"TWO DOWN, THREE TO GO!"

In hunting parlance, game-hunters in Africa all know the reference toward "The Big Five." The animals are: the lion, elephant, rhino, water buffalo, and leopard. Bag one of those beasts and I suppose you join the hunting elite...you might be called a "bwana."

Last Saturday, February 4, was a special day for me; also for my new friend, Werner. He's the husband of a counselor at Norkem Park High School, my place of pleasure and toil as a result of my Fulbright Teacher Exchange grant through the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational/Cultural Affairs. We went "hunting" for photographs at the Krugersdorp Game Reserve, located almost an hour's drive west from Pretoria.

The game reserve is well-stocked with many of Africa's most distinct animals; this one even had a few ostrich. On the huge expanse of hilly, bush and tree-covered land were lions and rhinos, along with kudu, eland, zebra, wildebeest, water buck, and others I was not able to identify. The lions, of course, were the most sought-after (for local tourists and folks from foreign countries, like me).

The "hunt" for lions ended after approximately a half hour of driving around the reserve. There they were! It was a hot, lazy day and the lions were doing what lions do on such a day: finding comfort in the shade of the bush and trees, swatting insects with their tails, and a couple were lunching on the leg of some poor, lesser-renowned, hoofed animal. They watched us as carefully as we were watching them. One huge male, mane a bit shaggy, rolled lazily over on his back, and let out a half-hearted "roar."

Game reserves have strict rules about remaining in your vehicle. The lions seemed so friendly and unconcerned about our stares...it was almost tempting to open the door of the car and try to slide over to one of the gentle giants for a "Kodak moment" photo. Not! It was just a thought--no one would be foolish enough to ignore the rules handed out at the gate of the reserve. Number one rule: do not exit your vehicle under any circumstances! Of course, of course...

After what seemed like a couple hundred photographs of the lions, we motored on to other game. Eventually, we located rhino and zebra in a flat-land area that also contained a few water-holes. It had rained and it appeared rain was starting again. For some unknown reason (to us, the non-hunters), some of the fleet footed animals seemed to freeze where they stood when the rain came pouring down. I thought it was a strange posture that certainly made them easy targets of anyone with something more powerful than a digital camera! We "fired away" with Werner's digital (I had in my haste, forgotten my camera at home).

The rain persisted and it was late afternoon. We had a delicious lunch at the reserve lodge, topped off with a couple of beers from Namibia (can't remember the name of the brew, but the Germans definitely left their cultural imprint there with this fine-tasting import to South Africa). We drove off, tired and exhausted from a day that brought Africa a little closer to me. Two of the Big Five were captured on film...it had been a very successful "hunt."

For those of you who are salivating for some photographs from South Africa on this blog, please be a bit more patient. They are coming! I promise to enliven this means of communicating with you soon: with many photographs of various animals in the game reserves that I've managed to visit, along with some local scenes of Pretoria and my "turf" in and around Kempton Park and Van Riebeeck Park. And of course, I will include images of my students at Norkem Park H.S. The best of the best will be chosen and you'll have the opportunity to see what this adventure is all about.

The real adventure here is meeting people like Liz and Werner. Their wonderful hospitality and generosity are typical of South African friendship toward visitors. And that's the way it has been on this Fulbright experience so far...people giving their all to make sure I am enjoying myself. And I surely am!