AN INTERESTING WALK

Owen Booysen • March 8, 2019

Getting Ready

Tighten the screws, clean the rifle, cycle your rounds, all moving parts working, check your backpack for all the necessary equipment, all of this to be done the evening before the morning walk.

 During this morning's walk all of these were essential as we walked into a sleeping White Rhino territorial bull.

 We left for the walking area, Apiesdoring North, at 5:00 this morning. Our walk started at around 5:30 and about 20 minutes in, we found fresh White Rhino tracks and scent marking. With the wind in our faces we followed the tracks for a while and there, under a tree in the grass we found him sleeping.

 With a visual of an ear moving in the grass and the loud breathing of the rhino, I stopped the guests in their tracks to see if the White Rhino had heard us approaching as he kept moving his ears but did not stand up.

At about 40 m from this magnificent animal, our hearts were racing. We slowly backed up and moved in behind a tree at about 60 m from the rhino.

We enjoyed our view of him for a while in silence, with only his loud breathing and a few birds calling around us.

 We moved out of the area and left the rhino to sleep in peace and continued on our walk. Once we were at a safe area, we discussed this amazing sighting and experience.

 What a way to start the day! Experiencing the presence of such an authentic giant sleeping with so much peace on foot was just breathtaking.

 Come join me @ranger_owen at @chuisafaris to experience your own unique and thrilling walking safari in the Pilanesberg National Park.

Black Rhino!

By Owen Booysen • August 19, 2022
This could have so nearly gone wrong....

WOW, Look an Elephant:

By Owen Booysen • January 20, 2021
Look at how he is digging out the dry grass to get to the roots. Grass will store some nutrients in the roots and as the day length increases the grass will use these nutrients for the first flowering of the season. Elephants however know this and will dig out the roots. Elephants need to consume a large amount of vegetation in the drier season to maintain their health. It has been months since I did my last safari, before the lockdown started in SA. It has been 146 days of lockdown now with Inter- provincial travel to re-open, hopefully soon. It has been a long and hard few months. When I drove to the reserve I was as excited as I was when I just started to guide 11 years ago. Every safari my excitement is almost the same as a young boy before his birthday who can't wait to open his birthday presents. Now, I am back on game drive and what a shock to the system, it's so dry and very little grass and leaves left for the animals to eat. This is one of the realities of the dry season. The dry season ( June, July, August) is not a birders favourite time of year because the migration birds are yet to arrive but for a Cat lover it is a very good time of the year. With the foliage minimum, grass short and not a lot of hiding space, the cats do tend to be more visible to a human’s eyes. Believe it or not, in the dry season with everything being so dull brown and grey, African Elephants weighing average 6 tons can disappear so easily. This is why safari is amazing, every day is a new day, every drive you see something different, every walk you smell something else.

Travel's New Thtreat in Undertourism

By Jen Rose Smith • January 11, 2021
A piece reflecting the effects of Covid-19 on tourism both in South Africa and around the world. Please click the link to read.

IS WALKING IN THE BUSH DANGEROUS

By OWEN BOOYSEN • June 25, 2019
“Isn't walking in the bush dangerous?”

Leaving footprints in the bush...

By Owen Booysen • March 31, 2019
That's one of the ways to experience wildlife here at Chui Safaris. We have several walking areas where we can walk in the Pilanesburg National Park. Three of these areas are situated in the untouched wilderness area of the Park. You never know what will be waiting for you around the next corner, for instance this morning... We were walking along a deep drainage line when all of sudden a big Buffalo bull appeared. We spotted him before he noticed us, this gave us time to take cover which enable us to view him from a safe distance. After a while he noticed something unusual in his surroundings and based on his body language I decided to leave the dugga boy. Buffalo can be unpredictable so we did not want to over-stay our welcome. After we left the Buffalo we continued on our journey to see what other excitement nature has to offer.