Tales from South Africa - Wetlands and the Avoca
The South Africa Journey follows our travels from the wetlands of iSimangaliso to the wildlife-rich bushveld of Timbavati and onward to Johannesburg. These tales capture the moments that stayed with us along the way: remarkable animal encounters, memorable people, unexpected humor, and the small experiences that brought South Africa to life. Together, they tell a story that goes beyond the wildlife sightings, landscapes, and photographs.
Tales in this collection
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Meeting the Avocas (Timbavati)
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Selfie with a Lion (Timbavati)
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Done with the termites, meet the boys (Timbavati)
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Sam is ok, he has a radio (Timbavati)
Meeting the Avocas
There were signs of them around our camp. Footprints, scat, roars at night. We knew they were here – this was their territory – but we had not had a chance to see them… yet.
A night drive changed everything. Because it was winter in South Africa, the temperature dropped quickly as dusk settled in — the air turning crisp, the kind of chill that makes you listen a little harder. Our tracker — Sam — had been working to get us this opportunity, and as dusk settled in we finally came upon them. The Land Rover eased past a patch of scrub, and suddenly the shapes in the shadows resolved into lions — all the females and young, stretching and yawning as they woke. Their jaws opened impossibly wide, exposing every tooth in a display that looked ferocious but wasn’t. It was simply how lions greet the night.
We were entranced.
They seemed unimpressed with us.
Selfie with a Lion
After several days in the Timbavati we were relaxing in the lodge chatting with one of the guides (Rolfe). After creating amazing memories in just a short time we asked what stood out for him after being a guide for fifteen years. He immediately said “the time a tourist hopped out of the rover to take a selfie with a lion in the background”.
We asked him what he did. Rolfe told the story with a dry, matter‑of‑fact calm — the same tone he might use to describe the weather. He said he grabbed his rifle and cocked it, a simple action delivered as if it were the obvious choice any normal person would make. That was enough to scare the tourist, who jumped back into the rover immediately.
We asked him what he would have done. He calmly said:
“Shoot the tourist. . .
. . . Can’t blame a lion for being a lion.”
Done with the Termites, meet the boys
There were termite mounds all around the Timbavati. Jacov stopped the jeep beside one and began explaining what went into it. The colony, the structure, the intricacies of termites. There was considerably more going on in those mounds than we had imagined. We were getting quite an education.
Sam, our tracker, waited patiently. Nothing seemed to bother Sam, and apparently a lesson on termites was no exception. Then he had a question:
Were we done with the bugs?
There was a group of Cape buffalo on the other side of the jeep - about ten feet away.
We turned from the mound to the buffalo. Suddenly the termite lesson had competition. Cape buffalo. About ten feet away, and we had been looking in the other direction. We were thrilled — and a little amazed at what we had managed not to notice. Bachelors. The sort of older bulls known as “dagga boys” — “dagga” referring to mud, a name earned by their habit of wallowing in it. We had been concentrating on the workings of a termite colony while an entirely different gathering was practically beside us. Sam had given the termites their moment.
Cape buffalo are one of the Big Five, the animals everyone hopes to see on safari. Here they were, practically beside us, and we were studying a mound like the ones we had been passing all around the Timbavati. Termites are not in the Big Five. Despite Jacov’s very thorough case for them.
We were done with the bugs.
Sam is ok, he has a radio
In the Timbavati we had a guide Jacov and a tracker Sam. Sam had been at this for quite some time and was the most relaxed guy you can possibly imagine. Nothing bothered Sam.
Sam though was determined to locate the pride of lions (the Avocas) who had been hunting in the area. He pointed out the signs of their presence – including lion tracks all around our camp.
Imagine our surprise when we met up with Jacov early one morning (about 6:00) before first light and there was no Sam. Surprising since Sam seemed to always be there. We asked if we needed to wait for him. Jacov said “No, Sam is in the bush tracking lions and that we would meet him about a mile from the camp.” We assumed that Sam would have a gun for protection, but when we asked, Jacov said that Sam didn’t like guns – not to worry though, he had his radio and a flashlight!!