Small animal encounters
About frogs…
As mentioned in the previous blog, the Wilderness Trail while staying in Kruger National Park (KNP), was quite the experience. Interesting information about birds, insects, trees, healing plants. Beautiful wildlife while on foot. Encounters with animals, both small and large… It all began the very first evening.
After a delicious meal we all retired for the night. However, this was easier said than done. The shower and toilets were primitive buildings, with cracks and holes and hiding places for all kinds of animals. I (Jacobine) am not a great fan of amphibians and reptiles, and I had already spotted a big frog, right on top of the shower rail. Was that creature going to stay there while I was taking a shower? Or would it jump right at me? I’d prefer for it to be removed before I’d find out.
Thankfully, my mother-in-law knew what to do. She managed to find a plastic bag somewhere, put it over her hand like a glove, and made a grab at the animal. A little terrified scream accompanied this process, but, the frog had been safely caught and was neatly thrown over the camp’s fence. Hopefully, this would scare it enough for it to stay away. Or…would Joas’ (one of the guides) word come true: “He’ll be back! Frogs always come back!” I certainly hoped not.
… and snakes
This problem being solved, we all went out to our tents for a good night’s sleep. Or so we thought. Since the nights could get pretty cold in August, it was wise to drop down the tent’s canvas door so some warmth would stay inside the tent. Greg had already entered the tent through the screen door, so I decided to unhook the canvas door so it would drop down. And then…plop…a terrified shriek (was that me?) and right in front of my feet lay a snake! Oh no, was it dangerous?
“Move away from the snake, get into the tent!” Greg commanded. Because of the fright, I had stayed frozen to the spot, but… a snake could be dangerous. Greg’s instructions woke me up and I entered the tent. Thankfully temperatures outside had already dropped, and the snake was too cold to move, so it hadn’t done a thing. One of the guides was called (as we had been instructed) and he came to pick up the snake, classifying it as a spotted bush snake. We were grateful to hear it was not dangerous, but, as our guide said, “It can bite!”
Our first day being filled with enough encounters, we finally could try and get a good night’s sleep, looking forward to our hiking trail the next day. After some time, the tranquility of the area, the night sounds we had now become used to, and the fatigue we felt, was enough to lull us to sleep. What would the next day bring?
By the way… Our friend the frog returned the next day. Joas is always right…
Mathikithi camp
Our frog friend
