NIGHT PROWLERS

When I traveled to Africa I spent 15 days in 5 different tent camps in the bush, among all the animals.  It wasn't unusual to come across an elephant in our camp, or see huge piles of dung after they had passed by.

Camping alongside the Lufupa River in Kafue National Park meant listening to hippos snorting and making all kinds of noises outside the tent during the night.

In Pufuri Campgrounds (Kruger National Park) I heard it raining in the middle of the night.  However, the next morning the ground was dry which seemed strange.  When I mentioned to our guide that I heard it raining during the night he laughed and told me it was baboons peeing off the top of our tent!

The tent in Pufuri had a wood floor with a deck around the outside.  It was set just up the bank from the river, where large crocodiles were swimming.  Every night when my husband and I returned to our tent after the evening game drive and dinner we cautiously approached with our flashlights on in case a crocodile had ventured onto our deck.  Thank goodness we didn't have any close encounters!


In Linkwasha Campgrounds in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe the tents were on elevated platforms with each tent isolated a long distance from the others.  A raised boardwalk connected all the tents and lead to the main lodge area, where everyone met for lectures and meals.

After each night's game drive, then late dinner, one of the local camp guides would escort each couple back to their tent.  This was necessary due to the fact that the tents were far from each other and lions were known to wander through the camp frequently.  My husband and I were escorted by a large guide named Timba, who carried an equally large rifle.  When we got to our tent Timba went inside first to make sure it was safe.  I asked Timba if he had ever had to use his rifle, and also if he (and his rifle) wanted to spend the night in our tent.  He just gave a very hearty laugh as he left our tent with us secure inside.

My biggest scare (besides the hair-eating spider I wrote about in an earlier blog) was in Lufupa Campgrounds.  The tent was on the ground alongside the Lufupa River.  A gravel path connected all the tents to the main lodge.  One night I was sound asleep in my bed and my husband was asleep in his bed a few feet away.  I awoke during the night when I heard heavy footsteps coming down the gravel path to our tent.  It was the middle of the night so I knew it wouldn't be a person.  I sat up in bed as the footsteps got closer and closer, until I could hear panting and heavy breathing.  Whatever it was, was now recognizable.  My heart was racing because I knew a lion was right outside!  Only a thin piece of canvas separated us from him.  I grabbed the airhorn on the nightstand and quietly called my husband's name to awaken him.  I whispered "there's a lion outside" as we listened to it walk around the outside of our tent.  I was prepared to sound the emergency airhorn if that lion came through the canvas!  When my husband said he was getting up to go to the restroom (inside our tent) I pleaded with him not to move because the lion would know we were inside.  He thought I was being a bit ridiculous, and he went ahead and got up.

Thank goodness the lion had finally moved on and I could try to relax once again, though it was hard to fall back asleep after my adrenaline rush.  The next morning proof of our nighttime prowler was evident in the huge paw prints in the gravel alongside our tent.