Submitted by Julia Goins on the 2018 winter session program in South Africa sponsored by the Department of Human Development and Family Studies…
The highlight to week three in South Africa was doing a 3-day safari at Madikwe Game Reserve. Staying on the Game Reserve and detaching from the world, as there was no service or Wi-Fi, was an incredible experience. I was completely off the grid and it felt amazing. The safari included two morning drives and two evening drives. The morning drives started with a 4:00 am wake up call and for the first time ever in my life, I looked forward to waking up before the sun. The sunrise in the African Bush was one of a kind and many animals were active this early in the morning looking for food.
The Safari Ranger, Benson, that drove my group and me for the three days radiated his passion for animals and made my experience so thrilling. Benson did everything he could to make this the best possible safari experience, whether that was standing on the top of the jeep to spot more animals, getting out of the jeep to follow footprints, or driving through rivers and bushes to get a better look at the animals.
On the last day, Benson proved to be the ultimate ranger. After being the only group to accomplish the quest to see the Big 5 (the lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and the buffalo) the day before, we thought that our last drive would be a victory lap and we would just take it easy. Benson had something else planned though. On the last drive, we saw three leopards, the hardest animal to see on a safari. The leopard moves fast so getting a picture was difficult, but Benson was determined to prove to the others that we saw a leopard. Benson got out of the jeep at one point to look for a leopard we had lost. All of a sudden there was growling and Benson was screaming. We couldn’t see him and didn’t know what was happening until the leopard dashed across our Safari Jeep right in front of our eyes. This was an adrenaline rush and heart stopping feeling that I don’t think I will ever forget.
