South Africa's Game Parks, 1950s

as this was the first part of southern Africa to Beed it followed that it was the first to safeguard the natural asset of wild life all over South Africa game Parks have been a established some are welldeveloped and visitors can watch the animals in their natural state such places are the krugger national park in the northeastern corner and the shui Game Reserve in Natal not far to the North of the city of Durban you will like Durban apart from being the natural gateway to Nal and our first objective flu it is a fine Coastal Resort in its own right the warm Indian surf is a gay place in the winter months of July and August and you'll probably be sorry to leave but we have a rendevu atoui that lovely game Park set in the hills of zululand one Central rest camp simple round Cottages provide accommodation for the night and well-trained Native servants cook your meals but such things are relatively unimportant and most meals are taken impatiently for there is a feast of Buffalo waiting just outside the camp the African Buffalo has quite a reputation among Hunters there are few more cunning and dangerous animals particularly when wounded however when unmolested as they are here and in the herd they are docile creatures if you're one of those enthusiastic photographers with a telephoto lens you can get a good head and shoulders portrait but there are other strange things in this zululand bush yes a walking 3ton tank in the shape of a rhino although you can get excellent views of the game from the safety of your car a feature of this Reserve is that you may get out and have a closer look at them on foot you must have a native Ranger with you for these white rhino are no play [Music] things before you try this Advanced stage in game photography you want to know the animals very well you need a steady hand and you need to be good at climbing trees in a hurry even so when the Rhino starts to get his sights on you and puts his ears back for a takeoff it's time to do a quiet Fade Out there's a lot more to be seen at Loui but we must be off for quick visit to the Krueger National Park this world famous game reserve is 200 M long and it's a short day run by Road or an overnight train journey from the cities of Petoria and [Music] Johannesburg Johannesburg with a population of nearly a million people is the business center of South Africa 40 mil away lies ptor the ad administrative capital of the country both cities are linked with the krugger park by fine tarmac highways which will take you smoothly down into the low of the northeastern [Music] transval before long The Rustic sign of the numby gate welcomes you this place belongs to the animals it's really like a great wild zoo the big difference is that the visitors are in the cages quite comfortable ones really on four wheels there's our first animal he's a kudu see those fine spiral horns most the antelopes have distinctive horns or markings this water Buck has both horns like a wishbone and a white ring Target for good luck the rone antelope has a mask-like face and shorter horns not to be confused with the long curved ones of sable Antelope they have been known to stand their ground against a charging lion have the camera ready for here's a rare inala Buck but for the Refuge of the park this species would have been lost forever this vilder beast and her Cal introduc us to the babies of the Bush Feld sometimes in our search for bigger game we're inclined to overlook these little ones the original [Music] Bandit although it's a strict rule of this park to stay in your car an exception is made at the hippo pool here you can watch these big lethargic heavyweights sunbathers on their own rivo they take it easy whoever heard of a having [Music] alers these Impala lies remind us of the most prolific and in some ways the most beautiful of the smaller Buck the Impala he's a cousin of the more famous National animal the Springbok which lives on the high felt here again glasses bring up some interesting [Music] closeups the fly funny warthog and these families of baboons all go to make up Nature's version of the pantomine Beauty and the Beast this must be one of the dressing [Music] rooms [Music] excuse me but have you seen my dad anywhere the one with a very long neck ah there he is always using his camouflage to hide away and give me a fright this is the time to have your camera ready giraffe are naturally inquisitive and sometimes stand just long enough for you to get a good snap my dears I must tell you what I saw down near the river that long necked huzzy and her gentleman friend I told them they ought to be ashamed of themselves necking like that in daylight and in front of all those young tourists quite suddenly they are lions that's how it happens out of the thorn bushes they walk and for a mile or so they pad leisurely along the road next to the cars it's impossible to describe the strong personal reaction to this encounter sometimes within arms these big cats the Undisputed Lords of this domain the most surprising thing of all is their complete unconcern for the cars and their occupants some say the petrol fumes drown the human scent whatever the reason the result is an experience so basic so thrilling that it will remain with you for many [Music] years Don't Rock the car now this looks like being one of those shots the folks back at home just won't believe yes they're coming right along straight straight up to the [Music] camera wow Junior must you at this precise moment back in the rest camps the luck of the day good or bad takes on a more mellow quality these camps are delightfully informal places simple accommodation with meals served in the restaurant or under the sky as you prefer the important things in life are eating drinking and relaxing don't you children ever think of anything else but food what more food yes among the animals too from the smallest to the biggest food and drink means survival and there's no more important law in [Music] [Music] nature now here has a stalk and he's caught a frog and I don't think he quite knows what to do with it on the other hand here's a customer who knows what to do with it but he hasn't got it yet