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Beauty And The Beasts

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By MARY ANN ANDERSON McClatchy-Tribune News Service

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 8, 2008

After a few seconds, the sound came again, its intensity increasing with each passing moment: Urrrrrr! Urrra-rah! Urrra-rah-UNH! Urrr-UNH! Urrr-UNHHH! UNHHH! UNHHH!

The adrenaline factor was high as I realized I was about to witness and hear something relatively few humans will ever hear outside of a zoo: the full-throttled roar of a lion, very close by and very much on the prowl for its next meal. I just hoped it didn't have a sweet tooth for blondes with Southern accents.

The deeply guttural echoes coming from Leo's bowels absolutely commanded dignity and respect from all other creatures within earshot, including animals, man and, especially in that moment, me. This was no itty bitty kitty, and its roar, in its acoustical entirety, was thunderous and mighty and like nothing I had ever heard.

Then something beyond extraordinary occurred. The two lionesses joined in perfect harmony with the male, creating a din that was almost deafening. For perhaps a full minute, they roared, a feline hallelujah choir in the bush. So great were their voices that the ground actually vibrated with sound waves.

"Wow," my guide and I whispered in unison as the trio quieted in exhaustion.

Hearing the tantalizing roar of a lion on a South African savanna at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is an experience that becomes permanently etched in your mind, and you realize that you will never forget that sound for as long as you draw breath. While it's completely bone-chilling (even now I get shivers thinking about it), it is also exhilarating. In the next instant, you come to appreciate the knowledge that in an instant you have been anointed with all that is Africa.

South Africa. Just the mere words evoke images of a faraway land near the bottom of the Earth, of exotic safaris complete with pipe-smoking gentlemen in pith helmets and khaki shirts and women in long flowing skirts, of a place where the men are as strong as Nelson Mandela and the ladies as pretty as Charlize Theron, of uninterrupted acres of sugarcane fields, banana groves and vineyards of the Cape Winelands, where the grapes will eventually be harvested for wine.

South Africa is huge. Looking at a map, it's about the size of the entire southeastern United States, if you cut a swath from Louisiana to North Carolina. And its culture is diverse, ranging from the Bantu culture of the Zulu, Shangaan (or Tsonga), Tswana and Swazi to the Afrikaners of Dutch and British descent to the Indians of the coastal towns.

With all that it offers, my best guess is that most tourists will go for the same reason I did: to see wildlife. Mind you, not the nightlife wild life of Cape Town and Johannesburg (and there's plenty of that), but for the animals and nature.

My favorite wild game are the big cats: the golden-eyed lion, whose name is translated to "ngala" in Shangaan, and the spiffily spotted cheetah and leopard. Whether you take a safari at night or in early morning, the big cats are almost always on the move for prey, sending the smaller, weaker animals like steenbok and impala into a frenzy to escape their powerful, hungry jaws.

Chances are pretty good you'll see a kill while on safari. But this is Africa. Expect it, as it is simply the way of nature here.

The warthogs and wildebeests are so ugly they're cute, as are the rhino, hippo and buffalo. I'm in awe of the giraffes and zebras, pronounced in South Africa as "zeb-bra" and not the Americanized "zee-bra." Although you'll see plenty of them, I'm not bananas about baboons and monkeys, as I witnessed a flange of baboons attack a car with a family inside.

While everyone escaped with everything but their nerves intact, it was then I learned a hard, fast rule of all of Africa: Never trust a simian. They are not to be reckoned with lightly.

For me, one of the most stirringly dramatic spectacles of the South African savannas is that of a herd of elephants moving through the bush, the mama elephants staunchly protecting their babies, the daddies ready to charge if they think their family is in danger.

During the long, languid days on safari in South Africa, you'll more than likely see several herds in their natural settings as they continuously munch on the leaves and bark of mopane, yellow fever acacia, marula and sausage trees. You can hear them before you see them, with their low moans and tummies always eerily rumbling in contentment.

South Africa is a place that utterly intoxicates with its rare and uncommon beauty and intriguing history that changes daily. It is not far removed from apartheid and has a wonderful multicultural society so diverse that Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave it the designation of "Rainbow Nation."

IF YOU GO

INFORMATION: 1-800-593-1318; www.southafrica.net

GETTING THERE: South African Airways (www.flysaa .com) flies nonstop (or one stop in Dakar, Senegal) from New York and Washington-Dulles into Johannesburg. Delta ( www.delta.com) has nonstop or one-stop service to Johannesburg from Atlanta.

MAKE A GAME PLAN: If you want a close encounter with ngala (though not too close!), you might splurge on one of the private game lodges and preserves:

Singita Private Game Reserves, www.singita.com. Ranked among the most luxurious private reserves in the world, it has lodges at Sabi Sands and Kruger National Park.

Camp Jabulani, www.camp jabulani.com. Offering safaris on elephants rescued from Zimbabwe, the five-star camp is ideal for honeymooners and romantic getaways. Guests have included celebrities Brooke Shields, John Cusack, and Uma Thurman.

Sanbona, www.sanbona.com. In the heart of the Little Karoo, Sanbona is home to the world's only pride of free-roaming white lions.

Shamwari Game Reserve, www.shamwari.com. On the Eastern Cape, Shamwari includes six extravagant lodges and plenty of game.

Londolozi, www.londolozi .com. In Zulu, londolozi means "protector of all things." The eco-friendly reserve has several stunning lodges.

Ulusaba, www.ulusaba.com. Owned by Sir Richard Branson, the reserve's Rock Lodge and Safari Lodge are ultra-stylish and elegant.

Sabi Sabi, www.sabisabi.com. An opulent reserve with four lodges; the specialty is up-close encounters with wildlife and world-class cuisine.

Thornybush, www.thornybush .co.za. Wonderfully remote and near Kruger Park, Thornybush, overlooking the Monwana River, is ideal for families. A friend said she was enjoying her outdoor shower at Thornybush when a giraffe came crashing through the trees right beside her.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FLY? South Africa also is known for hot-air balloon safaris, which most lodges will arrange for you and which gives a perspective of the landscape much different than that from a Land Rover. As the balloon ascends above hippo-filled streams, you might glimpse herds of giraffes racing underneath you, their spots blending in with the cinnabar-hued earth.

NATIONAL PARKS:

Kruger National Park and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: www.sanparks.org

Addo Elephant National Park: www.addoelephantpark.com

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, Ithala Game Reserve and Mkuze Game Reserve: www

.kznwildlife.com

Tembe Elephant Park: www

.tembe.co.za

The Waterberg: www

.waterbergtourism.co.za

The Lowveld: www.lowveldnet .co.za

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