The beasts and the drama of the African bush, far from the harsh lights of big city Johannesburg.  



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There is a mystique about the African bush that enchants
visitors from all over the world. Some of them become so captivated they decide
to stay on, or return time and again. 



Even a born and bred African like me, albeit of European
descent, cannot say no to a few days of “bundu bashing”. There is nothing quite
like escaping the bumper-to-bumper traffic and constant hum of the big city, to
experience a range of smells as you move through the bush. The scent of the
long grass. The whiff from the marula trees. The odor of fresh dung. 



And at night, when you look up to the canopy of the sky, you
feel as though you could reach out and touch the stars. The Southern Cross.
Orion’s Belt. The river of the Milky Way. Venus, the morning and the evening
star. The red glint of Mars.



On the day our group arrives at the exclusive Sable Camp at
MalaMala within the larger Sabi Sands Game Reserve, which shares a 19-kilometer
open border with South Africa’s Kruger National Park, it is hot and humid. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="932" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stai1.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40700" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stai1.png.png 932w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stai1.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stai1.png-600x397.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stai1.png-768x508.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px" /><figcaption> Sabi Sands Game Reserve. Picture: Jill de Villiers</figcaption></figure></div>



On this day in the country’s Mpumalanga province, it hits 39
degrees. We settle in and get ready for the first game drive of our stay. 



We are here for the launch of a beautiful book by renowned
wildlife photographers Gerald Hinde and Will Taylor – both men with a deep love
for animals and African landscapes. We pile onto four game-viewing vehicles to
find and photograph the heroes and heroines of their book – The Big Seven:
Adventures in Search of Africa’s Iconic Species.



The roads are rough and rudimentary as we head into the bush, cameras with long lenses at hand. We drive along a river bed. As the sun moves slowly down towards the western horizon, its rays glint in the waves of green and yellow grass. The wheels skid in the white sand. We drive past a large bush and suddenly an elephant appears, tugging and tearing at the foliage. He looks at us and flaps his ears lazily. 



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A bit further on, after literally bashing through the bush,
off-road, we see her. Slinky and quiet, her pelt shines in the setting sun. The
lone female leopard looks at us with the disdain of a cat disturbed by
bothersome humans. She slinks through the bush as we follow her. Then she sits
perfectly still, slowly turning her head from side to side. 



As darkness settles, the vehicle lights come on and we head
back to the lodge. In an outdoor boma, tables are set up in the round, and a
five-star dinner is served under the expanse of the night sky. We are treated
like royalty by all of the staff of MalaMala. Most of them come from the
community that now owns the reserve, after the conclusion of a successful land
claim deal in 2014.&nbsp; 



The next day dawns. Overcast, with a soft, insistent rain.
The temperature has dropped 14 degrees. Donning rain ponchos, the group of
adventurers set forth on the morning game drive. The mission is to encounter
every one of the Big Seven. The traditional Big Five tourists flock to game
reserves to see are: elephant, lion, rhino, leopard and buffalo. Two more have
been added, both on the endangered list – the wild dog and cheetah. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="928" height="610" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stia2.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40701" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stia2.png.png 928w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stia2.png-300x197.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stia2.png-600x394.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/stia2.png-768x505.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 928px) 100vw, 928px" /><figcaption> Elephant at Sabi Sands Game Reserve. Picture: Jill de Villiers </figcaption></figure>



Just as humans are shy of rain, so are animals. They lie low
in the grass or huddle under trees where they can’t be seen. An hour or so into
the drive, the drizzle lifts and we see movement in the grass. 



A lioness lifts her head and looks at us. Slowly, slowly, one
lion after another stands up to look at the vehicles. There are, at least,
eight of them. They lose interest in us again, and stretch out on the ground. 



The time to leave comes far too soon. The quiet and beauty
of the bush have soaked into my soul and I feel completely at peace and one
with the sky and the grass and the trees and the animals and the river and the
world.&nbsp;

Tag: Sabi Sands Game Reserve

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