When Nature Called

...I ANSWERED IT AT EVERY BREAK OF DAWN.

- KELLY LEWI

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST to let go of control? A few thousand dollars per night plus a long journey to Kruger, South Africa.

My recent trip included a stay at the newly refurbished &Beyond Ngala Tented Camp in the &Beyond Ngala Private Game Reserve right next to Kruger National Park. It was my first time on the African continent, and to say I was excited when I got on the plane was beyond an understatement. Besides seeing the wilderness and animals, I had no idea what to expect. The fact that I would have to confront an animal I was more than familiar with did not cross my mind at all. An animal that we are more than familiar with. You and me. Literally.

Upon arrival, the ranger asked us—there were other writers invited to the trip as well—what we hoped to see in the bush. I was dazed after flying all over for about 18 hours by then. As others chimed in on animals they were eager to spot, I could not come up with anything. It might have been part exhaustion or surreality, I eventually mentioned I wanted to see a rhinoceros (spoiler: I saw two!). There must have been more I wanted to see, right? In response, I said I would like to witness a hunt. Or a kill.

There wasn’t a dramatic silence like I had implied. Most concurred that I “went for the kill” (they were all exceptionally puny writers). Witnessing a life being taken away did not fulfil any innate need in me. My standards do not allow me to be that cruel, for the most part. I just wanted to see how life goes, as raw as it can be. Perhaps, I was cruel. Or perhaps I just needed to take a shower.