Black Rhino

The first days at any new lodge are always nerve racking. The prospect of learning new roads, new birds and in general a totally new system in terms of how the lodge is run is daunting. This is especially true if you are a guide in a new area. Although you may not believe it there is a lot of administration to get through in the first few days but then the magical words come from the head guide when he says, ” take a land rover and go get lost”. There is an immediate sense of freedom and finally after all the paper work you can finally get on with the job at hand.

My first few drives were fairly mundane. They were during the heat of the day when all the animals were seeking shade and rest, in the 30 degrees plus mid day heat. Two days later, however, I was asked by the senior staff to go for a short bumble (drive) just so they could get out of the office to cure the boredom of the day. I decided to go south to a little waterhole called Inkwe (Tswana for leopard) pan where we could stop and take in the sunset and listen to the sound of the bush in all its majesty. This is a sound that cannot be recreated by any recording studio. It is the sweet solace that can only be found where your passion manifests itself. For some, this may be in some famous symphony or your favourite beach, but for me, it is in those short few moments when the sun sets and the inevitable darkness consumes the African savannah. This is when life’s true battle begins.
The predators, inspired by the drop in temperature, become active, their super senses come into their own and their prey must be ever vigilant if they are to survive the night. Some will fall victim to lions and leopard, but that is the brutal circle that we all must face. As we approached the pan, the sun was licking the dark horizon and dusk was falling onto the thick thornveld. The glimmers of light were fading when a prehistoric shape ambled out of the thick bush that was surrounding the land rover – it was a fully mature male Black Rhino – one of the most endangered animals in Africa and one whose reputation for aggression precedes it. I stopped and turned off the engine realising that this majestic beast will not be around for long, given their very shy nature. Driven by curiosity, he ambled closer trying to figure out what this strange object was that was near his favourite waterhole until he was no more then 10 meters from the vehicle. We were all intoxicated by his presence, his fearsome power that could at anytime erupt into pure unadulterated aggression. The seconds grew into minutes, as he just stood there confident that he was the lord of the land with nothing to fear from us. To say that it was a spiritual moment is far too cliché and this incredible creation deserves more. His shear bulk and stately stance commanded respect, his sharp horn broke the golden rays of the sun over his right shoulder and the beauty of the scene was deafening. No one spoke, moved or even dared to breathe too hard in case it ruined the endless moments of pleasure being played out before us. The Rhino’s simplest movements seemed elegant and deliberate, displaying a power and beauty that left me star-struck.

Those fifteen minutes were some of the best in my life and even though I have no pictures to show for it, I will always remember that moment in the details that no camera could capture. The different smells, the mixture of fear and excitement and of course just the shear privilege of being there. All too soon this lord of the African savannah grew tired of our presence and slowly turned and lumbered into the thick scrub from where he came and vanished into the darkness, leaving no trace of his appearance, but leaving us all with happy hearts and a longing to see him again. Things like this happen to the lucky few. An experience of this magnitude is a once in a life time event and even though I could never possibly do justice to the events of that evening in a few short paragraphs, I am compelled to try and recreate the events for those who have not yet had the fortune of experiencing the bush and all its many mysteries.
By: Wayne Nupen