What's your closest encounter with wildlife?

Discuss the September 2017 Book of the Month, Bluewater Walkabout: Into Africa: Finding Healing Through Travel by Tina Dreffin.


View Bluewater Walkabout on Bookshelves

View Bluewater Walkabout on Amazon
Post Reply
User avatar
juliusotinyo
Posts: 762
Joined: 15 Jun 2017, 10:19
Bookshelf Size: 49
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-juliusotinyo.html
Latest Review: Marrying a Playboy Billionaire by H M Irwing

Re: What's your closest encounter with wildlife?

Post by juliusotinyo »

@ReviewerDiksha, I served in the Kenyan army a while back. I don't believe in warfare anymore.

We had rowed the outrigger to the spot. The motor had some issues earlier, somehow we'd forgotten it was fixed. The hippo incident was just last month.

The sharks were the closest I'd come to losing my life. Funny how through it all, I couldn't stop laughing. I guess people react differently in these situations. My other friends couldn't stop praying and repenting... I was beyond being scared for my life at the time.
User avatar
ReviewerDiksha
Posts: 591
Joined: 02 Jul 2017, 05:15
Currently Reading: The Katharina Code
Bookshelf Size: 151
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-reviewerdiksha.html
Latest Review: A Brighter Tomorrow by Lori Schneider, MD

Post by ReviewerDiksha »

juliusotinyo wrote:@ReviewerDiksha, I served in the Kenyan army a while back. I don't believe in warfare anymore.

We had rowed the outrigger to the spot. The motor had some issues earlier, somehow we'd forgotten it was fixed. The hippo incident was just last month.

The sharks were the closest I'd come to losing my life. Funny how through it all, I couldn't stop laughing. I guess people react differently in these situations. My other friends couldn't stop praying and repenting... I was beyond being scared for my life at the time.
My friend is currently serving in the Indian Navy. Now that you mention it, he too was laughing all the while I was shouting at him to start the bike and get the hell outta dodge. :) The experiences that you shared reminded me of him, somehow.
User avatar
juliusotinyo
Posts: 762
Joined: 15 Jun 2017, 10:19
Bookshelf Size: 49
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-juliusotinyo.html
Latest Review: Marrying a Playboy Billionaire by H M Irwing

Post by juliusotinyo »

@ReviewerDiksha, must be our thing. Might be part of the training. But don't believe the hype, we are usually scared ? just delayed response.
User avatar
Manang Muyang
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 11160
Joined: 02 May 2017, 20:17
Favorite Book:
Currently Reading: Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
Bookshelf Size: 685
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-manang-muyang.html
Latest Review: Your Great Name by Shawn Funk
Reading Device: B00KC6I06S

Post by Manang Muyang »

Hi, IanYanny! Are those flowers poisonous? What do they eat? I don't think I've been to Makiling. There are still lots of local places I've not been to.

Have you tried wearing a snake Zuma-style? I think they have that photo op in Malabon Zoo.

It's more fun in the Philippines, kabayan! Love your own. LOL
User avatar
eelavahs-jay
Posts: 186
Joined: 11 Sep 2017, 16:00
Currently Reading: Island of the Gods
Bookshelf Size: 19
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-eelavahs-jay.html
Latest Review: Marrying a Playboy Billionaire by H M Irwing

Post by eelavahs-jay »

I live in an area that's not very populated (or urbanized) so I've had quite a few encounters with wild life. The ironic thing is that the most scariest encounter happened while in the city. There was an alligator lose, people peed themselves!
User avatar
Job Njoroge
Posts: 177
Joined: 20 Jun 2017, 09:35
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 46
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-job-njoroge.html
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End by Matthew Tysz
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Post by Job Njoroge »

The closest I have come to wild animals is a few feet to an African cobra. That made me jump out of my wits . Having been born in Africa I have seen many wild animals and come too close to some for comfort
User avatar
meteku4
Posts: 244
Joined: 22 Jun 2017, 16:16
Bookshelf Size: 65
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-meteku4.html
Latest Review: "Followed my Star" by AR Annahita

Post by meteku4 »

juliusotinyo wrote:I've had a few encounters, I am an avid angler and camp a lot whenever I can. I have 2 most frightening ordeals.

The first time was on my compound in rural Busia in Kenya. I woke up one night to the sound of my dogs going berserk. I picked my machete (mostly ceremonial) and stepped outside.

I found a large male hippo next to my car. It was 2x bigger than my Toyota and mean looking, it's eyes shone in the dark-a forbidding red-blue hue. I just stood there, my 4 dogs ran to my side. We were no match for such a beast even with​ my ceremonial machete.

I had never seen a hippo that close except in parks and I've had stories of it being the most deadly animal in Africa. It started walking towards me, and my mind wandered... Standing ground to protect my wife and kids who were asleep inside or order Chowder (my biggest dog) to attack and make my escape. It stood before me some metre or so and just stared at me. My dogs had stopped barking at this point and had cowed behind me, my machete was no longer in my grasp...I'd thought of striking it's nose. Then suddenly from behind my wife shows up all groggy calling me back to bed when she sees it. Her screams...Well, at least it scared the hippo. The earth shook in its wake as it run away.

I replaced my barbed wire fence with a concrete one in a week. I've never seen the beast again.

-- 27 Sep 2017, 09:50 --

My 2nd encounter was off the East African coast. I had paid some local fishermen to escort me to a well known shark fishing spot.

I'd just seen Jeremy Wade's show and I felt I could best him in tagging a Bull shark. 3 men in a small outrigger canoe, I was confident.

About 4km offshore we cast our bait and waited. The waters were still and crystal clear, we could even see sharks below... Which was ok until a swarm of thousands, each about the size of a man.

They shoved, prodded and snapped at our boat. We're it not for the outrigger we would have capsized and be torn to pieces. It lasted for an hour before we realised we had a working motor ? strapped it and sped off...
You really had some interesting encounters. I wonder what I would have done if it were me. My brief encounter I made with a little snake in a mango tree when I was climbing the tree made me lose taste for mangoes, at least for some time. I guess these experiences are meant to give us some memorable experiences.
Latest Review: "Followed my Star" by AR Annahita
User avatar
Manang Muyang
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 11160
Joined: 02 May 2017, 20:17
Favorite Book:
Currently Reading: Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
Bookshelf Size: 685
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-manang-muyang.html
Latest Review: Your Great Name by Shawn Funk
Reading Device: B00KC6I06S

Post by Manang Muyang »

Hi, Meteku4! How little is the snake you found in the mango tree? I thought snakes only lurked in apple trees!

I have the feeling (from your screen name and mango tree experience) that you are Filipino. Am I right?
User avatar
Mary Garrison
Posts: 447
Joined: 30 Aug 2017, 10:38
Currently Reading: The Hiding Place
Bookshelf Size: 78
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mary-garrison.html
Latest Review: Doctoroo & the Case of the Hacking Hippo by Dr. Rachel B. Wellner

Post by Mary Garrison »

Living in Colorado we see deer all the time, but I have experienced seeing two bears and when I was a child a momma mountain lion and her Cubs lived under our trailer. We could only see the eyes though because my dad wouldn't let me get close enough to see them clearly.
Yemurai
Posts: 68
Joined: 30 Jun 2017, 11:20
Bookshelf Size: 18
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-yemurai.html
Latest Review: Marrying a Playboy Billionaire by H M Irwing

Post by Yemurai »

I actually live nearby a wildlife park so my closest encounter was a couple of baboons that come regularly to my home and I had to run because I heard they can get quite violent when hungry
User avatar
Harmony Hills
Posts: 226
Joined: 30 May 2017, 06:36
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 0734">Anne of Green Gables</a>
Bookshelf Size: 60
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-harmony-hills.html
Latest Review: "Alba" by B. E. Okoh

Post by Harmony Hills »

Miriam Molina wrote:In Subic, Philippines, we were able to see Siberian tigers up close in Zoobic Safari. We boarded a jeep (with a glass roof and metal-grid windows) with safari guides who fed the tigers raw chicken meat through the windows. The tigers (easily averaging 400 pounds of striped flesh) jumped the vehicle and gave us a close-up of their dental apparatus. Not a ride for the faint-hearted!
I've had the same experience Miriam! The tiger took my breath away. I thought the vehicle would collapse under it seriously.
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― Neil Gaiman, Coraline
Latest Review: "Alba" by B. E. Okoh
Eric77
Posts: 92
Joined: 28 Aug 2017, 15:24
Bookshelf Size: 19
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-eric77.html
Latest Review: "Ever After" by H M Irwing

Post by Eric77 »

I am blessed to have been born, raised and still living in Africa. I have had several close encounters with wildlife. Practicing small scale agriculture and sometimes hunting takes you very close to nature. My elder brother was bitten by a snake in our pineapple farm. On another occasion, we were chased by a crocodile while crossing a stream to go to the farm. In a way, it is not surprising.
Latest Review: "Ever After" by H M Irwing
User avatar
juliusotinyo
Posts: 762
Joined: 15 Jun 2017, 10:19
Bookshelf Size: 49
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-juliusotinyo.html
Latest Review: Marrying a Playboy Billionaire by H M Irwing

Post by juliusotinyo »

You really had some interesting encounters. I wonder what I would have done if it were me. My brief encounter I made with a little snake in a mango tree when I was climbing the tree made me lose taste for mangoes, at least for some time. I guess these experiences are meant to give us some memorable experiences.
Hi @Meteku4, as memorable as they are always respect nature. Back as a kid, my rural home was more of a forest than it is now, we used to have Leopards, which although I never encountered them, they were very destructive on livestock. By the early 90's most were butchered by the residents and no longer exist to this day. So sad how such majestic animals can be easily eradicated.
sj_robert
Posts: 33
Joined: 21 Sep 2017, 07:24
Bookshelf Size: 11
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sj-robert.html
Latest Review: "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon

Post by sj_robert »

Do feral dogs count? I was mauled as a kid to within an inch of my life. I have a terrible fear of dogs since. My memory of the incident is a little hazy though. I can't remember past jumping over the window of an abandoned building with the dogs in pursuit. I woke up in a hospital 15 hours later!
Latest Review: "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon
Manali_DC
Posts: 448
Joined: 05 Jun 2017, 00:51
Currently Reading: A Little Life
Bookshelf Size: 73
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-manali-dc.html
Latest Review: Flat Top Mountain Ranch -- the beginning by James E Doucette

Post by Manali_DC »

Closest encounter with wildlife was at a wildlife sanctuary where I took an elephant safari and saw a one horned rhino at really close quarters!!
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "Bluewater Walkabout: Into Africa" by Tina Dreffin”