CAMPFIRE STORIES
(some of the experiences of the late Boyd Reese and his family, while he was employed by National Parks and Wildlife in Zimbabwe)


Supper was over and we were sitting in a circle around the camp fire. The sky was dark, studded with stars and the flames mesmerizing, sparks shooting up and disappearing into the blackness. “Mr Reese,” my friend broke the silence, “please tell me a story.”
Dad leaned back in his chair and took his time filling his pipe. “OK,” he said, lighting a match and drawing the flame down into the bowl of his pipe. We waited in anticipation. He took another puff, the smoke drifting upwards, before he began.

We were on our way back from Savuti and decided to stop at Sinamatella for the night. As we entered the park I asked the gate attendant if any lions had been seen recently and was told that a report had come in of lions on a nearby elephant culling site, so we decided to go and investigate.

We set off on our way along a dirt road to the site with dust billowing out behind us and the afternoon sun in our eyes. On arrival we unfortunately did not see anything from the vehicle, so I decided to get out and have a closer look.

I walked over the small rise to see if there were any lions feeding on the elephant carcasses. The air was hot and still and the stench caught at the back of my throat. I had only walked a few more paces when a slight movement caught my attention in the long yellow grass, I suddenly spotted a perfect, sleek female lion crouched down feeding off an elephant carcass, and my skin began to prickle with fear. The world became silent and I couldn’t take my eyes off her penetrating yellow glare, as thoughts whirled around my head. I clamped down the fear, tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry, and think of how I could get out of the situation.

I glanced back over my shoulder and realized, to my terror, that the vehicle was no longer in my sight, so trying to run back was out of the question. A sense of vulnerability settled on my shoulders. I could try and find a tree to climb, but unfortunately I was in mopane veld, with no decent enough tree to hold my weight. So my only other alternative was to quell every emotion that I had and charge her. As I charged forward I held her gaze until I was about 3 metres from her, when thankfully she decided to give up and leaped up and turned tail. I kept my eye on her as I walked backwards in the direction of the vehicle.

Mom interrupted then, saying how pale and shaken he was on his return. We all let out our breaths and none of us really wanted to go to bed after that story!

I am now going to share with you some of my photographs and life in National Parks.

A visitor to National Parks enjoys his comfortable accommodation, drives along on well maintained roads and gets information from friendly staff. His view of the parks is on the animals and birds he sees and the countryside that he passes through.

Before the arrival of Europeans to Africa the wild life would move with the seasonal changes. When National Parks were formed and fences put up the whole scene changed and these areas had to now be managed. Management now had to have regard to fauna, flora, seasonal rains and limited areas for game to move together with over grazing, fires and draughts. When one decision is made then another has to be made to preserve the habitat in which both can survive. There is a school of thought that favours no interference with nature, whatever the consequences. This can lead to a collapse of the habitat and massive mortality among all species that may be acceptable to nature, but not to conservationists and ecologist.

The overall administration is occupied by the Provincial Warden who has responsibility for the whole national park and some of the adjacent area, together with a large staff consisting of a Warden, Rangers, research team, game-scouts, management unit and maintenance staff. All incidents are discussed and if it is minor then it is dealt with by the respective people, and if it is of a complex nature then the Provincial Warden has to step in and discussion then have to include Head Office, which was situated in Harare. The staff is regarded as monitors and are there to prevent degradation of the habitat, over-population, erosion and game water supply.
Boyd Reese was the fifth person to occupy the post of Provincial Warden of Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, since it was established in 1928. While his staff was considerably larger than that of the first warden, Ted Davidson, Mr Reese had to manage the park with less than one person per 100 square kilometres.

Life Growing up in National Parks

I was working in a safari camp based in Hwange National Park and I remember a time when it had just rained and we were at Ngamo, which is a vast open area bordered by acacia forests and some ilala palms dotted around. The dry kalahari sand was lightly sprinkled with new green grass and came across a termite mound where all these flying ants were emerging from. We sat and watched the eagles, kites, and various other birds swirling around us like a whirlwind catching some protein for supper. It made you quite dizzy after a while

Well I have only been on my site for one day - but really excited about sharing my photos with the world. Here are some more of my photos which I hope that you will enjoy and hope that you will send me any comments that you have.

In my early life I grew up in the bush in Zimbabwe, as my father was employed by National Parks, and lived in several of the countries best parks. I just love the outdoors and nature and take every opportunity I can to photograph nature. Even stuck in a walled in garden in the city there is still so much beauty around, if one take time to stop and look at all God has created. I hope that you enjoy some of my photographs.