Postcards from Madikwe

The things we really want to see

I’ve noticed that there are a few questions that run through every person’s head on the back of a game vehicle: I wonder if we’ll see a leopard today? If I were a leopard, is that the sort of tree I would climb? How many years have now passed since I last saw a leopard? Those leopards should know that we’re not all that bad and that we’ve travelled really far to see them — it would really be lovely for us all if they showed face from time to time.

If you’re as experienced as Brett, our game ranger at the Tamboti Lodge in Madikwe, who has been circumnavigating the fifth biggest game reserve in South Africa for over 20 years, you may find ways to distract the mense from these thoughts. And earlier this year, he certainly distracted me. 

It was on an early morning game drive in the Autumn and it was cold. Shortly after seeing some jackal parading up the path, Brett pointed out a black-shouldered kite. These were things that Brett really loved to see. He then discussed how jackals, spotted-owls and black-shouldered kites all represent something important: they are indications of a healthy, thriving ecosystem. 

The presence of the owls meant there was an abundance of rodents in the reserve, which we weren’t all equally thrilled about, but indicated fantastic soil quality and biodiversity. The jackals thrived in an environment with small mammals and the carcasses of larger predators’ kills. I made a note of the black-shouldered kites too, if not for the fact that they have an awesome name. 

Indications of health — I loved this idea. For the rest of the trip, I eased into the back benches of the Land Cruiser with a beverage and my thoughts. I saw our hosts, Giles and Marguerite, holding hands while Colin and Jane playfully bantered. Nicola rested her head on Justin’s shoulder ahead of me, and I thought about these subtle, yet important indications of health. I also thought of Thomas back at the lodge with Jules, possibly giggling.

Wanting to see a leopard with its kill, possibly up a tree, started to feel more juvenile. Brett was helping me rise above this urban desire to chase peak Instagrammable moments. I would settle for something more authentic. I was a visitor here, and would not demand entertainment. I would enjoy soaking up the ebbs and flows of each game drive like a session of test cricket. If you’re looking for T20 cricket, I thought, go to a zoo.

The next evening, with a gin and tonic in my hand and my son on my lap, I revelled in a form of time travel — saving this Time in a Bottle, like that lovely Jim Croce tune. Sitting above the lodge’s watering hole I thought about how this lowveld landscape was not that different than it was millennia before. This game reserve was a thriving ecosystem once more. With loads of rodents. Thanks, Brett.

Working from home this week I walked past Thomas’ room and eavesdropped on his nanny, Josephine, singing along to Imogen’s Heap’s The Happy Song whilst Thomas giggled. I thought back to our trip to Madikwe and how there was this game ranger who sold me on a new lens to see the world through. I thought about our friends Nicola and Justin back in London, and how much we would have all loved to have seen a leopard.

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