We awoke for our final day of adventure in Africa. This was a laid back morning as we did not have to be in the van until 8AM. We had breakfast in a quaint restaurant, the Steop Cafe, in the town of Komate Poort. One of their specialties and a typical breakfast is Liver and Eggs so a few had to try them. good!
We stopped at a local pub to see what is claimed to be the largest mounted Buffalo trophy in the world - and it was massive. A bit further down the road was a Black Mamba - the deadliest snake in Africa and also can be one of the largest. Luckily it had been run over and was in no condition to care when Hugo picked it up for some closeup photos. It was more than 7 feet long and the name comes from the Black color of the inside of it's mouth.
We arrived at our destination, the Mauricedale Game Farm, which is run by Albina and John Hume. Their primary business is raising White Rhino and Buffalo for sale to farms and zoos in Africa as well as other countries.
They also have a private Aviary which is for John's pleasure and not open to the public. John is a business associate of Hugo's and the reason that we had this exclusive chance to see his magnificent home and the pleasures of the grounds. The enclosed part of the Aviary covers 1 1/2 Hectares (about 3 US Acres) enclosed in netting and protected by airlock type of gates so there is no chance of contamination from outside birds or escape by those in the inside. We opened a steel mesh gate into a mesh box, when the first gate was closed the second gate could be opened and entry into the Aviary. We had the Aviary manager lead us through the first half of the habitats explaining and identifying the birds and small mammals. The Aviary is designed with mini-environmental sections to accommodate the natural settings of each species of bird. They have over 400 different species of bird and animal in the Aviary and on the grounds.
Albina joined us about half way through the Aviary tour and was extremely informative and truly enjoyed having us at her home. One very special experience was the Buffalo Birds. In the wild they act as cleaners of the wild animals, picking off fleas, ticks and any other parasite that may be on the animals. They flew onto our heads and began to scratch through our hair with their beaks. It was a very weird feeling while at the same time somewhat pleasurable having your head scratched. Albina indicated that we should not let them remain for long as their beaks can break the skin and inflict cuts on the head.
After our walk through the Aviary we were treated to drinks and sandwiches on the terrace of their entertainment section of the house. The house is surrounded by 40 hectares (maybe 80 US Acres) of grass, ponds, trees and almost any other kind of habitat to attract wildlife. They have a large permanent bird population of Cranes, Flamingos, Ducks, etc. as well as wildlife that is welcome to drop in whenever they wish. We were told that the cost to maintain this facility was $100,000 a month. I am not sure if that was for the Aviary or the entire farm. We were given the run of the grounds for a while to take photos or just enjoy the wildlife.
Just before 3 PM Albina called us together at the Flamingo Pond for champagne and treats before climbing into the back of a pickup for our tour of the game farm. The first animal we spied was the Rohn Antelope, an animal that most Africans will not see in a lifetime. It is quite rare now and the largest antelope in Africa. At the feeding area there were hundreds of White Rhino and Buffalo enjoying their daily feeding of vitamin enriched forage. They freely graze all over the 6000 or so acres of brush around the farm at night and during the early part of the day but return to this area for their daily feeding. All of these Rhino's are deHorned to discourage poaching. The horns continue to grow at about 13 centimeters a year so the deHorning procedure is repeated every 3 years. Poaching is a very wasteful practice as the only item that is used is the horn which is chopped off leaving the carcase behind. The horns are extremely valuable and are sold to Asian countries where they are used in herbal remedies. The farm removed horns cannot be legally sold, however, and these harvested horns are simply placed in storage. Steps are being taken to develop a process to track horns removed in the deHorning process would allow for legal sales. The theory is that it would provide a greater supply of horns and reduce the illegal poaching if these magnificent animals.
The White Rhino is a grazer and has w wide and flat mouth suitable for feeding of grasses. It is also much more docile although, both can be extremely dangerous, especially to a human outside of a vehicle. The White Rhino was first called a "Wide" Rhino for the shape of it's mouth but over time the "Wide" became mispronounced to White and it has stuck.Interesting that after the charge the Rhino followed the course of the road off to the far side and even moved in front of us. As we came around a bend there she was standing there as if she was again challenging us. She made one final charge but we quickly outdistanced her and we did not see her again.
What an exciting thrill and a fitting finale to our trip to Africa.
As our heart rates returned to normal and we were on our way back to the Hume's home base another Black Rhino came into view. To our amazement John turned the truck and drove up the hill directly toward the Rhino. This was Oliver or Ollie as our hosts called him. Although he was quite docile and 100% better tempered than our recent exposure to a Black Rhino he was not a pet and, in fact, was still a wild animal. He apparently had killed another Rhino in battle a few years previously. This time he quietly approached the truck and allowed us to pet him. he was looking for apples which the Hume's normally carry in the truck but had been removed to allow for our group. We were able to observe his amazing upper lip as we enjoyed his visit.
We arrived back at the house in time to enjoy a "sundowner" (cocktails at sunset) with our hosts. Another, in a host of truly amazing days in South Africa. We sat just to the edge of the Flamingo pond enjoying wine, beer, champagne and some Bultong,cured meat using only salt, pepper and a few other spices. John cut up some springbok as well as beef Bultong and we enjoyed being serenaded by Flamingos, Guinafowl, blue Cranes, ducks and many other birds as they settled in for the evening.Many of us took John up on his offer of an Ostrich egg shell or two or three from a large box in his garage. We headed home to the Lodge for our "last supper" and shared our experiences and presented our hosts Hugo, Anel and Naude with card and a heartfelt thank you for all their hospitality. Then off to pack and hit the hay in anticipation of tomorrows departure.
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