Four women sit facing a wall in a darkened underground bunker. In front of them is a narrow opening, through which they can see if danger approaches.
Their weapons of choice—mounted on tripods for steadiness and perfect targeting—are loaded, aimed, and sighted in. They are ready and waiting with great anticipation, here in the heartland of the Zulu kingdom now known as Kwazulu Natal.
Immediately behind them is a black curtain, and behind that are four low bunk beds that offer respite from the waiting, should any of them feel the need of a break from the eternal waiting.
A large, heavy, wooden door in the chamber opens onto
an efficiency kitchen—a mini-fridge, a microwave, and a sink. There is sufficient food to sustain the
waiting women for the duration. There
is a counter opposite for computers and external hard drives, a bathroom, and a small area for camera cases, overnight bags, and so on.
They have been here since mid-afternoon. Just before they descended into the bunker, a
very large giraffe left the area.
Perhaps it was disturbed by their arrival; perhaps it, too, knew what
might come to upset the tranquility of the night.
As darkness rises from land and blots out the bushveld
and then the sky, a hand reaches out, toggles a switch, and a two weak beams of
light faintly illuminate the waterhole outside the bunker. Now, the women become more anxious.
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| The crescent light to the right of the tree trunk is the moon. |
They finger the levers on their weapons, take practice
shots in the diminished visibility. And
they wait.
Wait. For the
beasts of Africa to emerge from the black night.
The first appears as a silver wraith, entering stage
left. It circles and faces the women
head on. The women are now six feet
from one of the most fearsome beasts in all of Africa.
Brrrrrrrpppppppp.
The staccato sounds of cameras taking multiple pictures a second erupts
from the women’s weapons, Nikons all.
Before them is the massive Cape buffalo. Standing up to six feet at the shoulder and
weighing up to 1750 lbs., the unpredictable buffalo are said to kill about 200
people each year.
The beast is joined by several more. They are lined up along the edge of the water,
and though they are drinking from the pool, the water is barely disturbed, providing
perfect reflections.
Thousands of images are imprinted on memory cards; clusters
of neurons fire at once and store the images in the memory cells of the women.
Then, as silently and wraith-like as they appeared, the buffalo fade into the blackness.
And the women wait.
And wait.
And wait.
A field mouse scurries about just short of full
visibility before it finally approaches the water to drink. Again, the Nikons fire and the women joke
about big game photography in darkest Africa.
This tiny creature braved owls and hawks and other nocturnal predators to drink at the waterhole. It also entertained four women for hours.
This tiny creature braved owls and hawks and other nocturnal predators to drink at the waterhole. It also entertained four women for hours.
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Some of the women take naps; others wait before the
narrow window, hoping for lions or leopards or the tall giraffe they saw
earlier.
Nothing else appears.
This land has been blessed with an abnormal amount of rain, so water is
plentiful. The animals need not come to
the Umigodi overnight hide.
The women are reduced to photographing ants.
The birds arrive with the dawn.
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| Greater blue-eared starling |
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| Fiscal flycatcher |
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| Fiscal Flycatcher |
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| Fiscal flycatcher oout of the water |
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| Laughing dove |
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| Tawny eagle |
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| Tawny eagle |
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| Groundscraper thrush |
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| Fiscal flycatcher |
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| Fiscal flycatcher jumping straight up |
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| Another fiscal flycatcher |
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| Can you ID this bird yet? |
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| Cape turtle dove |
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| Laughing dove |
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| Laughing dove |
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| Left, laughing dove; right, Cape turtle dove |
And then a warthog, red from rolling in the red dirt of South Africa.
By 9 in the morning, the appointed time, the women are
packed and ready to leave.
A knock, and the heavy door that protects the women
from the night is unlocked. The women
ascend into the sunlight for the first time in 18 hours.
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| Marg leaves the Umigodi overnight hide. The small waterhole is visible at the far left. |
They return to the main lodge at Zimanga Private Game Refuge
for breakfast.
This afternoon, the small bird hide is on their schedule,
Fantastic pictures, especially of the Cape Buffalo. It's too bad more animals didn't show up during the night, it made interesting pictures with the black background.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun and entertaining and enjoyable Post. The sweet little mouse was a winner. Great photos. Great text .. I was on the edge of my chair. Smiles and joy .. Cap in Kyzyl and Patti in Anchorage.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos of the buffalo and mouse! What a long, long night that was.
ReplyDelete