Travelling Worm

In this post: Of friend and foe in Hoedspruit, South Africa. Be aware: they’re not what you might think. Unless you’re a worm like yours truly.

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 40-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC (bless her fearless heart) have just spent a few days in Hoedspruit, South Africa. A land where the wild things roam outside your door. Where sleep comes only to those who love wildlife. Where beauty is all round, and so is the bare, sometimes ugly, necessity of nature.

The book I’m in

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. A funny, heart warming, creepy tale of a lone urban wizard pitted against a bewildering variety of werewolves, hexenwolves, lycanthropes, and loups garous. This book is the second in the series dubbed the Dresden files. Well worth a read.

Travel tips

Don’t go out at night. Predators roam the streets. Yes, really. Expect a leopard. Watch for wild dogs. No werewolves, but Ooo those owls!

The photos

Me taking a walk on the wild side:

Our accommodation lay in the Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate, where human abodes nestle among the thorn trees and wild flowers. At dusk, doors close firmly, children and dogs are hurried inside, and the wild creatures own the turf.

Who’s the friend, who the foe?

Your experience may differ! Here follows a worm’s eye view of friend and foe.

First the foe. Birds are not my favourite things. Too much beak and claw, not good for soft small bodies like yours truly’s. Take for example this creature, fierce of eye, sharp of beak and claw:

It’s called a Grey Go-away-bird, because of the noise it makes. The name applies equally to my sentiment when I saw this specimen. Go away, bird!

It’s clear that the designers of the Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate share my wariness. (Birds of a feather, them and me, you might say? Rather not, thank you kindly!) The estate provides a neat little hut where you can hide from the birds. This is the serene scene from one of the windows in the bird hide:

If you’re like the TC and fancy the odd bird or two, take a look at her blog post: Birds in Hoedspruit, South Africa.

Still on the theme of foes, this large gecko might give me a run for my money:

Moving on from the foe, what about the friend? I spotted two of my kith and kin. Both have adopted a more elaborate approach to wardrobe than yours truly. Self adornment as a defence mechanism.

First, a Lappet moth caterpillar. This little dude will shoot its hairs at anything that touches it. I’m now looking into acquiring a face shield such as this:

My next little buddy goes to wardrobe extremes. A good defence, no doubt, against the neighbourhood pterodactyls. Meet the Inquisitive Monkey caterpillar:

Birds aside, are there other animals around?

The other inhabitants of the area are mostly friendly. Take Warty the Warthog for instance, who greeted us kindly when we arrived:

One of Warty’s brood decided to prove a road sign correct. Useful, in the time of misinformation that we all endure:

Later, Warty brought his family round to visit. They found our company so agreeable that they decided to spend the night under the household car. This video shows the fond farewell that the TC’s brother gave the warthog family the next morning:

Several types of buck peer out from among the thorns. This one is surely one of the prettiest — a spiral-horned antelope called a Nyala:

A zebra, a symphony of stripes:

Game drive at Khaya Ndlovu

The TC, bless her sturdy boots, decided to take us all on a game drive. We set out for to Khaya Ndlovu on the Rietspruit Big 5 Game Reserve, a private reserve close to the Kruger National Park. The name “Khaya Ndlovu” means “home of the elephants”.

Predictably perhaps, we took a wrong turn and ended up on a dirt road running alongside the outside fence of the reserve. It was early in the morning, because evidently the early worm catches the game.

Trouble is, it’s unwise to get out of the vehicle in the dark, because, remember, predators are about! We couldn’t turn around without having someone outside to guide the driver. Instead, we bashed on.

After a hoary few minutes, we arrived at the Khaya Ndlovu guest lodge. Hot coffee was on offer to fortify the nerves, then we set out in an open game vehicle just as dawn was breaking:

The drive was an experience to remember. The TC was in her element, jolting along dirt roads, some of them with nicely (her word, not mine) washed out ruts, and a few river crossings for good measure.

Rhinos nestled up to the vehicle, unaware that we were there until they bumped their noses on the truck:

Giraffes loomed with wary disdain:

We stopped for a break at a waterhole. The person in the distance is wearing a warm jacket provided by the game drive hosts:

Vervet monkeys looked on:

The last word is from a bird

“Really? You need a photo at this time of day? Just go away, do!”

That’s all for today, folks.