Today started earlier than a typical work day, as the alarm on my Ironman started chiming at 3:30 a.m. The team was going to spend our day off at Kruger National Park, a wildlife conservation initiative started a century ago that still persists to provide the wild of Africa a refuge to live and thrive.
We got to the gate at just before 6:00 after getting into our “safari” truck: a sitting cabin custom made to sit on top of a 2 ton pick up truck. The placement of the seats and the lack of windows made each seat a good vantage point when visiting with the animals. It also meant that there was zero protection from the elements. Thankfully, it did not rain today. However, the morning was very cold and, once again, I was glad that I packed my Icebreakers with me to Africa. The visit lasted the entire day, broken by rest stops for breakfast and lunch. Along the way, we saw: water buffalos, elephants, impalas, cliff springers, kudus, water buck, hippos, crocodiles, giraffes and even a pair of tortoises. This experience was unique because you saw these animals in their natural habitat, not some simulation like at the zoo. Though there were long stretches where we didn’t see a thing (though we kept wishing to see a lion or a leopard), we were really impressed by the animals we did see.
It’s interesting how it is engrained within our Western mindset to approach an exercise with a set of to-do’s. Taking on a safari in Kruger was not different. There is something called the “Big Five” (in fact, the outfitter that we hired was called Big Five). This refers to the following animals: water buffalos, elephants, lions, leopards and rhinos. This collection of animals was set apart from the rest because there was a time when it was encouraged to hunt and take, as trophy, a part of each. This might include the tusk of the elephant, the horns of the buffalo and the skin of the leopard. When the first two animals we saw were part of this club, most of the team was excited, thinking that it would be no time before the list was completed. Near the end of the day, when it was clear that we were headed for the park’s exit, there was a sense of disappointment as we failed to see the other three, to complete the list. Where is the love for the other animals that were just as majestic? More importantly, how can we deprogram ourselves from diminishing an experience because it doesn’t fit into the task list system that we run our lives by?
“Big Elephant. Holding a gun. Goes to war.”
Somehow, when translated into Cantonese, it is a children’s rhyme!
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