By Rebecca Dickson

We were in Matopos National Park outside of Bulawayo, an area known for rhino. We were on two trucks and our guides had really great eyes for spotting the rhinos. At one point, we saw two of them and they actually had us get out of the trucks and follow them, ending up about 30 feet away. We were told that because the rhino is almost blind, as long as we stood still and were quiet, we were safe. So after that close encounter, we got back on the trucks and went for another two hours before seeing anything. All of a sudden, I spot what I think is a rhino and yell out to the driver who promptly stops. Unfortunately, what I had actually seen was a large boulder, much to the amusement of everyone on my trip. So as you can imagine, I was hesitant to yell out another sighting, even though I thought I was seeing rhinos everywhere. But as we're driving by a dirt road, I happen to look down it and two rhinos are just meandering down the path. I got so excited (since I KNEW I wasn't wrong this time) that I banged on the roof of the driver's cab and yelled "RHINO" at the top of my lungs (which could have scared them off I guess, but I was just too excited to contain myself.) We all jumped out of the truck and followed them on foot for a good half hour. And because I spotted them, I got to name them (I picked Matilda and Henrietta.) It was a truly exhilarating, up-close and personal African experience that I'll always remember with a smile.

Date Entered: 1/18/2000