Pumba safari...
Easter Monday, I know this has taken a while getting here but you try to decide which photographs to leave out from this adventure! I booked a safari trip at the Pumba Game Reserve about 20km along the N2 road from Grahamstown to Port Elizabeth. Amazing how much you can find in the Eastern Cape. When the settlers arrived game roamed free over the whole of the African continent whilst the indigenous tribes co-existed hunting only for food and clothing. The farmsteads divided up the land and drove the wildlife out, introducing our own farming species and crops including trees from Australia which were of use as windbreaks in the new environment.
In 1813 a farm was surveyed in the Zuurveld as it was then known. Piet Retief held the original grant from the Government. The Dutch farmers eventually moved north to avoid British rule and the 1820 settlers took over, subdividing land to support their sons. An idea was conceived by wildlife enthusiast Dale Howarth and Hotelier Trevor Lombard to create a reserve by re-combining these farms, removing the fencing and anything which was not indigenous to the area. Steps were taken to rehabilitate and restore the original fauna, some of which had not been present since 1825. This came about in 2004 and has been expanding ever since. Game was then reintroduced including the 'Big Five' as well as Hippos, Hyenas, Cheetahs and White Lions. Lastly various species of antelope were released into the reserve to complete the restocking process.
The adventure began at 09:30 hours with coffee and muffins whilst we completed the registration process – the management bear no responsibility if you stick your head in a lion's mouth! At 10:00 hours we were introduced to our guide and boarded the 'safari' Landrover. They make the maximum effort to find as many species and to be as informative as possible. Advised to keep quiet and to remain seated they try to get as close as possible to the animals. Bare in mind that, unlike a 'safari park' these animals will run for cover.
There is a pamphlet provided to help identify species and to give background on the White Lion and other breading programs. Sadly just the week before our safari poachers killed three white Rhino for their horns. Just as we were about to enter the lodge for lunch word came that the Cheetahs had been spotted. We turned around and off we went again. You certainly get your moneys worth! We eventually had a very nice buffet lunch and I thought it was all over but no, our journey back to the main gate and our cars meandered here and there as the guide spotted herds of animals or species such as the Zebra which we had not seen in close up before. An amazing experience which whets the appetite for more. As a matter of note the Kruger Game Reserve in the north of the country is bigger than England!
Note: I have tried to name most of the animals but the various members of the antelope family elude me.
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