The one with the rhino chase

White rhinoceros, Kruger National Park

Friday 12th September

Sudwala Lodge, Mpumalanga

I had considered many possibilities for how to spend our fifth wedding anniversary, but being chased by an angry white rhino at sunrise wasn't one of them.

We had set off on foot at 5.30am to explore the bush around Pretoriuskop.  It is usually forbidden to walk in Kruger National Park because of the danger posed by predators, but with two armed rangers by our side we headed off.

We hadn't really expected to see many animals - this was more a chance to see up-close the plant and insect life that is missed from within a vehicle.  Our guides introduced us to the idea of the "small 5" mirroring the "big 5" - the lion ant, buffalo weaver, leopard tortoise, elephant mouse and rhino beetle.

After about an hour of walking, tasting leaves from trees and examining animal faeces, we came across the midden of a dominant male rhino.  Patrick, one of the rangers, who was busy explaining how the dominant male marks his territory, stopped suddenly, hearing a rhino's call.  (An unbelievably high pitched shriek which could be mistaken for a bird.)

Calling on Jacob, the ranger standing guard with a shotgun, he led us forward in the direction of the call.  Soon, we were in close quarters with three rhinos - a female watching two males fighting.  Jacob explained the younger male was probably the female's son, and the older male was trying to chase him away to get some time alone with his mother.

I've seen rhino fighting courtesy of David Attenburgh, but there is something surreal and heart-stoppingly terrifying about being present within about 20m of it actually happening.  As Jacob stopped to pick up a rock "just in case", I became less enthusiastic about following him closer.

As we were standing watching with no cover in the open plain, one of the rhino spotted us, the fight stopped and we all stood rigidly still as the attention focussed on us.  The dominant male rhino then started to run in our direction, and my legs were finding it increasingly difficult to adhere to the "don't run" advice from the rangers.

As the rhino got to about 20 feet away, Jacob hurled the rock into the grass in front of the rhino and it retreated for long enough to allow us to escape to a safe distance.

The rest of the walk was thankfully less eventful, with much of it spent analysing the outcome of the Oscar Pistorious trial which has dominated the news here. 

On our return to camp, we saw a pair of elephants walking down the road, and then watched a comical farce as three cars reversed rings round each other in panic as the elephants drew closer.

Jacob assured us they posed no threat to the cars as they were female, and only males in must were likely to become aggressive.  "Only be frightened of an elephant that appears to have five legs," he said.

Shiphampanane waterhole, Kruger National Park

It was then time to pack up and leave the camp, heading north to Skukuza.  En route, we stopped at a waterhole and came across the most amazing sight.

On one side of the waterhole were impala, kudu and zebra, followed by a large (50+) herd of buffalo drinking at the water's edge.  Three hippos lay basking in the water, while overhead a fish eagle hunted.

On the opposite side of the water lay the piece de resistance - six elephants bathing in the water.  Watching them swim, dive, play, fight and spray water is one of the finest sights I will ever see.

There were also egrit, hornbill and terrapins.

After lunch at Skukuza, a drive around the Sabie River proved largely fruitless (some red hornbill and a baby monitor lizard) and it was time to leave the Kruger Park having seen some amazing sights, but a little disappointed at not spotting a lion.

A long drive over the mountains then followed to take us to our home for the next week at Sudwala Lodge in Mpumalanga Province.  After much Fawlty Towers-esque chaos trying to check in, we eventually got to bed nearly a full day after having started.