Oliphants River Kruger National Park.
Curious Impala.
I never posted photos of the time I was chased by a baboon in South Africa because they were terrible photos taken in poor light conditions.
It all started peacefully enough, until some people started throwing rocks at the baboons because they were raiding campsites. They were raiding campsites because the same people didn’t properly lock up their food.
We were on a safe raised viewing walkway, behind electrified fencing that looked over The Sabie River in South Africa, as dusk fell, and the situation turned south.
Jim had just walked away. I was snapping a few last sunset shots, when a large furious male baboon, leaped the fence in the tree tops, jumped onto the platform in front of me, and ran directly towards me in a rage.
I moved rapidly backwards, not wanting to turn my back and run, clicking off a few shots as I moved away. A man in an adjacent campsite saw the whole thing and was doing jumping jacks and yelling, trying to distract the baboon. You can almost make him out in the upper right of the photo. I very much appreciated this man!
If the baboon had wanted to kill me, he clearly would have. He was thankfully content to raise my blood pressure and chase me away.
We also got charged by a furious male elephant on a prior trip when our game driver pointlessly harrassed him. If you look closely at the photo, you will see a male elephant in musk. He should have been left alone. We had to jump out of the range rover, face the elephant, while the ranger drew his rifle and prepared to shoot, causing the elephant to stop his charge.
Wise elephant. Unwise human.
We have luckily never encountered any similar problems when self driving on our two trips to South Africa most likely because we always respect wild animal’s space. We spent more than an hour waiting at a reasonable distance in our car, while we respected these guy’s space. It was awesome experience and they seemed to appreciate our restraint.
The moral of this story, don’t harrass wild animals, they are bigger and stronger than you.
Cheers to you from the civilized wild ones~
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That was a lot of excitement. Great shots under pressure.
I have another set of shots like this that I also never posted because they were bad. They were when Jim & I got locked inside an ancient church that was being rennovated at night in Austria. It became pitch dark and we couldn’t open the medieval locks. The only light we had were from my camera flash. I took photos while Jim was working on the locks in the dark and his panicked face looked like a Halloween fright movie!. I will see if I can find them დ
That would be too much excitement for sure.
Smiling….
Cindy,
Thanks for all the impressive photos you sent. It seems unkindly of me to comment that your chase by animals are alarming yet interesting. Not many have that kind of experience to narate.
You seem super kind. Thank you very much and be well დ
Oh my gosh … what heart and adrenaline rushing experiences.. yikes
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Exactly
Cindy is a true Paparazza!
Oh, absolutely! Her photos are always stunning.
You are a thoughtful friend Sheree. Thank you & cheers დ
My pleasure Cindy
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Tee hee….. And my movie stars are baboons…… there are some similarities…… 😉 😉
You continued snapping the shutter under threat of death. That’s true form for the ranks of the paparazzi. One of our staff said she had an encounter with a mountain lion. I asked if she got photos. She said “Lord no! I was getting the hell out of there.” When I got more of the story I really gave her a hard time about not getting photos. As it turned out she was not in danger of being attacked. A forest Ranger pointed out the mountain lion. She would have never noticed it if ranger Rick hadn’t pointed it out.
I have never had a chance to photograph a mountain lion, even though one walked down the street in my old neighborhood in the middle of the day. I would to photograph one as long as I wasn’t prey!
Me neither. One time a group of people came running out of the bosque yelling about a mountain lion. I started running into the bosque and they yelled, “What you doing?” I said I wanted to photograph the mountain lion. I didn’t see it, of course.
Have you read about Heather Andersen. She holds many records for the fastest solo hikes of many of the longest trails, Pacific Crest, Applachian etc. She sometimes hikes 50 miles in a day. I read her book. She says if a Mountain Lion starts to track her at night she runs full tilt at it screaming at the top of her lungs and scares ’em off. Course we want to photgraph them……
I have not read her book, but she’s got it right. mountain lion attack from behind, and don’t want to fight unless they are really hungry.
Usually yes. I have seen videos, and heard accounts of them attacking from the front.
It’s a lot of fun. I have been there so I agree with your statement clearly , RSA and Namibia visiting and going around national parks while wild animals moving around is a one time opportunity to experience life away from the busy concrete world. Thanks for sharing and it’s amazing . Cheers.
I am so happy you have done this! It is incredible isn’t it. We studied up intensely before self driving and I am so glad we did it this way დ
I am travelling there since early 2000 and visited all most all South countries in Africa, If you get a Chance again visit there drive through Skeliton Coast on Atlantic where desert meets Ocean and I have no exact words to explain the beauty. Danger always behind for sure. We can’t see the beauty with out a beast I believe so… You did a good job and I lost 3 top end cameras and drones so all I have a memory and I have no more work there so chances going back is super slim now. I will save the elephant pic for my screen with your permission. Thank you.
So happy you will use the ellie as a screen saver. You’ve had amazing experiences in Africa. How wonderful! It is a truly magical place. My husband and I talked seriously of moving there.
Thank you. You are kind. Africa is amazing but lot of issues with health related that people suffer. It’s magical always. Moving there is excellent choose the right place to stay which is having good back up facilities. All the best CK. Your every post shows some thing unique and a lot to learn from those images always. Cheers.
Yes. The health issues are daunting along with many other serious problems as you know well, but the natural world is unsurpassed. Thank you for your kindness my friend & be well დ
Agree totally. Nature untouched is absolutely great. And it’s in abundance. Wish you loads of energy to explore the best of the possibilities in coming days. Have an amazing day and week ahead. Cheers.
Visa versa 2UX2 & be safe and well.
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We have witnessed some really stupid behaviour in some of our national parks Baboons and vervet monkeys can be a real nuisance, especially in camping areas and picnic sites – as you have witnessed. I once had a large baboon enter the cab of our truck at a lookout point in the Western Cape. Its fangs were right next to my face and so I screamed … the other people simply watched in amusement! Needless to say I was unimpressed. One has to be wary of elephants – especially in the Kruger National Park. Some visitors seem to treat these wild places like zoos and forget that the animals they see are not tame and that the visitors are actually in THEIR territory.
OMG! Your baboon story gives me goosebumps. I have seen videos of baboons tearing apart a car with people in it. Can’t imagine people watching in amusement. Horrible. I was so grateful for that man who tried to distract the baboon. He was the only one who saw what was happening and he tried to help me. I felt quite alone except for him. The drivers that harrassed the elephant enraged us too. My son was with us. If he had shot the elephant it would have been so utterly traumatic and unnecessary. We did a walking safari with them after this and didn’t trust them after this experience დ
You must have had considerable sangfroid to take pictures as you were being charged by an angry baboon! But what idiots those people were! Great story and amazing pics 😁
I was scared and moving backwards rapidly. I have some strange almost belief that my camera is protective, and it some ways it is, in that wild animals and birds always look directly in the lens as if they are trying to figure out what it is. Wild animals are aware of dangerous things in human hands. Coyotes are afraid of my marine air horns even though they have never heard them დ
That’s curious! But I still think you’re brave!
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How scary that must have been Cindy
It really was. It happened fast, but seemed to occur in slow motion დ
“Wise elephant. Unwise human.”
true.
Sad. But true დ
Glad you’re okay, Cindy. And I’m glad that you always respect and care about the animals. People can be quite silly, but really, we as humans are supposed to be the ones who understand. As Anne (above) said – it’s their territory and we can’t expect the innocent animals to comprehend all the circumstances, the rules and the intentions of humans.
Thank you Sharon. You are so right. I was thoroughly educated (indoctrinated?) about human superior intelligence. Looking at our world today, I have serious doubts about this დ
Ooh Cindy, wild animals, high blood pressure, dark night encounters, men dancing madly for you…what do you do on party nights? 🤣
But among it all a lovely display of images kind lady, so thank you. And I’m sorry, but no…I can’t go out with you. I don’t think my blood pressure would be able to handle your quiet times either 😂❤️🙏🎄🎅🎁🦌☃️
Laughing……. Thank you for the smiles my friend & take good care დ
You too kind lady, at least many memories remain. Merry Christmas to you and family Cindy, may that celebration be a little calmer for your shots 😂❤️🙏🎄🎅🎁🦌☃️
Yes, thank you. I am so looking forward to Christmas with the twins who are 5. Joyous Holidays to you and yours my friend.
Holy cow! Thank goodness you were safe! Love the photos. I am finally going to Africa, next May, I’m very excited. But I hope we won’t have *quite* the same adventure!
You will have a wonderful time. Africa is pure magic. Can’t wait to hear about your trip დ
What adventures you’ve had! That impala is gorgeous, and all those elephants are wonderful to see.
Africa is so incredible. Happy you like the wild ones Audrey. I do too დ
Thank you all of the wonderful photos Cindy … Hmmm, the game driver should have known better Cindy … 🌏😍🐘🦍
Yes. We were very frustrated with him to say the least დ
They deserve our respect. They were here first. We are the ones encroaching on their land.
Cool shots, Cindy! ❦❦❦
Your comment was in my WP spam Resa. I am happy I found it and of course, I couldn’t agree with you more. Hope you are safe and well my friend დ
That is so crazy, Cindy! I’m glad these encounters ended well for you. Great shots nonetheless! I sadly see too many dummies trying to get selfies with wild animals (on youtube). Heck I was 50 feet from bull moose a couple of months ago on a trail and shook in my boots trying to get a good cell phone shot, then sneak quickly away. We get a lot of deer and moose here, and I’m sure you get quite the collection of critters in the Holler!
50 feet is very close to a moose. Generally they are okay, until, of course, they’re not. Good on you for moving away, and getting the photos. So sorry WP disconnected us. Happy we reconnected დ
Beautiful and amazing photos and stories, Cindy! ❤️😊
Ahhh….Thank you very much John დ
You are welcome, Cindy! Your photo skills are wonderful. ❤️❤️❤️
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Amazing that you were able to get shots, Cindy! I think I probably would just have been scrambling.
I did the self-driving tour through Kruger and enjoyed it immensely, but I saw incredibly stupid (and cruel) behaviour at times.
We experienced pure wonder didn’t we Lynette. Self driving Kruger is magic. I wore out my cameras.
Scary experience I must say. I’ve had a baboon sit in the seat next to me in the car once because he wanted something to eat. Luckily he got what he want and went away. We’ve had a few encounters with baboons in the Cape Town area, they even steal from shops. Great shots though, I’m impressed!
OMG! A baboon in your car. How amazing is that. Hopefully he wasn’t in the driver’s seat 😉 Happy you gave him the food he wanted. You live in a magic land დ
Thank you, I think so too.
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Wow…{loins tigers and bears…oh my 😉 I am watching a Timothy Oliphant series on Hulu stream 😉
Are you watching Justfied? Timothy Olyphant is an interesting person. Related to the Vanderbilts, but quite different. In South Africa Oliphants means elephant დ
I stream it with no commercials and maybe watch 10 episodes in a sitting 😉
Interesting about Olyphant ❗️
Wow. That is a lot in one sitting.
Yikes, Cindy! My heart was in my throat – pounding – while reading. Who needs caffeine to kick start the day?? Glad you lived to tell about your African adventures!
Those were adrenaline moments to be sure. No fight or flight response would have worked however. Thankfully the baboon showed restraint დ
“…the baboon showed restraint” is not a sentence I ever expected to read! You were so fortunate for being watched over in the nick of time. Amazing that you had the presence of mind to keep your camera firing them off, like the instincts of a photojournalist covering a war zone. What a pro.
Laughing…. You crack me up! The baboon did show more restraint then the humans in this situation. Thank you for making me smile 😉
Great shots Cindy. Adrenaline rush experience and very wise behavior. Animals are always much more powerful than humans.
Yes. If you do get close, this fact is rather overwhelming. The kids and I petted a lioness and her cubs at the SD Zoo, and hyenas came right up to our vehicle. I wasn’t prepared for their massive bone size and physical strength. We are puny weaklings in comparison. Maybe that’s why some people like to hunt them. They’re envious დ
Great pictures Cindy( I love the Impala posing for you ), a fascinating story and some sage advice. People should remember they don’t own the planet and are not better than the Wild animals they stalk, only different from.We all have our own little Kingdoms to protect from interlopers. Huge Hugs
How beautifully felt and expressed David. Thank you my friend and I couldn’t agree with you more დ
Don’t you guys have fun! Seriously, lucky escapes, Cindy. The closest I’ve come to danger from an animal was at the top of Gibraltar when a monkey bounced off my head on its way along the wall. I never knew if it was accident or malicious.
Oh, yes- and the occasional ferocious dog up in our hills! Have a great week, darlin.
I love the Macaques of Gibraltor, but I doubt I would want one bouncing off my heard. Sounds frightening. We visited twice. I have a photo of one in my office, which I just looked at in response to your comment. I saw one steal a women’s purse, and run with it up the mountain. She was not happy. Ferocious dogs are truly dangerous and scary. They really will hurt you. I am glad you were okay in both instances დ
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Wonderful Cindy. My wild adventures are limited to a squirrel sitting in my lap and sharing a morning ocean trail with a bobcat who’d just eaten and was feeling good. But I’m easy to please. ☆ Yea, baboons are dangerous. Lions too, but only because we’ve pissed them off so much we’re regard as nuisance threats. Once upon a time, natives could walk right through a pride because we aren’t a big enough meal to bother with. No more. ☆ Good animal observations (lions, leopards) via internet “the Lion Whisperer”. His shared experience goes beyond “using” animals, to how to engage in genuine care from their point of view more than ours. Go look. He does welcome occasional visitors to his sanctuary if you go that way again. Much respect for him.
How lucky you were! I would be thrilled to share a trail with a bob cat. I have gotten them on wildlife cams at The Holler and seen their scat, but I have never seen one. I would love to. I will look up the Lion Whisperer. It sounds like something I would love. Take good care my friend დ
Lovely photos, Cindy
Well thank you very much. Most appreciated დ
You’re a lot braver than I am, Cindy. The photos weren’t too bad at all, considering the situation.
I probably should have given my camera to the baboon. I bet he would have taken some truly wild photos! It would just be a matter of how to get my camera back…. 😉 😉
Wouldn’t that have been interesting!!
I saw photos a monkey took with a stolen GoPro. They were pretty decent 😉
I guess if you throw things at the monkey, it might throw the GoPro back.
Tee hee hee….. 😉
Well maybe poor shots for you but they certainly tell a story. Bit scary and yes we must keep our distance and respect their space. We have left the wild so little.
We do have so little wild left. As the wild goes, so do we. Very sad დ
Terrifying. Yet ever the pro, you kept on clicking…
My camera makes me feel more a bit secure around the wild ones. It is always stuck to my face. Wild animals are always staring into it, as if trying to figure out, what it, and I, am! 😉 😉
Oh dear… I can relate though…Our safari jeep got chased my a massive mama elephant in one of the forests here. Probably protecting a new calf. A harrowing experience, the driver backing up on twisting mud tracks through the trees. But yes, it is THEIR habitat and we are not really welcome visitors. Especially around their young. I froze, but a fellow traveller kept his video camera running, so we got some shaky footage!
So similar to what we experienced. The elephant was chasing us for a long way, with his huge ears flopping, I was taking photos. My son was in the back seat. And then we saw that the road ended!!! That changed everything. Incredible experience დ
Sometimes the out of focus pictures are the best to convey the story. I was going to look up in musk then I looked at the picture.
Derrick you slay me!
🙂
Nothing better than understated humor. Thank you Derrick 😉
Laughing…. You are making a lot of people laugh Derrick, including me! Maybe out of focus would have been better for the ellie photos too!! 😉 😉
What a blog! Grrreat! ♥
So happy you enjoyed my friend & thank you! დ
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Oh, what scary situations! I’m so glad you did manage them without getting hurt…
Stay safe, dear Cindy!
Thank you dear Martha & Happy First Day of Advent my friend დ
Well Cindy you have given me something to think about… It hadn’t occurred to me that a baboon would want to be vicious, but I guess, if I was being harassed all the time, I might get testy too. and the elephant.. LOL Derrick’s comment gave me a good chuckle. Warm hugs my dear.
Yes. Derrick made me laugh too. I love my blogging friends. Thank you & be well დ
Great adventure, Cindy. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos.
Awww… Thank you so much more for your thoughtfulness Isabel დ
Close encounters such as those are not to be taken lightly, that’s for sure.
It was very scary. It could have ended quite differently დ
wow!
That’s exactly what I thought! 😉 😉
Wow, to both your experiences, Cindy.
And I agree with you totally. It’s humans who encroach into their space or by harrising these beautiful creations into a defensive mode.
The Game keeper driver should have known better.
Great photo shots, Cindy, despite your rising blood pressure, lol
Respecting All living creatures is the key to harmonious encounters.
Thank you for sharing your adventures 😊 💗
“Respecting All living creatures is the key to harmonious encounters.” Thank you Sue. Beautifully true. This is a lesson too many humans seem to have an impossible time learning დ
Let’s hope our future selves live and learn xx 🙏
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Your wild adventures and awesome photos intrigue me as I always wanted to go on an African safari. Not for the faint of heart for sure, but oh so fabulous! Thanks for sharing! “For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.” But they certainly are as unpredictable as humans. Best wishes, Cindy!
That quotation gives me goosebumps. I googled it. Henry Beston. How brilliant and how true. Thank you Susan დ
Scary encounters, glad all went well in the end! Beautiful captures, Cindy, the beginning wide scene photos are amazing, I love seeing all those elephants in the river, roaming free and safe. 😊
My post went ‘anonymous’, ugh, it was me, Cindy! ~Donna
Whatever would we do without WP gremlins???? Be happy??? 😉 😉 Sorry this happened to you Donna დ
Yes, it doesn’t seem very smart to harass wild animals. That must have been a scary situation. Glad you weren’t hurt. Awesome photos! Thanks.
Thanks much Donna. It is a form of bullying isn’t it, but with wildlife, apt to get both the person and the animal killed დ
The Oliphants River was the most amazing place. We had a rondavel right on the cliff edge where the scenes in those photos played out before us everyday and night. The noise could be incredible. Animals would come to drink and to hunt. It was epic დ
Thanks very much & I am very pleased you enjoyed the ellies! დ
Thank you for taking us behind the scenes of your photo-taking adventure. I wish more people would take your message to heart to respect wild animals.
Thank you Liz & take good care my friend დ
You’re welcome, Cindy. 🙂
I noticed that tourists who harass wild animals are now called tourons (tourist/moron). When we were in Africa, one of the children in our group was chased by a baboon and barely got away. They lived around a game park lodge and were most peaceful (because they got fed) but could be horribly annoying.
OMG!!! LOL!!! They were tourons!!! Hilarious….. I am cracking up! Now I have a new, most useful word. Thank you! The child story though, is super scary. Wild animals do see small children as easy prey. I have seen this and it is terrifying. I am very glad the child escaped. I am super cautious with my 5yo twin grandsons at The Holler with the coyote packs დ
People who harass wildlife…honestly! What a foolish, thoughtless, and dangerous thing to do. Gorgeous pictures as always.
Sometimes, as we know, people are such. Thankfully, there are also people like you დ
Most amazing assortment of wildlife seen in quite a while Cindy!
That’s Africa! They are everywhere. I was photographing hippos in a blind and my husband kept telling me about this green frog behind me, but I was too engrossed to look, when I finally did look, I saw it was a boomslang hiding in the hide. A highly venomous and very dangerous African snake დ
Those big guys like the elephants and hippos can grab your attention fast! But you really
need to watch out for the ones that can kill you
out right without you even knowing!
Very true.
Going to Africa again anytime soon?
Nah…. We’re heading to colder climes.
These days that could be just about anywhere
So sadly true.
How amazing! Your photos really capture some awesome moments!
So appreciated Kymber. Thank you & cheers დ
Deliberately harassing dangerous animals is sheer stupidity.
We are in perfect accord დ
Ahh amazing place and spectacular shots. What an adventure, my friend. Stay safe! ヽ(♡‿♡)ノ
Cheers to you dear one & thanks very much ヽ(♡‿♡)ノ
Pleasure, my friend! ʸ(ᴖ́◡ु⚈᷉)♡⃛
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The comments on this post are almost as much fun as a barrel of baboons! 😋 I’m enjoying my safari tour from a safe and respectful distance. Kudos on your bravery and quick shutter speed Cindy. Going to Africa on safari is on my bucket list. Maybe the stupid people will stay home.
Tee hee hee….. I wish the stupid people would stay home!!! As long as they don’t live near my home!! 😉 😉 Thank you for making me laugh Brad დდ
Baboons are tough customers. One minute, they’re nice. The next minute, they’re might ferocious. Same with a bull elephant. When my wife and me were on safari, several years ago, it was watching a group of elephants through a long lens and binoculars
That is the smart approach. Sometimes wild animals come right up to you. Then it is a matter of staying quiet and still, taking their photos, and being mind boggled by their magnificence დ
Wonderful photos and great travel story! South Africa and its animals are truly magic. Baboons in the Overberg outside Cape Town are so clever, they learned to get inside vacation homes along the coast and raid refrigerators… Years ago, during a long hike along the Tsitsikamma Trail I fell behind stronger hikers and followed on my own along the hiking trail, also used by baboons at night to pick up speed. I could hear them in the bush along the trail and made it to the campsite just before dark! It was unnerving…
Wow. Yes. That would be scary. After dark Africa comes alive. You want to be in a safe place when night falls. We did a bunch of night safaris while the lions hunted and the hyenas mated. Incredible დ
The photos are beautiful and that was some story! I am glad you came away unscathed! Wildlife, even small ones, can be dangerous.
Yes indeed Lavinia & thank you. You are most thoughtful დ
It must have been scary moments, Cindy! In a zoo I saw a yawning baboon, and one does not want to be quainted to that jaws and teeth, let alone the pure muscle strenght of those beasts. Luckely the elephant after a short while had other things on his mind. 🙂 Great shots!
Laughing…. We were, thankfully, a momentary distraction for Mr. Elephant. They get very cranky in musk 😉 😉