Dr Katria Lovell
‘Jessica the Hippo was orphaned as a baby during severe flooding and adopted into care by the two people whom she now loves most.’
‘Jessica the Hippo was orphaned as a baby during severe flooding and adopted into care by the two people whom she now loves most.’
‘Jessica the Hippo was orphaned as a baby during severe flooding and adopted into care by the two people whom she now loves most.’
‘Jessica the Hippo was orphaned as a baby during severe flooding and adopted into care by the two people whom she now loves most.’
‘Jessica the Hippo was orphaned as a baby during severe flooding and adopted into care by the two people whom she now loves most.’
African Bush Adventure
African Bush Adventure
African Bush Adventure
African Bush Adventure
African Bush Adventure
It’s a 4.30 am wake-up call for our first African Bush Adventure – the Sunrise Safari!
I had the good fortune to travel to this beautiful place to attend the South African Equine Veterinarian Association (SAEVA) Annual Congress. I have been honoured to hold the position of President of the Equine Veterinarians Australia (EVA) Young Member Group (YMG) for two years. With a thriving Young Member Chapter, SAEVA has deep ties with the Australian and New Zealand Equine Veterinary Associations and it was with great excitement that my fiancée Warwick and I found ourselves bound for Africa.
What an incredible trip! One cannot plan a trip to South Africa without considering some sort of safari experience. Lucky for us, the conference itself was in the Kruger National Park but we were also lucky enough to have time to spend a night or two in the African Bush en route. One of the perks of being a veterinarian in South Africa is that they are more than willing to let you get up close and personal with wild animals.
What is a bush adventure you might ask? Literally off the beaten road, set amidst hectares and hectares of private game land you will find ‘bush camps’, designed specifically to give visitors a chance to get up close and personal with the magnificent animals of South Africa. The particular camp we were lucky enough to visit is known as ‘Tshukudu’.
After a quick flight to Hoedspruit, the town in which Tshukudu is located, we were delighted to have our first animal encounter as we drove out of the airport gates – a whole family of warthogs running alongside the road! Driving through the African countryside is both fascinating and humbling. The countryside is harsh but stunning and there are still such obvious levels of poverty. Entering the gates of Tshukudu and making our way deeper and deeper in to the bush towards the camp was an experience in itself. With some trepidation we eased the hire vehicle down the ‘track’ (road would be too strong a word!) only to suddenly came face to face with a rhino who decided to appear in front of us. What an amazing experience.
During our bush experience we had up close encounters with, to name a few, cheetahs, caracals and elephants, but what probably stood out the most for me was my meeting with Jessica the Hippo. In my time as a vet I have seen some strong animal-human bonds, but this certainly took the cake for strangest (most amazing!) of animal companions. Jessica the Hippo was orphaned as a baby during severe flooding and adopted into care by the two people whom she now loves most. It is a widely known fact that hippos are some of the most dangerous animals that can be encountered in Africa and there are many reports of attacks on people who invade their territory (in fact, it is shown that more humans die from hippo rather than lion attacks!). Though Jessica still lives in the wild and interacts with other hippos, she is for all intents and purposes ‘tame’ and seems to love her daily interactions with human beings, all of which are done at her leisure. We were privileged enough to spend over two hours with this magnificent creature – we fed her sweet potato, let her drink tea from her bottle, swam in the water, scratched her back, and even leaned in for a big wet hippopotamus kiss!!!
Most of what I do in my job and what my passion centres around, is the strength of the human animal bond and the relationships that can be formed because of it. This was the most incredible experience of my life and humbling to see the level of trust this wild animal has developed in humans.
Moving on from Hoedspruit was hard, but it was time to head onto the next step in our African adventure. Our arrival to the SAEVA congress in the heart of the Kruger National Park heralded the start of a wonderful week of educational sessions, social functions and the start of many new friendships. The social program, as expected at all equine conferences, was thriving with highlights including the Dinner Under the Stars (literally- in the middle of the African Bush!) and the Gala Dinner on the Kruger Park Golf Course – where the first sign greeting passengers as they disembark the bus warns of ‘Play at Own Risk- Wild Animals roam un-patrolled on course’. Gala Dinners are always fantastic. Good food, wine, entertainment and of course the fantastic company of your fellow equine veterinary and industry colleagues. Yet in this particular instance, as I sipped my champagne and gazed out at the surroundings, I couldn’t help but think this night would be a little different. With that, an enormous, and vocal, hippopotamus rose into view from the lakeside, jaws snapping and mere yards from our President’s Drinks Function site. Only in South Africa!
With the congress over all too soon it was time for me to reflect and without a doubt the highlights of our trip were the animals. Being a vet, my primary love and passion is animals and to see them undomesticated in their natural habitat was an exhilarating experience.
Totsiens and thank you…
Kissing Jessica the Hippo