Search

home  |  why Aardvark?  |  pricing and planning  |  news and articles |  sitemap

• Countries

  • Africa Map
  • Botswana
  • Kenya
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Rwanda
  • Seychelles
  • South Africa
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zanzibar
• Activities

  • Game Drives
  • Walking Safaris
  • Riding Safaris
  • Birding Safaris
  • Elephant Safaris
  • Water Based Safaris
  • Self Drive
  • Luxury Train
  • Scuba Diving & Snorkelling
  • Fishing
  • Mountain Climbing and Trekking
  • Private Guides
  • Special Interest
• Honeymoons
• Family Safaris

  • Introduction
  • Accommodation Styles
  • Things to do
  • When and Where
  • Questions and Answers
  • What Now?
• Riding Safaris

  • Introduction
  • About us
  • Riding styles
  • When and Where
  • Questions and Answers
  • What next
  • Riding in Botswana
  • Riding in Kenya
  • Riding in Namibia
  • Riding in South Africa
Beach
• Accommodation
• Contact Us

Bitten By the Bug

Author: Karly Short

Karly Short, who helps Richard with all his clients, visits Africa for the first time. She hopes that her once in a life time experience in South Africa is actually the first of many.

I have the Africa Bug. The African Travel Bug. I can’t quite remember at which stage I was bitten but it was very soon after I stepped off the plane onto Mala Mala’s landing strip. The air hostess had asked all passengers to kindly head straight to the terminal. I couldn’t see a terminal. All I could see was bush. Ah, a couple of Land Rovers and a small group of African men off to the left. The Terminal. This, I thought, is just the first taste of what is to come.

I have been working at Aardvark Safaris as Richard’s PA for about 18 months and was given the opportunity to visit South Africa last November to see for myself what it is we sell. I was going to be visiting Mala Mala Reserve, which shares a border with Kruger National Park, then Mount Anderson Ranch in the Drakensburg Mountains and finally at Mashatu just over the Botswana border. Obviously I knew what to expect because I stare at the brochures almost every day of the week and I have a little knowledge on what each country can offer. But pictures in a brochure and being told what it is like cannot prepare you for the real experience.

Rather than the beautiful lodges and spectacular scenery I want to talk about my first game drive. I was far too impatient on my arrival into camp to really appreciate my surroundings because I just wanted to head into the bush. I had been teased by my colleagues with stories of their adventures and I was all too eager to follow in their footsteps. I wasn’t disappointed. Our guide and tracker worked fantastically together and in no time at all we had found our first subject. The elephant. It was such a sight, I could hardly contain myself from jumping out of the Land Rover and giving its trunk a stroke. The magic of being so close to a wild animal and watching it move about its daily life is something I won’t forget quickly.

I don’t want to list all sightings - actually I do but I will restrain myself - but there are a couple I have to mention. Along with seeing all the big cats and their cubs, a couple of my favourites were watching a hyena and a jackal share the carcass of a baboon, a python asleep under a tree, and a two day old elephant trotting after its mother. Towards the end of our first game drive, just when we were anticipating a promised sundowner, a call came across the radio that wild dog were in the area. I cannot explain the thrill of tracking an elusive animal and being triumphant in finding them, let alone seeing them in hunting mode and catching their target. I think I may have already been spoilt for my next trip.

Now that I have ‘The Bug’, every time I pick up a brochure I dream of visiting distant parts of Africa. Many people venture into Africa for a once in a lifetime experience and before my trip I would have agreed with this, but now I don’t think I can stop at just the once.


>> Back to Newsletter Stories

The content of this website is © Aardvark Safaris unless otherwise stated.