Walking safari at Hlane National Park

At 3pm, we met for a guided walk with Maxwell, a park ranger at Hlane. He explained the rules to us – long trousers, closed shoes, no white garments (rhino don’t like white), walk behind him in single file, make as little noise as possible, and stop if he raises his fist in the air. With all of this in mind, we set off! I’m sure what followed in the next couple of hours will go down as one of the highlights of this entire trip!

We walked around the waterhole and came face to face with two enormous white rhino, a mother and her five-year-old son. The ranger indicated that we should sit down and make ourselves as small as possible. It was breath-taking! Our hearts were pounding at the incredible sight in front of us. These huge wild animals were only feet away from us.

Strangely, I didn’t feel afraid, although, at one point, it did strike me that all that was protecting us from the danger before us was a man with a stick!! We stayed in position for several minutes. It was amazing – something none of us will ever forget!Read more