A good few years ago, somewhere in the mid 90’s I think, I was befriended by a chap at work. His name was John, (not his real name) he worked in the work-shop, while I worked in despatch. On Fridays, we both ‘knocked off’ work at the same time. One Friday, I was without transport, and started to walk home (in six inch heels, no less) when John offered me a ride. I accepted with alacrity!
This became a regular event. Soon it became apparent that he ‘fancied’ me, and was trying to touch my knee as he shifted gears. I just kept swatting his hand, telling him “Don’t handle the merchandise, It’s not for sale!” I thought this was a huge joke, and even told my hubby about it. John was married, but obviously still had a wandering eye.
It so happened that John invited Ray and I to dinner, at his house one evening. We met his wife, Colleen (also not real name) for the first time. She was a mousey little thing, with very little to say. It was obvious that she would never be the life and soul of a party. I was embarrassed when John seemed to hang on every word that came out of my mouth; he hardly paid any attention to his wife. In my mind, the evening was a disaster! The fish was oily and tasteless, and we washed it down as best we could. (Poor Colleen, she couldn’t cook either!)
During dinner, John invited Ray and I to a weekend away, at a Game Reserve called “Dikhololo” which he told us was situated near Brits. (He had a time-share there.) I kicked Ray, under the table, but he misunderstood my meaning, and accepted the offer. Oh woe is me, I thought!
Early one bright Saturday morning, we set off. We followed John’s open delivery van in our car; much further than we thought it would be. We arrived almost mid-morning at the gates to the Game Park, all going into the gate-house to sign in. The interior of the gate-house was covered in pictures of all the species in the park, along with their names. Ray and I were fascinated by just how many species of buck there were (over 40). There were no predators, like lion and cheetah in the vicinity.
We were impressed to find that our ‘rondawel’ (round dwelling with a thatched roof) was quite large, with all modern amenities. We were told that our bedroom was up-stairs; Colleen and John took the bedroom downstairs, nearer to the kitchen /living area. We unpacked our supplies, and then had lunch on the small patio, outside the only door to the establishment. Later, we took a walk down to the swimming pool. Lovely old acacia trees spread their branches to supply shade, here and there. We ambled back to prepare for the ‘braai’ (BBQ) that we planned for that evening.
We were told that we were in for a treat! Just before dusk, one or two large antelope always make their way to the swimming-pool, to have a drink. We weren’t disappointed! There they came; bold as brass, strolling between the rondawels, and down to the pool. Beautiful!!
Colleen was very obviously unhappy. John had been paying far too much attention to me; trying to corner me at every opportunity. I tried to stay out of his path, but it was difficult at times. During the braai, Colleen ate very little of the delicacies on her plate, but consumed a lot of beer. A little later, while the men were in deep conversation around the glowing embers of the fire, Colleen disappeared into the rondawel. I waited a good few minutes, before going in search of her; I found her in her bedroom, crying. I knew what the problem was! Gently, I took her in my arms, reassuring her that there was nothing ‘going on’ between her husband and me. I was happily married, and didn’t want to take her husband away from her! She cried on my shoulder for a while, but slowly the sobs subsided. We had a good talk and I managed to appease her mind.
It was decided that the next morning, we would all make a tour of the Park, in John’s van. The men would sit in the cab, us girls, on the back. I don’t know what happened during the night, but Colleen was a changed woman the next morning, almost glowing.
After a very early breakfast, we grabbed drinks and snacks for the way and piled onto the van. We drove the rutted dirt roads for a while; Colleen and I were the ‘spotters’, standing upright, clinging to the rail on top of the cab.
We saw a small herd of zebra grazing, intermingled with wildebeest and watched a while as giraffes bent their ungainly, seven boned necks to drink from a dam. Warthogs played follow the leader through long grass, with their tails erect like mini antennae. Meerkats (suricate, a ground squirrel of sorts) scattered at our approach, and then as we silently waited, started popping their heads out of their burrow, to play peek-a-boo with us. We spotted a huge kudu bull off in the distance, quietly enjoying a solitary meal of succulent shoots. At one stage, we thought that we spotted a leopard, lying across a high branch of an old tree. We were not about to go closer, to confirm our sighting!
At one stage, we stopped the van to watch as two giraffes seemed to be coming our way. Sitting very quietly, we watched as the pair came closer on their amazingly long legs. We almost held our breath, as one walked right up to the van, ponderously lowered its head and curiously peered in the window. We got the strange feeling, that we were the specimens on display. When he (?) had satisfied his curiosity, he stalked back to his mate, to ‘whisper’ in her ear. Probably saying “No, these fools never brought us a treat either!”
We stopped at a path-way to a clearing where there was a ‘lean-to’ made of wood, with large speakers on both sides. There were also wooden tables and rough wooden benches. We asked John, what on earth speakers were doing out here, in the middle of the bush. He laughed, replying that that is where they bring overseas tourists to, to play ‘ambiance’ sounds, like lions roaring, and scare the crap out of them as they ate.
The men went back to the van, while Colleen and I gathered discarded fire-wood. As we were busy with this task, we heard a crackling in the undergrowth. A large eland (antelope with large straight horns, can measure as much as 5ft at the shoulder) had appeared on the other side of the clearing, foraging on succulent bits of watermelon that had been tossed into 44 gallon drums that were used as garbage cans. I panicked, not at the sight of the eland, but the fact that I had seen plastic wrapping in the bins. My thoughts were on plastic blocking intestines, and an animal dying in agony! I started forward, intent on removing the plastic – my movement was misunderstood by this large beast, - it retaliated by lowering its head and charging me!
On reflection, there was no time for rational thought; it all happened too quickly! I stood my ground as this huge Oryx thundered towards me. If I had had the time, I most probably would have wet myself. The eland stopped just short of touching me. We eyeballed each other for the longest seconds in history. I stood there, taking in the minute vertical markings on his long curved horns, while he sprayed my face with fine droplets of moisture, snorted from his flared nostrils. He was showing me his anger, and contempt, at my interference of his morning snack. I backed up, very slowly. When I was about four feet away, I turned and walked a few feet – I heard no noise of footsteps behind me – then I bolted! Colleen was long gone; she was standing with the men by the van, when I burst forth from the trail between the trees. She had turned tail as soon as the eland began his charge. (Humph! Fine friend she turned out to be, after all I had done for her!)
I believe I was as white as a sheet, when I emerged from the undergrowth. I still insisted on dragging Ray back, to see the ‘monster’ that had charged me. He was happily munching on watermelon skins.
The remainder of the weekend dwindled into insignificance. And, our ‘friendship’ with John and Coleen ended there – by unspoken agreement.
The guys knew nothing about what was happening, they were a good 25 yards away, screened by dense bush! By the time Colleen told them, I was already out of there!
