In 1983 while working as a game ranger in one the world’s most prestigious private game reserves, I had a very amusing incident that I would like to share with you.
We were on a morning game drive when I spotted some fresh male leopard tracks on one of the dirt roads we frequently drove on, and as we had not yet seen this magnificent spotted cat, I decided that it would be worth tracking this one to see whether we could find it.
Now the Land Rover game drive vehicle we used, was a completely open one with no windscreen nor door on the driver’s side, giving the guests the best possible game viewing experience imaginable.
So there I was driving with one hand, and gazing through the open doorway at the road to keep an eye on the fresh tracks, and not far down the road the tracks turned onto a disused track, which we turned into.
Now the thing with disused tracks, is that nature very quickly takes back the environment and spiders love to spin their webs across the clear expanse, one in particular, the Golden Orb spider. Now for those of you that do not know this beauty, they spin a web of golden silk that almost has the strength of cotton. These spiders are colorful harmless spiders (unless you are an insect) that can grow pretty large, and for most people are capable of inducing absolute fear.
So, there we were driving slowly up this track, all excited with the anticipation of finding a superb leopard, 8 guests in my vehicle all gazing into the dense bush on either side of the road, and me casting my eyes down onto the track to keep track of where he was headed.
As I lifted my head, there right in front of me, was the largest Golden Orb I had ever seen, all 8 eyes wide in terror as this green monster approached … and my instinct was to duck.
Now, the lady sat directly behind me was not that quick, and the 8 legged friend hit her square in the face, and promptly made a dash for the floor and safety.
There was a blood curdling scream, and I felt the land rover rock violently so I coasted to a stop and turned to see whether my guests were alright, but to my horror, there were no guests left in my vehicle.
They were scattered on the sides and middle of the track, where they had leapt, with no thought for the dangerous animals that roam the wilds.
And the quiet peace of the bush was suddenly broken by the shrill scream of the poor lady, “Kill It”
Let me tell you, I could not gauge who was more terrified, my guests sat in the road, or the poor spider sat trembling on the floor of the land rover. So I lifted her out with a spade and deposited her safely back in the bush, and then proceeded to load the guests.
Did we see the leopard that day, No, I think every animal with ears in a 2km radius took off at a gallop to somewhere a lot more peaceful.
