WAITING FOR LIONS TO ARRIVE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 202, 11 September 1937, Page 14

WAITING FOR LIONS TO ARRIVE

Kruger Park Experiences

. Qp THE MANY MILES of soft, *" * dusty TO&d, eurviiig hither aiid thither throughout the 8000 equare miles of the Kruger National Parkf in tio Uniou of South. Africa, uono is more ©rdinary, or more romantic, than the oue aow called the " Jock of the Bushyeld" road, feays a writer in the Christian. Science Monitor. It mhs eastwkrd, toward the sea, and is a tiny bit of the Original track made by tfanBport waggons, loaded at Lorenao Marquee haxbour, and trekked, at three milee &u hour (the pace of the ox), for hundrede of ascending mtlos into the Highveld interior, when Johanmaebnrg gold traa first epilllug out upon the world, It really ie the old Trich&rt road, named after the eturdiest among thpse sturdy waggonera; now, the little piece of it^ preserved because the area of the Kruger National Park happens te include it, is re-named to commemorate the beloved hero of Fitzpatrick '3 .dog etory. • * • Pawa . « . and a eamp astir: the exackle of open wood fires: native camp boys murmuring .like dOuble bassoons: at each occupied hut is a car, more or Iess in readines# for the opening of the camp gate— for early morniiig ie the time of timo* for seelng lions. For ourielves — we wished only to travel on the "Jock of the Bushvtsld" road. "WVd eeea ganie in quite unbelievabla quantitiee for a whole Week, and this last day would be a prowl— at the prescribed 12 miles an hour— for the history of the land 's sake. If game appeared — well and gOod. If not— .then. also well and good. Presently cart were pouring through the open gate, and loSt in the thick moraing misL ^Tithin two miles of leaving the camp gate we seemed aione, and might have been the lafct two women and the only two-seater in the eontinent of Africa. jha famous old road was straight and narrow — its dust disciplined by a night of mlst. Small, sparse troea with eccentric shapes, saturated moss, and lon g, white thorns, ehowed through the dowly moving mist , . s and, at the roadeide, three lion cubsi !We stopped, bnt kept the engine rurinln g. This interested tho trio in a mat-ter-offaet sort of way. They used a slowmotion^ w'on't-bn-^eft-bjehi.nd {formula, by which the cub in the rear slowly moved in front of the other two and jflopped down^ whereupon the one be-

hind rose softly and did the same thing, which soon brought thern close to the car. Three enthraliing little creatures, but often so like any familiar family of cats, that one had to laugh. * * , . * Presently the cubs lost interest in us, and their retreat left us in no doubt that the audience was over. But was it? Not if the human mother of three human cubs read the sigiisj "Those cubs have been told to stay around these parts until the grown-up3 returnj" she declared. Which wq3 whjy sunset {found us there agaim Even before we had taken our statice, the cubs emerged from the grass, their little round leans purpling in the Iow sunlight, and lay in a semicircle on the toad before us. Behind them the road led through the narrow donga and curved suddenly into a thicket on the other side. Presently; from beinnd the thicket, and right in the middle of the toad, a, Splendid lioness appeared. Soeing our car, she haltedj raised her head slightly, then prooeeded toward us along the toad as thotigh it was clear. A moment later another appeared upon the road, then another, and yet another— each in turn halted at "sight of us, and then moved silently onward, until, on the short bit of road before us, were three cubs and four marching lionesses. We closed the windows of the car! • « • It was a pretty homecoming. Tho cubs rose, and frolicked toward the great creatures as they passed. But the grown-ups were preoccupied, and ignored the charming overtures. The first two pushed past the car, rocking it a little as they did eo, and tsniffed from corner to corner of the large tin bok strapped behind. The other two mado for a clearing at the road side, where the cubs joined them^ and an odd mi.tture of play and preoccupation folloWed. Making no progress with the cold comets of the tin box, the leaders wandered to a griin-looking little treo, and sharpencd their. clawe — as cats might — tearing tho bark to ribbons. .Very flttingly, thcre was an enormous iiotice on the tree, which read, "Stay in your car. Keep on the road," in two languages. But night was falling; it was more than time for a quiet get-away.