It was early on in my guiding program at NJ More when they had paired us students into teams. Each team would take turns in being the guide and tracker on safari, while the others were your guests. It was my first time on the tracker seat and I was stoked. Best seat in the house!
I recall we were watching a rhino having a siesta at the edge of a watering hole when we decided to move on, as the sun was starting to drop and we would find a place to have a sundowner stop. We began to drive around the open plains of Marataba, which is where antelope tend to congregate at night for safety in numbers and visibility of predators in the open. On this evening, as the sun was hitting the horizon, magical colours illuminated the sky. It was out of this world. As one of the other students began sweeping the grassland with a spotlight, a set of eyes appeared. It was a hyena.
We approached this very pregnant hyena and stopped allowing her to come to us as she felt comfortable to do so. The alpha female is the dominant in the clan. Females are larger than males as well. So, as I sat in the tracker seat, I stared down at this curious, massive hyena who was now sitting at my feet, staring back at me. I remember this moment so vividly. I soaked in every moment as we shared something back and forth. It felt like forever that we were locked into each other. Because I was on the tracker seat, I never carried a camera or phone. I had to photograph this one in my mind.
Eventually the hyena walked a few meters away, layed down facing our vehicle, and began to call out to her clan. WHOOOOOOP! WHOOOOOOOP! WHOOOOOOOP! Her call echoed across the empty landscape. I never would have imagined that sound was so loud. I had heard it before, but never in the still of the night right in front of me. It was chilling in the best possible way. But we were not the only ones who were fascinated with what they had heard.
From every direction, all around, with metallic skies creating their silhouettes, the long necks of the giraffes seemed to almost grow as they ever so gracefully encroached upon us. Hands down this was one of the most momentous moments and memories in all of my African experiences. Being surrounded by these towers with nothing between me and them was exhilarating and beautiful. The giraffe were coming to see what all the whooping was about.
With the hyena sitting on the left, the giraffe lined up like soldiers to her right, one after another. There was about 7 of them in this line, but I counted over 24 surrounding us in those plains. Simultaneously, all 7 necks stretched down towards the hyena to get a closer look, without having to get too near. That’s when the hyena shifted her posture thus spooking the giraffe. All of these long necks and heads swung back away from the hyena creating a wobbling effect, like a pendulum. That recoil and bounce back is exactly what happened. It was very humorous as they were so awkward.
This moment, starting with the close encounter with a pregnant hyena, the giraffe silhouettes closing in around us, and the unusual behaviour of curiosity between species, make this one of my top safari moments. I hope you enjoyed my story and could imagine it as my mind still sees it.