Winter in the bush

It has been a long while since I have visited Kruger in the winter months. I had almost forgotten why it is still considered the best time of the year to visit the bush.

Besides the magnificent game viewing, it is just more comfortable in many respects. The mornings can be quite chilly, especially on the back of an open game viewing vehicle, but otherwise very pleasant.

I was also very fortunate to have my longest continuous stay since before I can remember. 16 days in total I was out in the bush and I loved every second of it. I worked for some of it, showing some new Italian friends of ours all there is to see. Spent some time with family and got to enjoy a 3 night wilderness trail, the highlight for me.

There is something special about walking out in the wilderness, at grass root level, so to speak that just can't be explained. There is so much that is missed when you are in a vehicle. Tracks and signs that tell a story of a different world, but yet right on our door step. Suppose that is just it, you can stand there and look around and think to yourself, this could be a century earlier and you wouldn't even know. Untouched wilderness, using animal paths to make your way through the veld. It is an experience I highly recommend to any one!

Hopefully in the near future I can get the chunk of footage I have, edited and up for you to see, it just can't be explained in words, so watch this space.

Keep well, cheers.

SA Venomous Snakes

I am often asked when out on tour with my foreign friends about snakes or more accurately poisonous snakes. So immediately my first response has to be; snakes are termed venomous not poisonous. The reason being they inject the poison, which then classifies it as a venom not a poison. So an easy way to remember is, venom is injected and a poison is ingested.

So venomous snakes of South Africa they ask, and I tell them 'they are there, just not so easy to see'. Lately however, I have had the fortunate experience of confirming this statement. In fact, 3 in just 2 hikes, and in small reserves but a stone's throw from the urban environs. First we crossed paths with a mozambique spitting cobra, which reared up to display its hood before turning tail and disappearing in a split second.

Then on another hike whilst walking a trail that follows a small cliff face, known for its population of rock dassie, a movement caught my eye. I turned to see a 2.5- 3m black mamba slithering through the branches next to us, so close I could touch it. Adrenaline kicked in and we froze, and watched it poking its head into the crevices as it moved along in the same direction we were moving. We watched for what felt like forever until it came down towards the path about 10m in front of us and then decided to high tail it out of there in the opposite direction, taking the long way home. For those that don't know, the black mamba is the most venomous snake we have and depending on the amount of venom it discharges, can kill you in 20min. It is also the fastest, as we got to witness first hand.

As if that wasn't enough when we got back to camp we were then treated to a sun-bathing vine snake (pictured above). They use camouflage as their means of hunting, making themselves look just like a branch. Although their venom is also very potent, their fangs are situated far back in the mouth, therefore unless bitten on a finger the snake would battle to penetrate human skin.

Interestingly enough, we not only encountered 3 venomous snakes, but also 3 that each carry different types of venom. The cobra has a concoction of cyto- and neuro- toxic venom, but mainly cytotoxic. Meaning the venom attacks your skin tissue, breaking it down. The mamba, and is the reason it works so quick, has a strong neurotoxic venom, that attacks the nervous system, which when reaching the heart causes paralysis and death. The vine snake has an unique venom, haemotoxic, causing the blood to thin and its victim to bleed from all orifices. Until very recently, like 3 months recent, the only way to survive a bite was to have a full blood transfusion, but an anti-venom has finally been found.

So to conclude, 'are there snakes in SA?', do a little exploring and find out for yourself, I can certainly vouch for it.

Thanks for reading, cheers till next time.

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