Walk on the wild side not for the faint-hearted
Confronting lion and rhino face to face at Thanda Safari, a private game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, makes for a thrilling experience
It’s odd how something as enormous as a 2-ton white rhino can sneak up on you unnoticed. During our bush walk at Thanda Safari, a big five private game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal we become engrossed by a lion, a beast with a glorious mane, prowling on a plain. The lion could cover the ground between us in four seconds, Thanda’s head guide Morné Hamlyn warns; but we aren’t posing a threat, and he’s fat and happy after gorging on a wildebeest for supper. Then a rhino emerges from the bushes, heading straight for us at a rapid trot. We gasp, swear, and tremble in awe and fear as Hamlyn yells at our tracker to lead us into the thicket. He strides forward confidently, smacking his hand against the butt of his rifle, yelling and pacing towards it like a man enraged. He looks a little like a lion, with his ginger beard and sizeable stature, and the startled rhino turns away. Then he remembers the real lion and decides our direction is safer. Hamlyn is yelling, slapping and gesticulating at t...
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