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!
(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!
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