🗁Added 49 photos to album Zimbabwe, May 2019.
Went with a Fin and two Russians to Lake Chivero nature reserve. We drove around in a totally in appropriate car for a while, and saw zebra, wildebeests, impala and other similar things, monkeys, tons of interesting birds and a giraffe (rare there). Then we stopped at the park headquarters and chatted to the rangers. They agreed to take us on foot to see rhinos and other things for a small fee.
We stumbled upon a snoozing rhino almost immediately, which Gladys, our guide, didn't see until we were way closer than we should've been. We snuck away, and the rhino stayed put.
Minutes later, one of the Russians behind me said "oh my god" (she saw a snake? I wondered), and then Gladys in front of me turned her head and said "Run." with the fear of god in her eyes. I didn't look back, and took off with the group. The rhino had decided he didn't like us after all. Gladys wove us through the trees as you're supposed to, and for some reason the Fin took off in a straight line, away from the group.
I tripped and fell. I had no idea how far behind me the rhino was, and my legs were lead, I couldn't get up. Figured even if I could I can't outrun a rhino anyway, so maybe I should just curl up in a ball and hope for the best? This is probably as cool a way to die as I could really hope for. Then Gladys was back, hauling me out of the undergrowth.
Simultaneously, the rhino had paused to decide who to chase; I had a second to look back and saw him standing there debating his options, still far too close. Lucky for stumbling me, he decided to go for the Fin. Gladys and the Russians and I put enough distance between ourselves and the rhino to slow down, and when the adrenaline had stopped I almost passed out, probably from a combination of heat, shock, and the fact my knee was bleeding everywhere. We lurked around, calling for the Fin and waiting for me to recover. Eventually Gladys got a call from HQ - he had run all the way there (having been followed a pretty long way by the rhino, who had then given up and gone to the lake).
I lost Elizabeth's sunglasses during the charge, and later after the immediate danger had passed I realised my phone was gone as well. Gladys went back for a couple of minutes and found it! She's a hero. Mostly for probably saving my life, not the phone.
We regrouped at HQ, then went to see some more chill rhinos by the lake. They had birds standing on their heads and everything. We also saw ostriches.
So that was a pretty good day.
