PYTHON ENCOUNTER
About two years ago my husband, Wibo and I were camping in Letaba during the month of November. I know, who camps in a tent in November? It is our favourite month because the trees and the veld are lush and green, all the migrant birds are back and in full song and Kruger Park is half empty!
We were set up in the shade of Mopani trees with a huge Apple-leaf just a few meters away, when a top of the range four by four with a top of the range off road trailer parked in the shade next to us. After a brief nod to us, they went to explore other sites. Back they came and unhitched, having made their choice. We went to introduce ourselves and offered our help without grabbing anything out of their hands, which you know can happen with over helpful people.
We continue reading our books but kept an eye on our neighbours. They were slow and by the book and it took nearly two hours for the ‘Canvass Palace’ to rise up. They were either new at it or just enjoyed setting up camp. Finally done, out came the padded, light weight loungers and a bucket of bubbly. We wondered if they were toasting a new venture or if this was the norm.
On their way to the ablutions, they stopped for a chat and told us it was their first outing with their rig. We complemented them on how well they did. They confessed they had three tries in their garden at home to get it right! A little later, dressed to the nines, off they went to dinner.
We sat spellbound by the splendour of a night in the Bush under a full moon with the distant rasping grunt of a leopard and the last trilling of the Woodland Kingfisher. A young Barred Owl started calling in the trees above. By now we knew where to look for him and shone the spotlight into the Apple-leaf. To our surprise, an enormous Python was gliding up the trunk from the hollow at the base of the tree. He slid along a branch right above the Canvass Palace and then lay still.
We were getting ready for bed, when our neighbours came back from dinner. We debated telling them but decided we should. Wibo called him closer and quietly told him about the python. Out came a monster spotlight and the Python was detected. By now the snake had decided to move and about a meter of his body was hanging down from the branch. We heard a short sharp scream and off they sped.
Wibo was putting a bucket of water on the already sodden coals when a Ranger arrived in his bakkie. We told him where the Python was earlier. He looked all over for tracks and then showed us that the Python had rested in the tree hollow during the heat of the day. He pointed out many spiders and scorpions still occupying the same hollow, meters from our fire. Even in hot November, I now wear shoes after sunset, no more slops!
The ranger told us our neighbours arrived in the restaurant in a state and demanded the ranger find the snake and that they be given a hut. The next day we heard that they were taken to one of the lovely huts in D circle overlooking the Letaba river, only to find a harmless green grass snake curled up in front of the door!
When we returned from our morning drive the next day, the Canvass Palace was gone. All that remained was a champagne cork lying in the dust!
Wibo and Sue Schipholt
