“Anyone need a change of underwear?” It has been a serious heart stopping, nerve wracking and exhilarating moment. How close had those rhino really been? I was leading a Walking Women holiday, the first one for this company, and we had already had a list of firsts for many, including myself. We had had three nights in Mlilwane where we had walked with zebra, seen a lot of birds including the half-collared kingfisher which is a near-threatened species, watched traditional dancing and been up execution rock. We had then transferred to Hlane where we had been on safari and seen lion saunter past our vehicle and elephant munching on grass only 20m away and we had also spied a spotted genet streak in front of the landrover as we drove back to camp in dark for our gins around the waterhole. But it was the rhino drive that I suspect everyone will remember, some with awe, some with trepidation and all with incredulity. Johannes, our guide, had been with us for our other safaris so he knew that we were as interested in the birds and the tress as well as the animals and the safari started off with us spotting an African hoopoe and a red-faced mousebird to add to our ever growing and impressive bird list. We drove around Ndlovu waterhole, Ndlovu meaning elephant in siSwati and aptly so as we had seen elephant there drinking from it the day before. There was a rhino there in the…
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