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| BEYOND THE BIG 5
The big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo) are well marketed as raw adventure and excitement on an African safari and too often that's all the safari becomes. A chase - paparazzi style - searching for the next sighting of any of Africa's big 5. Are the big 5 the most dangerous? The most colourful? The most interesting…? I doubt that the big 5 are anything other than most marketed! So on my safaris (journeys) I try to go beyond the big 5, and to allow Nature to include them if she wants to. It's just that there is so much more to interpret while exploring the African savanna and the interactions and processes she delivers.  It is not unusual for me to deliver an impromptu astronomy lesson at midday - perhaps because the only visible star at midday provides absolute life for all of us - including the big 5, and as a result of the energy from our sun we are able to explore the spectrum of life that its light delivers. …and then how that energy is used, how the insects see light, how light is re- radiated in the form of heat - by plants and animals, how the soils and waters of land interact and how carbons and nitrogen are either fixed or released to provide food - food that ultimately we all share and exchange among each other to live. This symbiosis lies exposed and ready for interpretation on the journey that is an African safari. The Kruger National Park is a world-famous natural area that allows, as much as possible, these processes to function normally. Beyond the big 5 - not dismissing them but moving our senses past them -- and simply including them in the journey is what my guiding is all about. It goes without saying that a lion sighting, an African elephant or illusive leopard instills awe, fear or excitement. For me, so does a scorpion, snake or crocodile and a mushroom, dung beetle or even a parasitic plant growing from the branches of its host. For me life on the savannas of the Kruger is one magnificent moment after another. Every noise, sight, smell and every interaction between animals and plants represent an opportunity to learn and interpret our own lives, and our journey through it. It is not hard to understand basic ecology - the sun, then the transfer of light to heat, the processes of photosynthesis and risperation (and respiration) and then how that energy works, what the organism does with it - how it protects it and how finally it loses it. All the structure, the behaviour, the survival and the symbiosis between organisms (including us, and the big 5) become a major journey of recognition. A safari in the Kruger is after all - a journey into life itself! Why not try and go beyond the big 5 next time you are privileged enough to be in the Kruger? A natural space so endangered in the world that I fear life itself is being overlooked. I recently had an incredible interaction with one of the big 5 paparazzi. A guide (unfortunately one of too many paparazzi style guides) was emotionally distraught and angry because a lion wasn't where someone had seen it earlier. With a vehicle full of guests she stopped me (my vehicle full of my guests) and asked: "Have you seen a lion here? I was told it would be here!" When I replied that we hadn't seen a lion she retorted: "It makes me so mad when people make me drive to a sighting for nothing - please tell me what the quickest way back to the H5 is, I heard there was a rhino there!" Then she sped off in frustration - her guests beginning to uncock and make safe their cameras until the next close call…An even bigger moment for me was that her vehicle was fifth in line in a seven-strong game viewing vehicle convoy who all presumably were on the same mission - and for me, that's 9X7 people (64 visitors to the Kruger) who missed an opportunity to learn from an impala sighting my guests and I were interpreting before the onslaught of the big 5 paparazzi. The impala was hanging from a marula tree about 50 metres away, and I was explaining to my guests how it got up there! On reflection, I am probably overreacting to the emerging 50kms an hour, one 'sighting' to the next day drive paparazzi in the Kruger. I am extremely fortunate that I can spend time (five to 14 days) with my guests, sharing the wonderful moments the Kruger always delivers - even when the big 5 are not included the day's activities. It's been another wonderful year - a record breaking 24 safaris (235 days in the Kruger) and a host of incredible people, all of whom I've learned so much from, and had so many happy memories. The Kruger hasn't let me down, her lessons as always new and exciting. I look forward to next year - and I hope to meet many of your friends and family during 2007. I have included some of the comments and testimonials received during 2006 - I am honoured to have been your guide, and wish you and your family a very special year-end, and a prosporous 2007. Neil, Tina and the Bearded Heron Safaris team wish you a peaceful festive season and a fantastic 2007. Neil Heron The Bearded Heron |
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