Tag: safari

Safari Guide

On By Jon Stevenson1 Comment

Elefence is fortunate to have Nic Polenakis as one of its trustees. Nic is a premier guide who operates custom safaris in several areas of Africa. His website is myprivateafrica.com. Nic’s years of experience in the bush has endowed him with the ability to ‘read’ wildlife and know when it is ok to approach them and when one should stay away. Nic is a close friend of our president, Dick Houston, who both share a love of Africa’s wildlife and the efforts to protect it. Following is the latest communication from Nic.

Hi Dick

I hope you are keeping well.

I returned home last night after a few wonderful back to back safaris and am home for another week before I venture out again. 

As usual I have been lucky and the sightings have been extraordinary with some incredible animal behaviour. It is in fact interpreting animal behaviour that I love and certainly helps breathe life into any game drive.

On my last safari to the Lower Zambezi National park in Zambia we were fortunate to locate one of my favourite leopards, Mai. Mai is an old female leopard (About 14 years old), she is wiley, has great experience and has seen it all. She has to be to live in a territory which has an ever present large pride of lion, loads of hyena, dogs, countless leopard and of course baboons! 

We were driving back to camp when we heard the baboons giving their rather peculiar alarm call, a call given when a leopard has been cornered. We slowly approached the scene and there in a tree was Mai who was surrounded by a number of irate baboon. Many a young cat would have panicked and run for their lives which could have placed them in mortal danger however Mai lay on the branch, head on her forepaw, and pretended that she was not concerned or intimidated and stood her ground. Her bravery was disconcerting and totally threw the baboons who hoped to break her nerve. When a baboon ventured a little too close she growled in a way that sent shivers down the spine and certainly had the desired affect as the baboon suddenly turned around, walked away, sat down and then looked in a rather puzzled way at the leopard. The constant staring and intimidation by multiple baboon continued on for quite some time before the whole troop finally gave up and one by one slowly melted away into the forest. 

The following day we found Mai sitting in some thickets, she had been hunting impala and was having a break when we found her. This was the opportunity I had been waiting for. We slowly disembarked one at a time from the vehicle and respectfully sat down on the ground with her. She is one of very few leopard who will tolerate this and in fact fell asleep with her back towards us as we sat 20 yards from her. Total trust and what an immense privilege! I will be returning to this region in a few weeks time and will definitely be on the look out for Mai once again!

I have attached a few links from our safari so please feel free to share far and wide:)

Nic facing an elephant.

https://youtu.be/Q6xElIujeMk?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/rV8iPZuQxAs?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/BfguscMqQPY?feature=shared

Protecting elephants and people, our primary mission.

On By Jon StevensonLeave a comment

In many areas in Africa people and elephants live in close proximity. Paula and I learned just how close when coming out of a restaurant in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, a town of about 30k people, there was an elephant walking down the middle of the street stopping traffic. While our encounter was entertaining that is not the case in rural areas. Elephants raid crops planted by local farmers. A few elephants can wipe out a farmer’s entire crop in one night causing economic disaster for a family. Even worse, it is not uncommon for elephants to kill people.

In the area where Elefence is partnering with Wildlife Action Group three people were killed by
elephants in less than two years one of which was an experienced forest ranger. Before traveling to Africa I would have wondered, how this can happen. Elephants are very large animals. A full grown bull can be 13 feet tall and weigh 5-6 tons. To get an idea of just how large they are look at the following photo of one close to a compact auto. How can something this huge be overlooked in the forest?

When we were on a game drive with our guide, Custard, and yes that was his name, we came around a bend and standing in the path about 100 yards away was a large bull elephant. Custard stopped and turned off the engine and told us to remain quiet and move around very little while taking photos. Shortly the bull began to walk toward us. It was about 30 yards away when I became struck by the fact that we were sitting in the open back of a pickup truck and should the bull decide to remove us from his path he could easily turn the vehicle over. Custard was unconcerned. About ten yards away he turned off the path and moved around us through the bush. When I began breathing again I became aware that had I shut my eyes all I would have heard was a slight rustling of the bushes. He was that quiet.

Elephants are large but walk very gingerly, putting one foot down softly before advancing another. In addition if you look at their feet closely you will notice the wide area at the end of their leg which acts like a big cushion. It is almost like they walk on pillows. They can move so quietly it is no wonder they can go undetected until it is too late.

One of Elefence’s mission is resolution of HEC, Human Elephant Conflict, which is a widely recognized problem in rural Africa and often draws demands from locals to kill the elephants. Our solution is construction of solar powered electric fencing to keep the two species apart therefore protecting both. WAG is currently erecting an extension to the fence around the Dedza-Salima reserve funded by a private donation to Elefence. A fence not only protects both people and elephants it is an economic benefit as local villagers are paid to construct the fence but also patrol and maintain it as well.

Nic Polenakis, Guide Extraordinaire

On By Jon StevensonLeave a comment

Nic is an Elefence trustee and a premier safari guide in Africa. This is just one of his stories.

To Dick Houston

I have included one of my personal favourite photographs (And experiences) from the season. This female leopard, on the left, had just killed an impala, and instead of feeding, she hid the prey, then immediately went off in search of her two year old son who she had not seen in days. As soon as she was in the vicinity where she last saw him she began to call. At first her calls were soft, so as to not attract unwanted attention, the intervals long. She stopped, listened for an answer and then continued to weave in and out of the thick terrain. The tension was palpable, she had to find him, instinct drove her. As time slipped away her calls became more desperate, more frequent, louder and then she froze! Her ears picked up, her face changed, we knew she had heard a response even though we didn’t hear a thing. She sat down and then out of the thickets a young beautiful male leopard bounded out to greet his mom. Affectionately rubbing his head against hers, jumping all over her, rolling on the ground and then repeating the sequence over and over again. She then expertly climbed a tree and her son soon followed, lying next to her he licked her face, excitedly anticipating her next move. It wasn’t long before she led him back to the unfortunate impala who was to provide life to the next generation of big cats.

Nic, operates a safari company which has been recognized as one of the best in Africa.

Read more about Nic by scrolling down to our previous posts Introducing Nic Polenakis and What Makes a great bush Guide. We are fortunate to have Nic as one of our trustees. You can see more of his operation on his website myprivateafrica.com.

Stay turned for a major announcement coming soon about our next project.

What Makes A Great Bush Guide

On By Jon StevensonLeave a comment

Part two by Dick Houston
WHAT MAKES A GREAT SAFARI GUIDE?


Nic Polenakis with friend Dick Houston of Elefence at a waterhole
with unexpected thirsty guests. Hwange National Park,
Zimbabwe


Part Two:


Later having sundowners by a waterhole in Hwange park, Nic and
I start our stories regarding our separate experiences on
operating safaris all over Africa. Nic has a quick wit and keen
sense of humor, and we laugh a lot. We talk long into the night…
Relaxed around safari fires with drink in hand, you can talk freely
and be yourself. You really listen and get to know people. Nic is
one of the most unassuming and honorable men I’ve ever known.
Over the years I’ve seen he’s a devoted family man. I know his
lovely wife Tracey and his animal-loving 13-year-old son Chris
(who has an ever-grumbling Jack Russell named Grumpy, and a
cool pet rooster named Mister Cheep Cheep!)


I ask Nic what first inspired him to live and work in the bush — and
what he had to do to make his dream come true as a non-hunting
safari guide. Nic thinks a moment and then tells his story to me…
“You know, Dick, being trained as a professional guide in
Zimbabwe, where I was born, is extremely arduous. And is
arguably Africa’s toughest and most rigorous professional guides
examination process.


I served my 3 year apprentice on a rhino conservancy under a
fully qualified professional guide where I mastered the basics of
bush lore, tree identification, animal behavior, mammals, birds,
arthropods, star gazing, general knowledge, shooting, safety,
advanced first aid, spoor and skull identification, mechanics and
much more.


During this learning period I had many exciting forays. I lay in
ambush against poachers, climbed trees to escape black rhino,
was charged by elephant, stood face to face with 3 black
mambas! Then, of all things, I had a close shave with a domestic
Brahman Bull! Yes you heard right! I will never forget being told to
go and destroy a Brahman bull that escaped its pen, and was
running wild and could not be captured.


I couldn’t believe this easy task; I mean if it was a Cape buffalo it
would be one thing but a domestic bull?! This was surely no
challenge at all…


I finally located the ‘’wild animal’’ and after setting up an ambush I
stood on a path and waited for it to approach. The huge Brahman
bull ambled towards me, raised his head and charged! I was
taken totally by surprise and raised my rifle and fired in time,
dropping him only feet from me! This was nearly an embarrassing
situation, one in which I don’t think my fellow colleagues would
have let me off so lightly!


After passing the stringent professional guides written exam, I
was invited to the shooting practical exam where shooting both
moving and fixed targets set at varying distances, where speed,
accuracy, weapon handling and safety were paramount. This is a
crucial aptitude when you are responsible for the safety of your
clients on walking safaris into the bush.


Years earlier and after making my mind up that I was going to be
a professional guide, I purchased a .458 Winchester mag and
took it to the range to try it out. Sitting on the ground I raised my
rifle, took aim at the target and slowly squeezed the trigger. After
the dust had settled and my ears normalized, I sat there in total
disbelief and shock!! My shoulder felt like it was broken, and I
think I missed the target all together! What came to my mind was
how on earth was I to one day become proficient at shooting this
thing?


After passing the shooting exam, I was invited to the next step: a
daunting oral interview where one sits in front of his peers and is
bombarded with questions. This is then followed by the dreaded
‘nature table’ where one has to identify skulls, tree pods,
arthropods, bird feathers, nests and seemingly endless ‘artifacts’.
Only candidates whom the panel deem competent, and ready for
the last hurdle, are invited to the final practical exam.


This one-week-long practical exam is legendary, and not for the
faint-hearted. Here, a total of 20 plus aspiring professional guides,
are broken into groups of 4 to 5 hopefuls. They are expected to
set up their tented camp and host some of the examiners. There
is no place to hide and you are expected to excel. It is grueling,
tiresome and nerve-racking where one is examined on everything
and anything!


When I took the learner’s examination there were over 200
candidates. By the time the practical exam arrived 3 years later,
there were about 20 of us left — of which only 4 passed. I was one
of them.…”