in the country. Unitrans Volkswagen is committed to sustainable support for the fight against poaching. The Unite against Poaching trust fund has also been the major sponsor in establishing the Unitrans Tracker Hounds project in the Kruger National Park. These hounds have been identified as one of the pivotal tools in the war against rhino poaching and their deployment has already seen the successful apprehension of rhino poachers.

Unitrans Volkswagen has also stepped up to address the scientific requirement in the prosecution of rhino poachers. Last year R 500 000 was donated to the rhino DNA project , RhODIS at Onderstepoort, which hosts the rhino DNA database for Southern Africa and provides forensic evidence for every single rhino poaching case in the country. Due to the critical demands placed on the genetic analyser by RhODIS, urgent repairs of R 40 000 were required which Unitrans Volkswagen have settled.

Since the inception of the Unite against Poaching initiative in September 2011, Unitrans Volkswagen have pledged a phenomenal R 6 546 650 to supporting the fight against rhino poaching.

By:
 Unitrans Volkswagen | Unite Against Poaching Trust Fund

Rhino Poaching

#RhinoNews: On the evening of June 09, contact was made with a group of rhino poachers. Unfortunately, due to the dark moon and poor light conditions, the poachers managed to escape. Although no arrests were made, the group was successfuly disrupted without the loss of a rhino.

Safari Continued

22 April 2013

With Dean

Route: Nkambeni - Numbi gate tar - Napi road - skukuza for a break.

Animals seen was elephant, buffalo, rhino, impala, kudu and a leopard, 100 meters down watergate.
After our break it was down to the low water bridge for crocodile and then down Elloff street for hippo. It was then back onto the Napi road to Numbi gate getting more buffalo and elephant and giraffe.

After dropping off Dianne we made our way to the camp of Pretoriuskop for lunch after which we drove down to Shithave dam getting waterbuck. We then made our way to Nkambeni tented camp as guests were going on afternoon / evening game drive.

23 April2013

Route: Nkambeni tented camp - Numbi gate tar - Napi road - skukuza for a break.

Animals seen were rhino, buffalo and elephant.

After our break at skukuza we got a call of lions walking on the S114, we drove down there and found them 3.9 km's from the Napi road junction. While on the sighting, another call came through about a leopard also on the S114, after finishing at the lion sighting, we made our way to the leopard sighting and found him lying on the rock under a African broad bean tree. After enjoying the sighting, we went back up the S114 and made our way down Elloff street over the high water bridge and down Tshokwane tar.

Animals seen were impala, hippo, crocodile and elephant.

After a break for lunch, we made our way down the Doispane and out at Phabeni gate.
Animals seen were impala, kudu, zebra, wildebeest, elephant, buffalo and giraffe.

24 April 2013

With Mark

Route: Napi - H3 - S112 - S114 - napi - nkambeni

Animals seen were a herd of buffalo (50) just before Napi boulders exit. 1 spotted hyena at the den on transport dam access road, lying very relaxed next to the road. Got to hear about a leopard on Napi at the junction of transport dam access road. We drove up there, but found nothing. 1.3kms from transport dam entrance, we found a female cheetah. Distant sighting though. General game on S112 and S114. Giraffe, waterbuck, kudu, warthog, steenbok, klipspringer and impala. Interesting to see the male impala's actions with the female's as we approach RUT.

In the afternoon we went looking for the lions said to be on S114 but no luck.Fantastic elephant bull eating right next to the road on S112. We stopped and allowed him to walk straight past the vehicle. Very relaxed and guests loved it. Distant rhino sighting throughout the day.

25 April 2013
Quests went on a bushwalk in the morning..

More updates coming soon!!

On Safari Starting 18 April 2013

Mark Enters The Kruger

18 April 2013

Route: Numb tar - Napi - Boulders - Napi - Nkambeni Camp

A very quiet afternoon drive with a total of:
9 Impala just before Napi Junction.
4 female Kudu just before Voortrekker link.
7 Waterbuck at Shithave
1 Buffalo bull at the water of Shithave and approximately 400m
A distant sighting of 2 elephants.

19 April 2013

Route: Albaseni - Doispan - S114 - S112 - H3 - Voortrekker - Albaseni - Doispan – Albaseni

A good day today with some good sightings. Animals spotted were:
A Heard of Buffalo 1km down Albaseni
1 Elephant bull north of Cheetah Pan
5 Wild Dogs ran past us 1km from Doispan
1 female Spotted Hyena at the Doispan Albaseni Junction.
On the way to skakuza 2 Honey Badgers crossed the road in front of us.
3 male Lions 700m before the S112
1 Cheetah just killed an impala 5m off the H3 at Quagga Pan
1 female Leopard 1.3km south of Afsaal lying in a tree.
A herd of Elephant (10) 7.3km down the Voortrekker.

Got word of another cheetah on Doispan and after collecting our new guest we headed off to see if we could find it. We founder her hunting a herd of impala approximately 1.3km from Albaseni Junction.

On our return to camp we saw a herd (200) buffalo on Albaseni. General game has been great as well.

20 April 2013

Guests went on a bush walk this morning, on return we went for breakfast before leaving the Kruger National Park.

Dean Enters The Kruger

21 April 2013

Arrived at Numbi gate with 2 guests, we started off by going for lunch at Pretoriuskop camp, after which we went out on a game drive.

Route driven was down Napi road - h3 - Quagga pan - Napi road - Nkambeni tented camp.

Animals seen were zebra, impala, wildebeest, rhino, elephant and buffalo.

Did You Know For The Day

Did You Know? A female snake can mate with the same or different male several times during the mating season. Mating may last from a few minutes to several hours.

Snake With Its Meal

Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (Chapter 27)( Page 3 ) His Duty

"Go on!  Finish it!"  Tom muttered grimly; "I'll have you this time if I wait till morning!" So he stood at the window waiting and watching, until every sound had died away outside.  He listened intently: there was not a stir; there was nothing to be seen in the moonlit yard; nothing to be heard; not even a breath of air to rustle the leaves in the big fig tree. Then, in the same dead stillness the dim form of a dog appeared in the doorway, stepped softly out of the fowl-house, and stood in the deep shadow of the little porch.  Tom lifted the gun slowly and took careful aim.  When the smoke cleared away, the figure of the dog lay still, stretched out on the ground where it had stood; and Tom went back to bed, satisfied. The morning sun slanting across the yard shone in Tom's eyes as he pushed the reed gate open and made his way towards the fowl-house. Under the porch, where the sunlight touched it, something shone like burnished gold. He was stretched on his side--it might have been in sleep; but on the snow-white chest there was one red spot. And inside the fowl-house lay the kaffir dog- dead. Jock had done his duty.
                                                                                    The End.

Safari Starting 16th December Ending 18th December 2012

16^th December – Dean collected guests from the Balaika Hotel in Sandton and continued onto Nelspruit going through Numbi Gate.  We stopped off at Pretoriuskop Camp for lunch before starting our first game drive for the day. After lunch we left Pretoriuskop and drove down Napi where we got good sightings of Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo. 700m past Transport Dam Junction we got a large male Leopard lying on a Termite mound this made for a great afternoons game viewing. We then continued on to Klipspringer Koppies and 400m past the H3 Junction we came across a male and female Lion with 3 cubs lying in the drainage line. We then got a call on the radio telling us about another female Lion on the H3 1.9km down from the Napi road. After that sighting we turned around and headed for camp due to heavy rain. On the Nkambeni entry road we got Buffalo walking in the road in front of us. Clients got to camp enjoying the first days sightings.

17^th December – After breakfast we left Nkambeni and got to see good sightings of Waterbuck, Impala, Kudu, Giraffe, Elephant as well as a male Lion 700m from the Watergat Junction. We also got a pair of mating Lions 1km down the H3, after this we made our way to Skukuza Camp for a break. After a bit of a break we made our way down the Marula Loop were we got another two male Lions lying next to the road, after spending some time with them we made our way down to Jones Dam were we got good sightings again of Elephant, Buffalo, Hippos and Waterbuck. We then made our way back crossing Low Water Bridge getting good sightings of Crocodile, Elephants and Hippos. Due to it being still to early for lunch we decided to make our way down River road to see if there was any action going on. We Managed to find 17 Wild Dogs 1.5km before Doispane which was awesome to see. We Returned to the camp of Skukuza for lunch after which we made our way back to Nkambeni with general sightings along the way. All in all a good days game viewing.

18^th December – Today our last days game viewing we saw Buffalo, Elephant and general game before leaving the Park at 10h00 and making our way back to Johannesburg. The next safari will start the 19^th December we look forward to bringing you their sightings until then…  

Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (Chapter 26)( Page 5 ) Our Various Ways

Hours had gone by in hopeless effort; but the oxen stood out at all angles, and no two would pull together in answer to the feeble efforts of the fainting men.  Then there came a lull in the shouts from the waggon and in answer to the little voorlooper's warning shout, "Pas op, Baas!"  (Look out, Master!), the white men looked round and saw the Zulu driver up on his knees freeing himself from the reims.  In another moment he was standing up full height--a magnificent but most unwelcome sight: there was a thin line of froth along the half-opened mouth; the deep-set eyes glared out under eyebrows and forehead bunched into frowning wrinkles, as for a few seconds he leaned forward like a lion about to spring and scanned the men and oxen before him; and then as they watched him in breathless silence, he sprang lightly off the waggon, picked up a small dry stick as he landed, and ran up along the span. He spoke to the after-ox by name as he passed; called to another, and touched it into place; thrust his way between the next one and the dazed white man standing near it, tossing him aside with a brush of his arm, as a ploughshare spurns a sod; and then they saw how the boy's madness had taken him.  His work and his span had called to him in his delirium; and he had answered.  With low mutterings, short words hissed out, and all the sounds and terms the cattle knew shot at them--low-pitched and with intense repression--he ran along the span, crouching low all the time like a savage stealing up for murderous attack. The two white men stood back and watched. Reaching the front oxen, he grasped the leading reim and pulled them round until they stood level for the straight pull out; then down the other side of the span he ran with cat-like tread and activity, talking to each and straightening them up as he had done with the others; and when he reached the waggon again, he turned sharply and overlooked the span.  One ox had swung round and stood out of line; there was a pause of seconds, and then the big Zulu called to the ox by name--not loudly but in a deep low tone, husky with intensity--and the animal swung back into line again. Then out of the silence that followed came an electrifying yell to the span: every bullock leaned to its yoke, and the waggon went out with a rush. And he drove them at a half-trot all the way to the store: without water; without help; without consciousness; the little dry twig still in his hand, and only his masterful intensity and knowledge of his work and span to see him through. "A mad troublesome savage," said Harry Williams, "but one of the very best.  Anyhow, we thought so; he saved us!" There was something very familiar in this, and it was with a queer feeling of pride and excitement that I asked: "Did he ever say to you `My catchum lion 'live'?" "By gum!  You know him?  Jim: Jim Makokel'!" "Indeed I do.  Good old Jim!" Years afterwards Jim was still a driver, working when necessary, fighting when possible, and enjoying intervals of lordly ease at his kraal where the wives and cattle stayed and prospered.

Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (Chapter 21)( Page 3 ) Monkeys And Wildebeeste

The grimacing little imps invariably tempt one to tease or chase them, just to see their antics and methods; and when I rose, openly watching them and stepping about for a better view, they abandoned the silent methods and bounded freely from branch to branch for fresh cover, always ducking behind something if I pointed the gun or a stick or even my arm at them, and getting into paroxysms of rage and leaning over slang and cheek me whenever it seemed safe. Jock was full of excitement, thoroughly warmed up and anxious to be at them, running about from place to place to watch them, tacking and turning and jumping for better views, and now and then running to the trunk and scraping at it.  Whenever he did this there was a moment's silence; the idea of playing a trick on them struck me and I caught Jock up and put him in the fork of a big main branch about six feet from the ground.  The effect was magical: the whole of the top of the tree seemed to whip and rustle at once, and in two seconds there was not a monkey left. Then a wave in the top of a small tree some distance off betrayed them and we gave chase--a useless romping schoolboy chase.  They were in the small trees away from the river and it was easy to see and follow them; and to add to the fun and excitement I threw stones at the branches behind them.  Their excitement and alarm then became hysterical, and as we darted about to head them off they were several times obliged to scamper a few yards along the ground to avoid me and gain other trees. It was then that Jock enjoyed himself most: he ran at them and made flying leaps and snaps as they sprang up the trees out of reach.  It was like a caricature of children in one of their make-believe chases; the screams, grimaces, and actions were so human that it would have seemed like a tragedy had one of them been hurt.  They got away into the big trees once more, to Jock's disappointment but greatly to my relief; for I was quite pumped from the romp and laughter. The river at this point was broken into several sluices by islands formed of piles of rocks on which there were a few stunted trees and dense growths of tall reeds, and here and there little spits and fringes of white sand were visible.  There was plenty of small game in that part, and it was a great place for crocodiles.  As we were then about half a mile below where Mungo had been left I strolled along the bank on the look out for a shot, frequently stopping to examine suspicious-looking rocks on the sand spits or at the borders of the reed fringes on the little islands. The shooting of crocodiles was an act of war: it was enmity and not sport or a desire for trophies that prompted it, and when it did not interfere with other chances we never missed a practice shot at these fellows.  I picked out several `rocks,' so suspicious looking that I would have had a shot at them had there been a clear chance, and twice, while I was trying to make them out, they slid silently into the water before there was time to fire. However, further on there came a better chance than any: there was something so peculiar about the look of this `rock' that I picked a good spot and sat down to watch it; and presently the part nearest me turned slightly, just enough to show that it was a crocodile lying on the flat sand with his nose towards me and his tail hidden in the reeds.  It was fifty yards away, and from where I sat there was not much to aim at, as a Martini bullet would glance from almost any part of that polished hard case if it struck at such an angle. I was sitting on the bank above the shelving beach of the river on which a dense mass of reeds grew, and the waving feathery tops partly obscured the sight.  I know the bullet hit him somewhere, because he bounded with astonishing strength and activity several feet in the air and his tail slashed through the reeds like a mighty scythe.  The huge jaws opened and he gave a horrible angry bellow--something between a roar and a snarl--as he plunged into the river, sending masses of spray and water flying every way.  He made straight across, apparently at me, swimming on top of the water at amazing speed and throwing up a wave on either side and a white swirl of foam from the propelling tail. It was certainly a most surprising and unheard-of proceeding, and as he reached my side of the stream, and because hidden from me by the screen of reeds at my feet, I turned and bolted.  It may be that he came at me with murderous intent; or it may be that, blinded by rage or pain, he came towards me simply because he happened to be facing that way; but, whatever the reason, it was painfully clear that if he meant business he would be on to me before it was possible to see him in the reeds.  That was enough for me.  It had never occurred to me that there was going to be any fun in this for the crocodile; but one's sense of humour and justice was always being stimulated in the Bushveld. With twenty yards of open ground between us I turned and waited; but no crocodile appeared, nor was there a sound to be heard in the reeds.  A few minutes wait; a cautious return; a careful scrutiny; and then resort to sticks and stones; but all to no purpose: there was neither sign nor sound of the crocodile; and not being disposed to go into the reeds to look for something which I did not want, but might want me, I returned to Mungo--a little wiser, it is true, but not unduly `heady' on that account. Half an hour's jogging along the bank having failed to propose anything, I struck away from the river taking a line through the bush towards camp, and eventually came across a small herd of blue wildebeeste. Mungo's pricked ears and raised head warned me; but the grass being high it was not easy to see enough of them from the ground to place an effective shot, and before a chance offered they moved off slowly.  I walked after them, leading Mungo and trying to get a fair opening on slightly higher ground. Presently half a dozen blackish things appeared above the tall grass; they were the heads of the wildebeeste- all turned one way, and all looking at us with ears wide spread.  Only the upper halves of the heads were visible through the thinner tops of the grass, and even an ordinary standing shot was not possible.  I had to go to a tree for support in order to tip-toe for the shot, and whilst in the act of raising my rifle the heads disappeared; but I took chance and fired just below where the last one had shown up. The wildebeeste were out of sight, hidden by grass six feet high, but a branch of the tree beside me served as a horizontal bar and hoisting myself chin high I was able to see them again.  In front of us there was a dry vlei quite free of bush, some two hundred yards across and four hundred yards long, and the wildebeeste had gone away to the right and were skirting the vlei, apparently meaning to get round to the opposite side, avoiding the direct cut across the vlei for reasons of their own. It occurred to me that there must be a deep donga or perhaps a mud hole in front which they were avoiding; but that it might be possible for me to get across, or even half-way across, in time to have another shot at them the next time they stopped to look back, as they were almost certain to do; so I ran straight on.

Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (Chapter 20)( Page 6 ) Jantje

At night as he lay unable to sleep the bats came and made faces at him; a night adder rose up before his face and slithered out its forked tongue--the two black beady eyes glinting the firelight back; and whichever way he looked there was a honey-bird, silent and angry, yet with a look of satisfaction, as it watched.  So it went all night: no sleep for him; no rest! In the morning he rose early and taking his gun and chopper set out in search of hives: he would give all to the honey-bird he had cheated, and thus make amends. He had not gone far before, to his great delight, there came a welcome chattering in answer to his low whistle, and the busy little fellow flew up to show himself and promptly led the way, going ahead ten to twenty yards at a flight.  Jantje followed eagerly until they came to a small donga with a sandy bottom, and then the honey-bird calling briskly, fluttered from tree to tree on either bank, leading him on. Jantje, thinking the hive must be near by, was walking slowly along the sandy bed and looking upwards in the trees, when something on the ground caught his eye and he sprang back just as the head of a big puff-adder struck where his bare foot had been a moment before.  With one swing of his chopper he killed it; he took the skin off for an ornament, the poison-glands for medicine, and the fangs for charms, and then whistled and looked about for the honey-bird; but it had gone. A little later on, however, he came upon another, and it led him to a big and shady wild fig tree.  The honey-bird flew to the trunk itself and cheeped and chattered there, and Jantje put down his gun and looked about for an easy place to climb.  As he peered through the foliage he met a pair of large green eyes looking full into his: on a big limb of the tree lay a tiger, still as death, with its head resting on its paws, watching him with a cat-like eagerness for its prey.  Jantje hooked his toe in the reim sling of his old gun and slowly gathered it up without moving his eyes from the tiger's, and backing away slowly, foot by foot, he got out into the sunshine and made off as fast as he could. It was the honey-bird's revenge: he knew it then! He sat down on some bare ground to think what next to do; for he knew he must die if he did not find honey and make good a hundred times what he had cheated. All day long he kept meeting honey-birds and following them; but he would no longer follow them into the bad places, for he could not tell whether they were new birds or the one he had robbed!  Once he had nearly been caught; the bird had perched on an old ant-heap, and Jantje,  thinking there was a ground hive there, walked boldly forward.  A small misshapen tree grew out of the ant-heap, and one of the twisted branches caught his eye because of the thick ring around it: it was the coil of a long green mamba; and far below that, half hidden by the leaves, hung the snake's head with the neck gathered in half-loop coils ready to strike at him. After that Jantje kept in the open, searching for himself among rocks and in all the old dead trees for the tell-tale stains that mark the hive's entrance; but he had no luck, and when he reached the river in the early afternoon he was glad of a cool drink and a place to rest. For a couple of hours he had seen no honey-birds, and it seemed that at last his pursuer had given him up, for that day at least.  As he sat in the shade of the high bank, however, with the river only a few yards from his feet he heard again a faint chattering: it came from the river-side beyond a turn in the bank, and it was too far away for the bird to have seen Jantje from where it called, so he had no doubt about this being a new bird.  It seemed to him a glorious piece of luck that he should find honey by the aid of a strange bird and be able to take half of it back to the hive he had emptied the day before and leave it there for the cheated bird. There was a beach of pebbles and rocks between the high bank and the river, and as Jantje walked along it on the keen lookout for the bird, he spotted it sitting on a root half-way down the bank some twenty yards ahead.  Close to where the chattering bird perched there was a break in the pebbly beach, and there shallow water extended up to the perpendicular bank.  In the middle of this little stretch of water, and conveniently placed as a stepping-stone, there was a black rock, and the bare-footed Jantje stepped noiselessly from stone to stone towards lit. An alarmed cane-rat, cut off by Jantje from the river, ran along the foot of the bank to avoid him; but when it reached the little patch of shallow water it suddenly doubled back in fright and raced under the boy's feet into the river. Jantje stopped!  He did not know why; but there seemed to be something wrong.  Something had frightened the cane-rat back on to him, and he stared hard at the bank and the stretch of beach ahead of him.  Then the rock he meant to step on to gave a heave, and a long blackish thing curved towards him; he sprang into the air as high as he could, and the crocodile's tail swept under his feet! Jantje fled back like a buck--the rattle on the stones behind him and crash of reeds putting yards into every bound. For four days he stayed in camp waiting for some one to find a hive and give him honey enough to make his peace; and then, for an old snuff-box and a little powder, he bought a huge basket full of comb, young and old, from a kaffir woman at one of the kraals some miles away, and put it all at the foot of the tree he had cleaned out. Then he had peace. The boys believed every word of that story: so, I am sure, did Jantje himself.  The buffalo story was obviously true, and Jantje thought nothing of it: the honey-bird story was not, yet he gloried in it; it touched his superstitious nature, and it was impossible for him to tell the truth or to separate fact from fancy and superstition.

Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (Chapter 20)( Page 5 ) Jantje

He laughed almost hysterically, his eyes disappearing altogether and every tooth showing, as I lifted his arm to investigate; and then in high-pitched falsetto tones he shouted in a sort of ecstasy of delight, "Die ouw buffels, Baas!  Die buffels bull, Baas!" "Buffalo!  Did he toss you?"  I asked.  Jantje seemed to think it the best joke in the world and with constant squeals of laughter and graphic gestures gabbled off his account. His master, it appears, had shot at and slightly wounded the buffalo, and Jantje had been placed at one exit from the bush to prevent the herd from breaking away.  As they came towards him he fired at the foremost one; but before he could reload the wounded bull made for him and he ran for dear life to the only tree near--one of the flat-topped thorns.  He heard the thundering hoofs and the snorting breath behind, but raced on hoping to reach the tree and dodge behind it; a few yards short, however, the bull caught him, in spite of a jump aside, and flung him with one toss right on top of the thorn-tree. When he recovered consciousness he was lying face upwards in the sun, with nothing to rest his head on and only sticks and thorns around him. He did not know where he was or what had happened; he tried to move, but one arm was useless and the effort made him slip and sag, and he thought he was falling through the earth.  Presently he heard regular tramping underneath him and the breath of a big animal: and the whole incident came back to him.  By feeling about cautiously he at last located the biggest branch under him, and getting a grip on this he managed to turn over and ease his right side.  He could then see the buffalo: it had tramped a circle round the tree and was doing sentry over him.  Now and again the huge creature stopped to sniff, snort and stamp, and then resumed the round, perhaps the reverse way.  The buffalo could not see him and never once looked up, but glared about at its own accustomed level; and, relying entirely on its sense of smell, it kept up the relentless vengeful watch for hours, always stopping in the same place, to leeward, to satisfy itself that the enemy had not escaped. Late in the afternoon the buffalo, for the first time, suddenly came to a stand on the windward side of the tree, and after a good minute's silence turned its tail on Jantje and with angry sniffs and tosses stepped swiftly and resolutely forward some paces.  There was nothing to be seen; but Jantje judged the position and yelled out a warning to his master whom he guessed to be coming through the bush to look for him, and at the same time he made what noise he could in the tree top to make the buffalo think he was coming down.  The animal looked round from time to time with swings and tosses of the head and threatening angry sneezes, much as one sees a cow do when standing between her young calf and threatened danger: it was defending Jantje, for his own purposes, and facing the danger. For many minutes there was dead silence: no answer came to Jantje's call, and the bull stood its ground glaring and sniffing towards the bush.  At last there was a heavy thud below, instantly followed by the report of the rifle--the bullet came faster than the sound; the buffalo gave a heavy plunge and with a grunting sob slid forward on its chest. Round the camp fire at night Jantje used to tell tales in which fact, fancy, and superstition were curiously mingled; and Jantje when not out of humour was free with his stories.  The boys, for whose benefit they were told, listened open mouthed; and I often stood outside the ring of gaping boys at their fire, an interested listener. The tale of his experiences with the honey-bird which he had cheated of its share was the first I heard him tell.  Who could say how much was fact, how much fancy, and how much the superstitions of his race?  Not even Jantje knew that!  He believed it all. The Honey-bird met him one day with cheery cheep-cheep, and as he whistled in reply it led him to an old tree where the beehive was: it was a small hive, and Jantje was hungry; so he ate it all.  All the time he was eating, the bird kept fluttering about, calling anxiously, and expecting some honey or fat young bees to be thrown out for it; and when he had finished, the bird came down and searched in vain for its share. As he walked away the guilty Jantje noticed that the indignant bird followed him with angry cries and threats. All day long he failed to find game; whenever there seemed to be a chance an angry honey-bird would appear ahead of him and cry a warning to the game; and that night as he came back, empty handed and hungry, all the portents of bad luck came to him in turn.  An owl screeched three times over his head; a goat-sucker with its long wavy wings and tail flitted before him in swoops and rings in most ghostly silence--and there is nothing more ghostly than that flappy wavy soundless flitting of the goat-sucker; a jackal trotted persistently in front looking back at him; and a striped hyena, humpbacked, savage, and solitary, stalked by in silence, and glared.

Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (Chapter 20)( Page 1 ) Jantje

There was no hunting for several days after the affair with the koodoo cow.  Jock looked worse the following day than he had done since recovering consciousness: his head and neck swelled up so that chewing was impossible and he could only lap a little soup or milk, and could hardly bend his neck at all. On the morning of the second day Jim Makokel' came up with his hostile-looking swagger and a cross worried look on his face, and in a half-angry and wholly disgusted tone jerked out at me, "The dog is deaf. I say so!  Me!  Makokela!  Jock is deaf.  He does not hear when you speak.  Deaf! yes, deaf!" Jim's tone grew fiercer as he warmed up; he seemed to hold me responsible.  The moment the boy spoke I knew it was true--it was the only possible explanation of many little things; nevertheless I jumped up hurriedly to try him in a dozen ways, hoping to find that he could hear something.  Jim was right; he was really stone deaf.  It was pathetic to find how each little subterfuge that drew his eyes from me left him out of reach: it seemed as if a link had broken between us and I had lost my hold.  That was wrong, however!  In a few days he began to realise the loss of hearing; and after that, feeling so much greater dependence on sight, his watchfulness increased so that nothing escaped him.  None of those who saw him in that year, when he was at his very best, could bring themselves to believe that he was deaf.  With me it made differences both ways: something lost, and something gained.  If he could hear nothing, he saw more; the language of signs developed; and taking it all round I believe the sense of mutual dependence for success and of mutual understanding was greater than ever. Snowball went on to the retired list at the end of the next trip. Joey the Smith stood at the forge one day, trimming a red-hot horse-shoe, when I rode up and dropping the reins over Snowball's head, sang out "Morning, Joey!" Joey placed the chisel on the shoe with nice calculation of the amount he wanted to snip off; his assistant boy swung the big hammer, and an inch cube of red-hot iron dropped off.  Then Joey looked up with, what seemed to me, a conflict of innocent surprise and stifled amusement in his face.  The boy also turned to look, and--the insignificant incident is curiously unforgettable--trod upon the piece of hot iron.  "Look where you're standing," said Joey reproachfully, as the smoke and smell of burning skin-welt rose up; and the boy with a grunt of disgust, such as we might give at a burned boot, looked to see what damage had been done to his `unders.'  It gave me an even better idea of a nigger's feet than those thorn digging operations when we had to cut through a solid whitish welt a third of an inch thick. Joey grinned openly at the boy; but he was thinking of Snowball. "I wonder you had the heart, Joey, I do indeed!"  I said, shaking my head at him. "You would have him, lad, there was no refusin' you!  You arst so nice and wanted him so bad!" "But how could you bear to part with him, Joey?  It must have been like selling one of the family." "'Es, Boy, 'es!  We are a bit stoopid--our lot!  Is he still such a fool, or has he improved any with you?" "Joey, I've learned him--full up to the teeth.  If he stops longer he will become wicked, like me; and you would not be the ruin of an innocent young thing trying to earn a living honestly, if he can?" "Come round behind the shop, Boy.  I got a pony'll suit you proper!"  He gave a hearty laugh, and added "You can always get what you arsk for--if it ain't worth having.  Moril!  Don't arsk!  I never offered you Snowball.  This one's different.  You can have him at cost price; and that's an old twelve month account!  Ten pounds.  He's worth four of it! Salted _an'_ shootin'!  Shake!" and I gripped his grimy old fist gladly, knowing it was jonnick and `a square deal.'

Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick ( Chapter 18 )( Page 4 ) Snowball and Tsetse

Tsetse, who in the ordinary way regarded the spur as part of the accepted discipline, promptly resented it when there seemed to him to be sufficient reason; and when Hall, astonished at Tsetse's unexpected obstinacy, gave him both heels, the old horse considerately swung round away from the river, and with a couple of neatly executed bucks shot his encumbered rider off the raised pack, yards away on to the soft grass-- water-bottle, rifle, bandolier and man landing in a lovely tangle. I then put old Snowball at it, fully expecting trouble; but the old soldier was quite at home; he walked quietly to the edge, sat down comfortably, and slid into the water--launching himself with scarce a ripple just like an old hippo.  That gave us the explanation of Tsetse's tantrum: the water came up to the seat of my saddle and walking was only just possible.  I stopped at once, waiting for Tsetse to follow; and Hall, prepared for another refusal, sat back and again used his spurs. No doubt Tsetse, once he knew the depth, was quite satisfied and meant to go in quietly, and the prick of the spur must have been unexpected, for he gave a plunge forward, landing with his fore feet in deep water and hind quarters still on the bank, and Hall shot out overhead, landing
half across old Snowball's back.  There was a moment of ludicrous but agonised suspense!  Hall's legs were firmly gripping Tsetse behind the ears while he sprawled on his stomach on Snowball's crupper, with the reins still in one hand and the rifle in the other.  Doubled up with suppressed laughter I grabbed a fist full of shirt and held on, every moment expecting Tsetse to hoist his head or pull back and complete the disaster, while Hall was spluttering out directions, entreaties and imprecations; but good old Tsetse never moved, and Hall handing me the rifle managed to swarm backwards on to Tsetse's withers and scramble on
to the pack again. Then, saddle-deep in the river--duckings and crocodiles forgotten--we
sat looking at each other and laughed till we ached. The river was about three hundred yards wide there with a good sandy bottom and of uniform depth, but, to our disappointment, we found that the other bank which had appeared to slope gently to the water edge was in fact a sheer wall standing up several feet above the river level.
The beautiful slope which we had seen consisted of water grass and reed tops; the bank itself was of firm moist clay; and the river bottom close under it was soft mud.  We tried a little way up and down, but found deeper water, more mud and reeds, and no break in the bank; there was not even a lagavaan slide, a game path, or a drinking-place.  There seemed to be nothing for it but to go back again and try somewhere else. Hall was `bad to beat' when he started on anything--he did not know how to give in; but when he looked at the bank and said, "We'll have a shot at this," I thought at first he was joking.  Later, to my remark that
"no horse ever born would face that," he answered that "any way we could try: it would be just as good as hunting for more places of the same sort!" I do not know the height of the bank, as we were not thinking of records at that time, but there are certain facts which enable one to guess fairly closely. Tsetse was ranged up beside the bank, and Hall standing in the saddle threw his rifle and bandolier up and scrambled out himself.  I then loosened Tsetse's girths from my seat on Snowball, and handed up the packed saddle--Hall lying down on the bank to take it from me; and we did the same with Snowball's load, including my own clothes, for, as it was already sundown, a ducking was not desirable, I loosened one side of Tsetse's reins, and after attaching one of mine in order to give the necessary length to them threw the end up to Hall, and he cut and handed me a long supple rod for a whip to stir Tsetse to his best endeavours. The water there was rather more than half saddle-flap high; I know that because it just left me a good expanse of hind quarters to aim at when the moment came. "Now!" yelled Hall, "Up, Tsetse!  Up!"; and whack went the stick! Tsetse reared up, right on end; he could not reach the top but struck his fore feet into the moist bank near the top, and with a mighty plunge that soused Snowball and me, went out.  The tug on the leading rein, on which Hall had thrown all his weight when Tsetse used it to lever
himself up, had jerked Hall flat on his face; but he was up in a minute, and releasing Tsetse threw back the rein to get Snowball to face it while the example was fresh. Then for the first time we thought of the crocodiles--and the river was full of them!  But Snowball without some one behind him with a stick would never face that jump, and there was nothing for it but to fire some scaring shots, and slip into the water and get the job over as quickly as possible.