Joberg and Modikwe Game Preserve

I spent most of last week in Johannesburg attending a workshop on how to write applications for grants from the Global Fund (to Fight HIV, Malaria, and TB). It was not what you would exactly call fun (dual-track financing and modular application options? Whoohoo!), but it was very insightful and will hopefully help Lesotho secure funding for some very needy programs over the next few years. After training wrapped I headed north to meet up with my cousin E and his family, currently living in Joberg while on transfer with his consulting firm.

Joberg surprised me. I suppose I have become used to Lesotho and living in a developing country, but I walked into a supermarket there and felt like I was back in the States. Driving around one of the richer suburbs on Friday night with my cousin, I actually felt like I was back in Texas (i.e. lots of big box stores organized in such a way that walking is made practically impossible). It felt particularly at odds with the reputation that Joberg has (both anecdotal and statistical) for being extremely crime-prone. My short experience there was completely benign, but I realize that while there the areas I frequented were decidedly atypical (conference center, rich suburb, game preserve) and that I constantly had more experienced people steering me clear of risk.

E had, in the waning minutes of Friday afternoon, found an amazing deal on the Priceline of safari lodges and gotten us a spot at a lodge in the Modikwe Game Preserve. Saturday morning we began the drive north. For those familiar with E, he really likes to drive fast. I remember a family game in which we had to guess how many speeding tickets he had received over the years and the options were 2, 4, and 12. Guess which it was? I nodded off but was not too surprised to wake up to us being pulled over at a speed trap. E had been going fast enough that by the time he finally managed to stop we were a ways past the cops. He claims, and I will support his account, that it then appeared as though the officer manning the radar waved us off. Feeling like he had been dealt a stroke of luck, E drove off, slightly slower. Between five and ten minutes later a cop car streaked past us and honked until E pulled over again. It turns out the cop had not been waving us off and that E had been pursued as though he were trying to resist arrest. After an incredulous confrontation with the cop and a return to the speed trap, E was able to negotiate a mitigated ticket, based partially on the fact that while following the cop back to the speed trap we had been forced to break the speed limit constantly in order to keep up. Fine paid, we continued our trek.

Modikwe is amazing. Approximately twenty years ago the land, once given over to cattle ranching, was turned into a preserve and extensive efforts were made to restore it to its natural state in terms of flora and fauna. We saw an amazing number of animals over the two days, but a few highlights:
- The first large mammals we encountered were a pair of white rhino, mother and son. The son was nearing adulthood and weighed several tons. As they grazed his mother would periodically snort and push him, evidently telling him to find his own food and respect her personal space. Interesting behavior to watch when both participants are the size of Mack trucks.
- When we finally found lions, we found two non-pride holding brothers. Due to the fact that they did not view us as a threat (or food), we were able to pull to within about fifteen feet and watch them laze in the sun. E offered me $1,000 (USD) to jump out of the Rover and pat one on the head. I declined.
- On the second day we came across a pack of wild dogs. It was actually a sub-pack consisting solely of juveniles, left with a “baby sitter” adult while the rest of the pack went to hunt. About five minutes after we found them, all of the dogs got up as a group and ran off. After fifteen minutes of driving around while our tracker chased down the trail, we came across the larger pack. Turns out the adults had made a kill and had signaled for the younglings to come and eat. When we caught up with the group they were almost finished breaking down an immature wildebeest carcass. One had the head, another the spine, a few of the younglings played with and gnawed on a leg. The pack in total stripped, ate, and broke down the bones within minutes.
- We ran across elephants a couple of times, but the second day we came across a group of two smaller bull elephants methodically ripping the branches off a tree in order to get at the bark and the nutrient-rich layer directly below it. It was amazing to see them casually breaking down a tree large enough to hold a few decently sized humans. Evidently elephant herds, with no real natural predators in the parks, can become a driving force in deforestation if left unchecked.
Other notable encounters include the monotonous finch, buffalo, hyenas, a jackal, a rock hare, giraffes, impala, many zebra and wildebeest herds, and verdant monkeys. It was an amazing trip. I of course forgot to bring my camera along, but E has promised to send me his photos and when I have the chance I will post some of the more representative shots.