May 18, 2013

Any idea what type of bird this is?

We took the Picanto on a last quick drive to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park at 3pm.

What a drive it turned out to be!

Because we had not had lunch, we were going to stop at the shop to get something to eat in the Park.

Once in the Park we realised that we forgot to stop at the shop.

Hunger drove us up to Hilltop Camp to order something to eat in the car on the way back.

Driving back, only about 8 km from the exit gate we came across a herd of elephants making their way up the hill towards us. There was no possibility that the elephants could leave the road.  Although it was nearly 5pm I was not taking chances. We had no choice but to turn back past Hilltop to take the Sivivaneni gravel road and work our way around over hills and valleys back to the exit, which was now over 30 km away! Sun sets around 5.30pm and it was quite dark by the time we turned off the tar and on to the gravel road. This road is not for easy travel and it was getting darker and I was rather nervous by this time!  Next thing: the fuel warning light comes on and now I am more than nervous, It was cold and windy and we did not bring anything warm to wear. What if we run out of fuel?

At Isivavaneni we were thrilled to spot a night drive vehicle ahead of us. At least we were not 'alone in the wilderness'! Our joy was short-lived because the vehicle had stopped and as we approached we realised there was another herd of  elephants in the road! We backed off a safe distance and stopped. What were we to do? 

Just then the game viewing vehicle reversed, turned at the viewpoint and came in next to us.

I explained our situation to him and he said to stay behind him while he made his way back towards the elephants. Stay behind him I did - I was literally hiding behind him! The elephants had been feeding and broken branches were strewn across the road. The last to cross the road was a cow and her baby. It was quite scary to see the cow stop, turn and look at the vehicle while she waited for the baby to cross!

At last we could move on, staying close to the vehicle in front.

We reached the gate just after 6pm and for some reason the guards decided to search our vehicle. I suppose they were just doing their job, but what could two old (-ish!) ladies be hiding in a Picanto??

The search held us up and we missed the opportunity to thank the driver of the other vehicle for his assistance. Thank you, whoever you are - for helping us!

Our worries were not over - we still had to drive into town. Luckily people with whom we had chatted earlier came through the gate and stopped next to us, offering to travel behind us into town.

The little Picanto very bravely brought us safely home - on the last fumes left in the tank, no doubt.

(Thank you Tracey and Alec from The Fever Tree Guest House in Hluhluwe)