: Your Virgin Bushwalk by: Gregory Hudson Isn't it time you stepped out of the concrete jungle and into a wilder world, the world of the African bushveld? This may be a major step for most metro dwellers, as the city life

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Your Virgin Bushwalk

by: Gregory Hudson

Isn't it time you stepped out of the concrete jungle and into a wilder world, the world of the African bushveld?
This may be a major step for most metro dwellers, as the city life offers a certain sense of security, a place to dwell, free from insects and the dangers spawned from mother nature's indifference to man.
What happens when the Landrover finally stops and your feet meet with the Savannah floor? Do your preconceptions of an African Safari drop away? Find out what Sabi Sabi's ultimate bush experience is all about!
Ambient Sounds of the Bushveld Come Alive
On foot the intricacies of the African bushveld become apparent, the soft textures of yellowed grasslands, the smell of the earth and the ambient sounds of the bushveld come alive. Things that would never be noticed above the slow, dull hum of a 4x4's engine.
Guided by a tracker holding a gun, you feel a sense of nakedness as the primeval instincts your ancestors depended on for survival slowly seep back into your awareness.
Large Trees Suddenly Take on a Supreme Importance
You are reassured by your guide that the roar of a lion can literally be heard from up to five miles away. Large trees suddenly take on an importance that had in the past seemed rather arbitrary, they seem filled with a sense of reliability that was never quite appreciated while living in the city. The acacias of Africa are a wonderful sight to behold. Their umbrella-like canopies imprint the bushveld floor with intricate patterns matching the most ornate Persian carpet.
The tracker looks the part, years of experience are demonstrated in every move that he makes. You may be requested to abruptly duck, keep silent or place your attention on a part of the bush that previously appeared insignificant, but that upon closer inspection reveals an anomaly, something foreign, a surprise that makes the bushveld come alive.
Be Amazed at the Artful Eye of the Tracker
The artful eye of the tracker hones in on the smallest details, a track or spoor for instance. Once his cunning eyes have followed this sandy lead to its conclusion, the reward of his stealth and tenacity can be found at its end. His extended finger directs your eye to the dark gnarled skin of a rhino or the golden main of a sleeping lion.
Occasionally, a bushwalk will yield the grizzly remains of a recent kill. Vultures hop around in a frenzied and anxious fashion, with one eye focused on the corpse and the other on the uncertain and precarious surroundings. The hot air, from time to time, carries the faint aroma of death.
The Guide Nudges Your Shoulder and There It Is!
Following in the footsteps of your guide, the bush parts and you suddenly come upon a half dry drinking hole. You wait. Faint rustles stir from the surrounding bush. The guide nudges your shoulder and there it is. Ever so slowly, making their way to the waters edge, timidly following, one behind the other, a herd of impala come to test life and death by the edge of this crocodile infested bush puddle.
During the winter months game are known to congregate around these dwindling supplies of water, as the winter months are usually a time of drought.
Observing from a quite hide, together with your guide, an afternoon or a whole day can come and go as you take in the sights and sounds at the water's edge. The attraction water exerts on the dry pallets of animals is irresistible. No matter what, every living being needs water and, for this reason, the best time and place to see game is in winter at a watering hole.
What becomes apparent over time is that the land and the life found there is continually revolving in a cycle. Soon a pattern is noticed in the behaviour of the animals. Patterns can be discerned in how they react, whether it be by day or by night. How they behave, at rest or when at their most active. Even the paths they etch into the land, disclose their various migration routes in a characteristic pattern, identified with an uncanny knack by the tracker.
Find Yourself in the Midst of an Untamed Land
So much can be revealed when one understands the various behavior patterns and intricacies displayed by wild animals. Much can be learned from the diversity of plant life and so much more about being human, if you find yourself in the midst of an untamed land.
After many years of experience, Sabi Sabi's trackers take pride in the fact that no guest has ever been injured by any wild animal during a walking safari at Sabi Sabi.
The question is, when are you going to step out of the concrete jungle and into the African bushveld?