Day 54: Road camp to Hoedspruit and Jessica the Hippo!!!

The adventure gods had looked after me in the night as I woke up feeling ready, refreshed and still not sold into slavery on Apokalips. I covered a lot of ground quickly before having a bite to eat at the Three Bridges Restaurant. Lekker lil place with a nice view of the area I had just come from.

Decent downhill to start the day.

Always lekker to cross a river.

See, lekker.

Two giraffes mean you keep going.

Hoedspruit

It was then a slow ride getting to Hoedspruit where I stopped to rest once again. While at the garage I had a talk with a guy who recommended I don’t go through Acornhoek, Bushbuckridge, Hazyview as I had planned but instead that I should go via the Blyde River Canyon route. I didn’t know about this Blyde River Canyon but it had something to do with the mountain range I had noticed growing slowly but surely in the distance. It sounded quite lekker to be hold as he described it along with all the other places I’d have to ride through as I made my way back onto the N4. He told me about Graskop, Gods Window, Sabie, the scenery and all the various game reserves etc. It sounded great. I would have to break away from my ‘stick to the outside as much as possible’ mindset regarding my route. Even though I was site seeing virtually every second while riding my bike, I hadn’t actually taken the time to embrace the ‘stop and site see’ tourist thing. It was about time for that. So with a little hesitancy at first I detoured a little and headed towards the mountain. I must be mad I thought as I saw them approaching. How the hell am I gonna climb that?! (You already are mad Jones, the day you left Cape town , that’s where it started, just got to accept it now.)  Hoedspruit is chock a block full of game reserves and such seeing as the Kruger Park is also 15kms East so any animal loving outdoorsy people will find plenty to do in this area. Pretty much the whole area heading south as I would find out.

Disgusting tragedy.

Leaving Hoedspruit.

Cant believe Im actually gonna attempt those bad boys in the distance.

But it would be so worth it much later.

So as I was heading towards the mountains and away from Hoedspruit I came across a sign that said ‘Jessica the Hippo’. I paused. Something about this rang a bell. I knew I could not pass up this opportunity while I was in the area. So I headed down a gravel road that was 8kms long. Bit long I thought as I would have to backtrack this to get on the road again but it had to be done. Once I arrived I could get in. It felt as though no one was there or else they couldn’t hear me. So I tried the house next door. Empty except for a dog whose bark was worse than its bite. Then I went back to the Jessica House. I had forgotten to take the cell number plus I disregarded the visiting times upon leaving the sign I saw 8kms ago. But then I saw I had no cell signal so calling wouldn’t help. But I wasn’t going anywhere. Eventually I was heard and let in. I met a man called Toni and took me down to Jessica the Hippo. Little did I know what I was in for, for the next few days.

Just outside where Jessica stays.

Would have been awesome to take a swim.

Found it.

The whole setup of the place was amazing. So in the thick of nature with this lovely river running past the house, it was incredible! My suspicions were confirmed that this Jessica Hippo was the same hippo I had heard about somewhere in my past, the only reason being why I didn’t know for sure was that I had forgotten her name. Before I even saw Jessica I was delighted to see another baby hippo right there in its own little enclosure. Little Ritchie was his name. He was 16months at the time and weighed about 220kgs. Such a cute bugger. I had never seen a young hippo this up close before. The last time was a few days ago when I was on the way to the Kruger Park but this one I could actually pat and let him suck my fingers if he wanted. And he had quite a suction with that mouth. He had been rescued from a flood that had happened in a similar way that Jessica was rescued 13 years ago. Now they were raising him till he was big enough to be set free because at this size, the other male hippos would just kill him. Plus Jessica hasn’t accepted him in anyway, so she won’t offer any protection so that is why he is raised in a separate enclosure till he is older and bigger enough but more on him later. Back to Jessica.

So I was led to a viewing area where Toni played me a DVD detailing a bit of the history of Jessica and his relationship with her. It was one of many, many shows that has been made regarding Jessica and her ‘parents’. So after the show, I was led onto a barge of sorts that is tethered to the river bank and was told to wait there while Toni called Jessica and she arrived. Wow, this was surreal! Toni would always explain first with me slightly away then I would step forward and interact. First up was her getting to know me. Her head was raised from the water over the side of the barge and I was told I could back hand pet her by slowly bringing my hand down on her nose. Wow! I had touched an actual hippo. Awesome!! Next was the feeding where I was given a bucket that had 3 sliced sweet potatoes which I slowly fed to Jessica. She just had her mouth open and all you had to do was just gently pop them in. They kinda collected at the back of her throat before she actually swallowed them or chewed them a bit. Then it was time to give her some rooibos tea. She drinks 20litres of this a day I’m told (which makes her the healthiest hippo on the planet) so after watching Toni do it, I stepped across the barge which somewhat pushed down a bit as Jessica now had her front feet resting on it. So I gave her a 2litre of rooibos. Can check that off my list of things to do. Then I leaned in and gave her a kiss on the nose.

This is awesome. Such a wonderful animal.

Sniff sniff.

Nom nom nom.

Toni giving her some rooibos. I helluva lot of rooibos.

This is awesome!!!

Drink up girl.

Score!!!

Then I was told to wait a moment while she moved to the side of the  barge, then I could sit down and rest my feet on her back. Was weird and surreal at first. Hippo skin is damn tough and thick, and a bit bristly from the hairs. That was about it then. I had just interacted with a hippo. Now Jessica doesn’t live in an enclosure or anything. She is free to come and go along the river as she pleases, where she mingles with other hippos and any other animals she encounters. She is not a pet. She was rescued during a flood 13 years ago when she had just been born and looked after by her human adoptive parents. So she is still a wild animal but one that obviously has certain tame attributes. Enough about what she is, which is basically a cool hippo to meet. So it was almost 4oclock now and I wasn’t really looking forward to leaving so I asked if I could camp somewhere. It was about this time that I met Tonis wife Shirly. I was told I could stay for sure and if I liked I could stay the whole weekend as there as a wedding. Sure, why the hell not. Plus they said I could stay in the spare bedroom they had inside. Double cool. So I unloaded my kit and got to know my guests a little better as the day turned into night.

Slowly coming around.

Mmm. The feel of your thick skin on my soles is most, uh, interesting.

Had no idea this would happen when I woke up in the morning.

Toni used to be a hunter and game ranger but now his life has changed since meeting Jessica. At the same time he is also an honorary game ranger in the area, so basically he gets called out to sort out any animal problems that need sorting out where need be plus other stuff I can imagine. Around dinner time, little Ritchie was let in the house as he sleeps in the living room on a mattress. He takes his time to actually get settled and has to be coaxed to lie down quite often. Then once he is down he has a blanket put on him. This whole scene kinda blew my mind away. Ritchie was also lying close enough to me that I could rest my feet on him. I couldn’t believe this! Here I was in Hoedspruit, drinking a beer with my feet up on a young hippo. I didn’t imagine doing something like this at all today, let alone the whole trip, let alone ever. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip I must say. I had a long talk with Toni regarding game ranging and hunting amongst other things as the night progressed. All very eye opening stuff.

As the night drew to a close I was offered the choice to actually sleep beside little Ritchie. Hmmm?! Of course, don’t think Ill ever get this chance again. So they brought out another soft mattress and laid it out next to his. There was a bit of trick to this. Hippos like ‘body touch’ as they are very social animals amongst themselves as Toni told me, so I had to lie right up next to him and at one point I actually had my arm over his neck somewhat. This was insane I thought. Then everyone went to bed. I think I was next to Ritchie for a few hours before he started pushing onto my mattress. I should have pushed back but it was too late. It soon became apparent that I wasn’t going to get my mattress back so I just left him and went to my bedroom. You win that round Ritchie. I was glad to be in a bed of my own once again. Shortly thereafter I think I heard little Ritchie walk around and seeing as he is an inquisitive little guy, I heard a few things falling down, some even breaking and soon enough Toni was up to sort it out. And so ended my day in a way I never would have imagined ever. I had to thank the stranger I met that afternoon and I had to thank myself for actually deciding to follow through. Plan change number 3 had rewarded me with the first of many unforgettable memories.

Little Ritchie lying on his mattress with his head on what was my mattress.

Distance 50kms