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Gus Adendorff Part 1.

Gus Adendorff was born on 6th January 1922, the son of a farmer in Levubu, where he grew up and acquired his love for Nature.

Gus completed his schooling at Grey College in Bloemfontein. He spent 27 years in the KUGER NATIONAL PARK, starting on 1 May 1950 and retiring on 31 March 1977.

Twenty eight year old Gus started his service at SKUKUZA as a Junior Ranger under the guidance of Harry Kirkman, while Col. Sandenbergh was the Park Warden.

The young Junior Ranger spent one whole month at SKUKUZA and was then transferred to Shingwedzi, replacing Bill Lamont. Gus was very proud to be here as it was the place he and his father often visited Bert Tomlinson – a man of whom the young Gus much respect for.
The Rangers quarters were enclosed by a fence and situated on a slight hill a few hundred metres from the Rest Camp the gate was left open during day time and Gus was often called out by his barking dogs to chase out a visiting Elephant who often took a short cut on its way out, across the fence.

Oom Gus mentions that when the roads were unusable Bill would set off on foot, he would often walk to Punda Maria to collect the post these old timers were really made of what it took to be a Good Ranger.

His neighbour at Letaba was the extremely neat and well disciplined Ranger Gert Crous. Oom Gus mentioned that there was a straight row of white washed stones about twenty metres in front of his house demarcating the parking area, driving beyond the line resulted in a fate near death, that area was reserved for grazing by the Impala and other smaller antelope, not for people with poor eyesight. As his Impala were so precious to him – he never kept dogs.

Gert Crous had everything meticulously sometimes painstakingly neat and well organised, the condition of his firearms would do any collector proud, especially an old Martini Henry he had owned for many years.

Oom Gus recalls an incident while burning a firebreak near Shilowa at the foothills of the Great Lebombos. An Impala was shot for rations and that evening he was offered a dish that tasted rather of sawdust – it was the brains Gert Crous had promised him.

Fires coming in from Mozambique were a real hazard and much effort was made by himself and Col. Rowland Jones the Senior Ranger at Punda Maria in preparing firebreak-roads by de-stumping and chopping a track through the bush from Dipene to Shingomene to Kloppersfontein – the first firebreak road in the northern part of the KRUGER PARK.

The Water for Wildlife project was still in progress resulting in many boreholes were sunk and windmills erected, however the Elephants had very little respect for these tall structures with the water piping leading to the drinking troughs, they were regularly pushed over or uprooted resulting in many hours of sweaty work in righting the damage done. Very often the piping resembled a plate of spaghetti and could only be sold as scrap metal.

Oom Gus told about the Three Musketeers - Golden maned, male Lions who lived in the riverbed below the Camp, they were quite tame and seemed to enjoy being photographed by the thrilled tourists. They disappeared and then one day while on patrol he found them at Kloppersfontein many kilometres away.

One late afternoon the Ranger at Shingwedzi was told by some tourists about three Lions on a nearby road, one Lioness seemed to be bleeding from what appeared to be snare that had cut deeply into her flesh. Gus decided to set out first thing next morning and investigate. John Braack the mechanic at Shingwedzi offered to join him.

The following morning Gus and two Field Rangers and John and Ripper his faithful dog set out.

They entered the Mlala Palms at Nwama Hewana where the lioness was supposed to be – there was nothing. The Field Rangers were fine trackers and with the assistance of Ripper found and followed the spoor. Ripper ran well ahead and crossed the Shingwedzi River, soon there was loud barking and Ripper came tearing towards them – followed by an angry golden cat. The five took cover as the dog and its follower were on their way to them. Gus fired at the Lioness dropping – a bundle of bones, covered in a golden coloured skin with a deep cut from which a snare was clearly visible.

The end of Ripper is told in “Man’s Best Friend”.

Another instance one of the staff Hlengane who was sleeping outside in the compound woke up feeling himself being dragged off. He saw that a Lioness had his one foot in her mouth; fortunately he had covered his feet and legs with his great coat. He kicked and freed himself while she walked off with her catch – the greatcoat to the empty donkey kraal where she realised her mistake, she then pounced and caught a broody hen close by and jumped the fence.

The following morning this was reported, the ranger and his trackers set off and after losing the spoor with the front inward twisted pugmark returned to Camp. Gus handed to shredded great coat to the Tourist Officer requesting that it be displayed – illustrating to tourists that the lions are not tame kittens.

Gus Adendorff Part 2.


Gus assisted the team who made the film “Where no Vultures Fly” they required scenes of charging Elephants, Elephants digging for water and an Elephant sliding down an embankment on its behind. The got what they needed – they also came to the right spot and where in the right company.

The ideal star for the performance roamed close to the Rest Camp a huge Elephant Bull who would charge vehicles for no reason what so ever – probably just for the fun of it. German was the most spoken of Elephant of the area. Some visitors who had booked in for a few days, promptly cancelled their booking at Shingwedzi and moved on after a meeting with German.

Gus was also often charged by German, the Ranger would then stop and the disgusted Elephant would nonchalantly walk off after stopping and making a further display ten metres away, of course this was Gus’ close crept secret.

The film crew got what they required and German became a film star – the unit was on the back of a truck for the taking of their shots. German was feeding in some Mlala palms and Gus reversed up to about thirty metres away, German obliged and the crew got some beautiful shots of a really angry Bull African Elephant, as it was quite dry shots were taken of Elephants digging for water in the dry Shingwedzi riverbed as well of the sliding Elephant.

The very satisfied film crew departed after a week.

Gus Adendorff Part 3.

The twenty nine year old bachelor Ranger was transferred to Shangoni at the end of 1951.

Here where the Shingwedzi River enters the KRUGER NATIONAL PARK at the western boundary it was quite different, quiet, no rest camp, no tourists, there were no fences, just white washed beacons placed a kilometre apart with cleared bush in between.

Gus who was very fluent in both the Venda and Shangane language he could communicate very well with the local black population.

One of his interests was History; he soon became aware that there was an old Black man living at Soutini, who had worked with Major Frazer at the post Malundzane on the banks of the Shongololo Stream. Gus made contact with him and it was agreed that they would meet at the picket at the Lalatsi Stream and then walk to Malundzane. The ruins of five rondavels were found one each for Major Frazer, the kitchen, one for his dogs, one for his right hand man – Jackson and the store room.

The old man told Gus that Major Frazer only fed his dogs Warthog meat, when one of the dogs died; a grave was dug and a funeral was held which all had to attend and also weep at the ceremony. They all did as instructed as Majoro was quite a big man, who really loved his dogs.

Shangoni was a very troubled by poachers, post. Gus found many semi permanent camps while on patrol, where the intruders seemed to have lived in for quite long periods, where the snared game was cut up and the meat dried before being transported out of the Park by donkeys.

Much of the Ranger’s time was spent combating poaching; he also soon discovered that many of his field staff were unreliable. The law stated that follow ups could be done to one kilometre outside the Parks borders; fortunately he had a very good neighbour in Hewitt Ivy, the Agricultural Officer of the native Trust area adjoining Shangoni. Ivy and his Rangers assisted Gus and his staff in finding poachers who had escaped to “safety”.
Trying to catch poachers at daytime was near impossible, so they decided to do so under the cover of dark and were very successful.

Two of Gus’ trusted game Guards were July Sithole and Manuel Gubiya.

Gus received a message from July at the Nalatsi picket; the ranger should go to the Klein Letaba picket where they could meet. Upon arrival Gus found that July had arrested Mack Maluleke stationed at Klein Letaba for being in possession of a fresh Leopard skin. The Leopard had been caught in trap that Mack had hired from an African living in the adjoining Trust Area. The skin was intended to be sold to a white man at Duiwelskloof

The owner of the trap was called and Gus was told that he had rented the trap to Mack for ten shillings, for each Leopard caught; this was the second Leopard that had been caught.

Mack was sentenced to six months in prison without the option of a fine.

Gus once found a dead Lion at the base of a Marula tree, the beautiful animal had a deep cut into its neck, made by the cable wire snare attached to the Marula tree of which the bark had been torn off up to the height nearly two metres by the struggles of the agonised animal in the sweltering heat, dying of thirst on the two metre area of trampled grass and bush around the tree.

Here the King of the Beasts, dead from exhaustion and exposure to the terrible heat was throttled by the cruel deed of man. This occurred close to the Dodobzi Stream, a sight Gus remembered forever and hardened him even more towards poaching.

Gus Adendorff Part 4

During 1952, Gus was told about a spot Malahlaphanga meaning the lost knife, where water flowed from mounds and was teeming with game. He decided to pay it a visit. After much walking he found that it was indeed so; many Eland, Waterbuck, Roan, Kudu, Tsessebe, Sable, Zebra and Buffalo were in the surrounding bush. He was so impressed that he had a track cut to the spot in order that others could also enjoy this spectacle. He also built a platform accessible by ladder in a tree overlooking the waterhole from where the game could be watched without disturbing the animals.

When visiting Malahlaphanga during the seventies he found that the game position had drastically changed – it was nothing like he known it before.

Veld fires from outside the Park were a big problem, the fresh growth after the first spring rains encouraged the animals to leave the safety of the Park. Gus saw many Eland, Roan and Tsessebe outside the Park.

Unfortunately there was an absolute ban on controlled burning during the Sandenbergh era, all fires had to combated at all costs, Gus was of opinion that had they been allowed to do controlled burning the they would still have had the vast herds maybe even today.

Devastating fires occurred which killed off the flora, including huge, precious trees as well as small mammals, birds, reptiles and insects – all in integral part of nature.


Many fires are started by natural cause being lightning; fortunately most of them are then extinguished by the following rain.

An accumulation of old grass and vegetation caused one of the worst fires he ever experienced in the Park, on 1 October 1954, presumably started by poachers, it burnt for five days before they could bring it under control. The fire started between the Shingwedzi and Phugwane Rivers of which the veld consisted of old matted grass.

Afterwards they went to access their losses.

Near Red rocks he came across a peculiar Elephant spoor which they followed, she was stumbling into trees and feeling her way by sense of smell. The hide on her flanks were peeling off, her eyes were burnt leaving only empty burnt sockets. The skin was peeling between her legs, in many places bare half cooked flesh was visible. The soles of her foot pads were coming off.

Realizing that she had been caught in the fire, Gus immediately put her out of her misery.

The Game Guards posted at the Suzene picket arrested a man who had admitted to being responsible for the fire. He was an illegal immigrant from Mozambique. He was sentenced to one month imprisonment at the Sibasa Court for being an illegal immigrant and fifteen pounds or six weeks in jail for starting the fire.

Gus received information about from the Phugwane picket that a Lioness and one cub were in such a state that they could hardly walk. He immediately left to investigate, the Lioness was found, she tried to charge bur she could not – her feet pads were so badly burnt, she could hardly move. The cub was also badly burnt – it could barely walk.

Gus instructed the game guards to do a thorough search through their areas to locate suffering animals so that they could be put out of their misery.

Another young Elephant unable to walk was found in the Bubu area here lower legs were badly burnt, exposing some of the bones . . . . .

The game Guards found a further four Elephant cow carcasses one of them heavily pregnant.

An area of about 400 square kilometres was burned by this terrible fire. The total number of animals found suffering and destroyed or dead were nine Waterbuck, eleven Kudu, seventeen Impala, one Duiker, one Warthog, two Lions and six Elephants Gus was convinced that they were only a few of very many.

Gus Adendorff Part 5

One of his finest patrols was spent on foot down the Pongolo River to Mavatsane. Gus, Jim and July had two pack donkeys carrying the pots and bedding and food for three days.

The first night out the camp was pitched and well organized with five campfires burning with enough large logs to last until daybreak. Four of the fires were built around the tethered donkeys and one in the centre. Each Game Guard was responsible for two fires at the outside; Gus would look after the one in the centre, where he slept.

Around midnight they heard Lions down the river and then all went quiet, a little later there was a low moaning not far from their camp while the donkeys were becoming restless. The three Rangers now knew that the Lions had located them - especially the meals on hoof. The fires were stoked and no one had any further sleep. Gus was armed with his trusted .375 magnum while Jim and July kept their .303 Lee Enfields close by.

The Lions kept up their moaning but did not bother the campers.

Early the morning the camp was struck and they set off on their way to Mavatsane. They came across one Lion who immediately bolted. They made a wide detour where they heard Elephants trumpeting and enjoying themselves in the cool pools of the Pongolo, the day passed without any mishaps.

Soon they reached their next camping spot where firewood was gathered, fires were lit and of course the camp was organised.

July sat on a log and the occupying scorpion stung him, resulting in much agony. The night was also uneventful but now one really slept very restfully with the previous night’s Lions still in their minds.

The following day they reached Mavatsane where the pre arranged truck awaited them, the donkeys and the gear was loaded and they departed to Punda Maria where all was offloaded and Gus returned to Shangoni, for a well earned wash.

Once while on patrol in the Bayishi area the truck broke down and Gus, July and faithful Bongo the half-breed Bull-terrier set off on foot to the Klein Letaba picket eight kilometres away. Here they borrowed two bicycles and a hurricane lamp and set off in the dark with the faint glow of the lamp to guide them to Shangoni – approximately thirty kilometres further.

Bongo lead the way and at the Minangwe stream started barking, the two Rangers got off their bicycles and carefully walked along the feeble light made it impossible to see. At a certain spot Gus imagined that he smelt Lion markings and heard something in the bush, they eventually caught up with Bongo who had made a wide detour around the Lions. They got on the bicycles and set off at as brisk a pace the light of the hurricane e allowed them on the dirt track.

The party reached Shangoni at 02:00 and all went for a well earned sleep. The following Don Lowe, then the mechanic at Shingwedzi was contacted, Gus explained the breakdown of the vehicle, Don had spares and sent them to Gus who repaired the broken kingpin in the front wheel.

In the mean time Col. Sandenbergh resigned on 1 February 1954, and was succeeded by Mr. Louis Botha de Wet de La Rey (Oom Lou) Steyn on 1 May 1954 who was the terror of the young Rangers.

Gus was promoted to District Ranger at the end of 1954 and was transferred to Punda Maria taking over from Col. Rowland-Jones who was transferred to Skukuza as Senior Ranger.

Gus Adendorff Part 6

Gus enjoyed Punda Maria which comprised of the area south of the Levhuvu River down to the Olifants, very much as the prolific birdlife fired his Ornithological interest, while the grass, shrubs and trees with their beautiful flowers made it a Botanists paradise while the accompanying insects and brightly coloured butterflies generated his Entomological interests.

Three Section Rangers were stationed at Shangoni, Letaba and Shingwedzi.

The Sandveld behind Punda with its unique trees, shrubs and other plants were particularly interesting, Gus reckoned that this was the most beautiful area in the KRUGER PARK, I am sure many others will even today whole heartedly share his feeling. Many days were spent here on patrol with Hlangomo and Ramashia, the latter was extremely knowledgeable about the various plants and trees.

The early mornings were always a highlight of these patrols as the vegetation was luxuriant, the birds were waking up, the Baboons were barking and the Hippos were grunting in the pools of the Levhuvu, the resident Fish Eagle rang out it’s echoing “I am, I am from AFRICA” completing the perfect start to a new day.

Gus enjoyed investigating the Makahane hill, there were no roads and it was an enjoyable walk of many kilometres and spending a few nights out, he always was on the lookout for the enormous Crocodile that made one of the Levhuvu pools his home.

Here at Makahane which they normally approached from where the Madzaringwe stream flows into the Levhuvu; they spent many days at the old stone ruins, picking up old pieces of pottery. The history of this part may be read in the thread “The Early History of the KRUGER PARK”.

Once on their way home from Makahane the party saw two entwined large Kangala mating.

Gus mentioned that once he got a repeated attack of Malaria, while at Punda, he reported this to the Senior Ranger, who advised him to contact the resident Doctor at Pafuri for some quinine pills, the Police Sergeant at Punda Maria assisted in fetching these. The contact with the Senior Ranger was by radio, vey often members of the public listened in for snippets – fortunately Gus’ mother listened in and heard the conversation, she went to the Elim hospital and a few hours later Mr. and Mrs Adendorff senior arrived at Punda Maria with a supply of Atebrin and Plasmoquin, the son was greatfull for the parental care and soon recovered.

The Punda Maria police station did not have much crime to deal with, it was viewed that the presence of it was the deterrent. Sergeant Oosthuizen and his successor Sergeant van Deventer spent many years here and obviously made good friends with the personnel of the National Parks Board. Awie de Clerq was the last Station Commander before it closed down.

The police in close association with the Rangers certainly reduced the poaching cases to a minimum; offenders treated them with great concern and respect.

The rock terraces at the police station were neatly done by the prisoners, of whom most were illegal immigrants passing through the Park from Mozambique.

Gus found the game position very satisfactory, the little earth dam below the camp attracted Sable, Tsessebe, Kudu, Waterbuck, Impala, Duiker, Buffalo and Elephant, much to the joy of the visitors who could sit in the shade and enjoy the view.

One moonlit night a large herd of Buffalo were drinking from the dam, the thirsty animals were disturbed by Lions, they stampeded after a roar and a growl, one Buffalo bellowed in distress and Gus and the visitors realised that it had been caught; soon afterwards the night was filled with the call of Fisi . . . . .

The following morning Gus found a majestic dark maned King feeding on te kill, no other Lions in sight and it was then realised that the kill had been made by the King himself.

The King took up residence in the Punda area. Many AFRICAN nights were filled by the rolling thunder of King Punda as he was later named, proclaimed his kingdom. Many visitors said that could feel the vibrations emanating from the Royal throat. This kept on for many months, and then all went quiet.

After a few days of quiet, Gus enquired from his staff about this and was told by Game Guard Gedja that a Lion had been caught at the kraal close to the boundary at Maritenga. Gus and the Station Commander went to the kraal and there they found a huge Lion skin with enormous claws stretched out on the grass, the head displayed a huge black mane, Gus realised that the King had died . . . . . .

He had caught a donkey at the kraal, a snare was set and he was caught and killed.

Gus Adendorff Part 7

One day Gus got a message from Harold Mockford that the Game Guards at Pafuri had found a peculiar Elephant spoor; the animal did not seem to have soles on its feet. Blood was visible in every foot mark. Back tracking was done leading to Mozambique, and at intervals they found the pads which had come off.

They found the poor beast at the foot of Haphe Hill, it was in a pitiful state, and Gus mercifully put the bull out of its misery. It was assumed that the poor animal had been caught in a veld fire in Mozambique seeking refuge in KRUGER . . . .

Gus had a two roomed thatched roof building on the Haphe Hill, from where a wonderful view of the Pafuri flats could be enjoyed, the close by pool attracted a lot of game making a wonderful spectacle.

One morning Harold Mockford advised Gus that a Lion had taken possession of the Haphe hut. Gus set off immediately to Pafuri and at the hut found two very excited and ashen coloured Game Guards Gedja and William. Gus realised that they had had a very frightening experience.

Gus was told that they left their picket at sunrise to patrol up the river and also to check the hut as the thatched roof was regularly damaged by Baboons and also to sweep and clean it.

Arriving at the hut, they found the top section of the stable door open. Gedja went closer and peered into the room, he was then shocked to see a glaring Lion growling menacingly. William took fright and ran around the building, just in time to nearly collide with the Lion jumping through the window. The animal bounded down the hill away from William who was lying on his back yelling for dear life . . . .

Inside the hut smelt of Lion . . . . There was long mane hair lying around and some blood marks – this could have been from a wound caused by a bullet or a snare. They followed the spoor for a distance and then lost it.

A while later Jewel the Hippo guide at Pafuri reported to Gus that while he was returning to his hut, he was confronted by a huge Lion with a cable snare around its throat, he had also seen blood, however the Lion did not show any aggression. The followed the spoor to the Thulamela Hill which was rocky and hard – and soon again lost the spoor.

A while later the Game Guards again visited the Haphe hut, they were very careful and threw stones at the door – out came the snared Lion – again through the window – the follow up again was not successful.

The two Game Guards had previously arrested a poacher from the Makuleke location; he served a jail sentence at Sibasa and was now back at home. The two Guards were absolutely convinced that this was not an ordinary Lion – it was the poacher who had used witchcraft to change himself into a Lion in order to take revenge on them . . . . No matter how much Gus tried to convince them otherwise they were adamant. They told Gus that he as a white man was not aware of the power of a black man.

Fortunately the Lion disappeared and was never seen again, it probably died as result of the snare . . . . .

Gus inherited a beautiful vegetable garden from Mrs. Rowland-Jones and the Elephant who shared the vegetables with Gus. It visited at night, always around 22:30. Gus who slept on the enclosed veranda would lie and wait for the visitor. Elephants are very light-footed but the stomach rumbling announced his presence. Gus got a Very pistol and some flares and awaited the visitor in the near full moon. Soon he was spotted and Gus shot of the flare it hit the beast on the side and shot across its back landing in the grass, the Elephant disappeared and the veld was on fire which was soon extinguished – the Elephant never returned.

One afternoon Gus and Bully his little dog walked to the Matukwala dam via the Dimbu Hill behind Punda.

Arriving at the dam Gus decided to take rest close to water edge with Bully sitting close by, between Gus and Hlangomo the Game Guard. All of a sudden there was a splash a Crocodile appeared and took Bully – all this happened within the bat of an eye lid. The Crocodile vanished leaving only a swirl.

Back at Camp Gus told Mr. Logey the Tourist Officer. Two days later Gus decided to shoot the Crocodile, not just about Bully but the river was not far off with enough Crocodiles, it was a danger to the game animals that used the dam.

Gus approached carefully and caught a glimpse of the Crocodile basking in the sun, he rested his rested the .375 against a tree and squeezed off – the Crocodile leaped into the air and disappeared in a circle of blood, into the water.

The weather was warm and three days later the body floated to the surface, Gus hooked it with some wire and dragged it to the edge, it measured just over three metres from nose tip to tail tip. A post mortem revealed poor little Bully who had been swallowed whole. Bully was then buried at a suitable spot by a very regretful Game Ranger who really missed his little pal.

A Game Guard Philemon who was posted at the Dongadziba picket reported that a Crocodile was always lying in the same spot and was digging in the sand, Gus was interested and went to inspect the site, and he dug about 40 cm. deep and found a clutch of seventy eggs. He decided to take the eggs to Punda Maria and bury them in similar conditions, they were kept moist but to no avail – Gus realised there was much more to Crocodile breeding when they all rotted.

The policy of Carnivore control was still in force and a few staff members were injured as a result of being mauled by wounded animals.

The month of February 1955 experienced exceptionally good rains, many rivers and streams were in flood and many roads were impassable. One morning Ranger Geldenhuys from Letaba was told by Game Guards William and Timot that they had spotted a Leopard crossing the main road going south about ten kilometres from the Letaba Camp. Geldenhuys decided to shoot the animal and set out to the spot.

The Leopard was soon spotted where it was lying under a Mopani bush. Geldenhuys fired and the wounded animal moved to another bush lying down as though dead. Sergeant Malunzane warned Geldenhuys to ensure that the animal was dead as they often sham death. Geldenhuys did not heed him and went up the “dead” Leopard; it jumped up and attacked Geldenhuys, pulling him to the ground, trying to get to his head. Geldenhuys fortunately kept the fangs and claws away from his face. The Leopard got hold of his thigh and mauled him. The Game Guards could not shoot for fear if hitting the Ranger, William did all he could – he battered the Leopard to death with the butt end of the rifle, the carcass was dragged off Geldenhuys and the Sergeant gave it a final shot – ensuring that it was dead.

None of the Game Guards could drive so the bleeding Geldenhuys was put behind the steering wheel he had to drive back to Letaba, here, the shocked Mrs. Geldenhuys, was unable to use the radio and the Ranger reported the incident to the Warden Lou Steyn.

Fortunately the resident doctor at the JCI Mine at Gravelotte was listening in and heard what had happened, he offered to fetch the mauled Geldenhuys and take him to the hospital at Duiwelskloof.

In the mean time the bachelor Ranger of Punda Maria decided that it was time to get married. He married the love of his life from Bloemfontein Patricia Futter in 1956, the young wife joined him at the Punda homestead where she enthusiastically fulfilled the role of the Rangers wife – being kind, dressing wounds, extracting thorns, playing hostess to the many visitors – many of them being newly acquired friends and many distant relatives who came around to just strengthen the family ties.

Gus Adendorff Part 8

Gus often came across coal bearing reefs in the KRUGER PARK, he was told by the Senior Ranger Col. Roland-Jones to not mention it to anyone, although the National parks Board held the mineral rights one never knew what the politicians could be up to and it would indeed be a very sad day for all nature lovers and for South Africa if this portion of the Park would be ruined by mining.

The area was unique for its birdlife, mammals and plants which is completely undisturbed by man.

The cyclone Astrid made her appearance on 1 January 1958 and it rained for an entire month. Gus measured 177 mm within 24 hours, at Punda Maria, a total of seven hundred and sixty two millimetres were recorded during January and February 1958! The soil was sodden, venturing onto the roads with a vehicle was looking for trouble which ended with lots of digging and hauling and sweating and threatening.

Springs from which crystal clear water gushed, opened up everywhere, rivulets transformed into rivers.

Gus was transferred to Satara at the end of 1958 taking over from Dawie Swarts and handing over his beloved Punda to Peet v/d Merwe.

The Adendorff couple moved into the Rangers residence an old blockhouse still purchased by the first Warden Col. Stevenson Hamilton, standing on stilts with corrugated iron on the outside and wood panelling on the inside – not ideally suited for the Lowveld climate – in summer it was an oven and in midwinter a freezer.

Gus and Pat lived here for three very happy years, despite them being told by Game Guard Elimon, that the place was haunted apparently a man often sat on the veranda operating a sewing machine, the Adendorffs fortunately never came across the tailor.

Gus remembered the area for its vast herds of and the large number of accompanying predators, with the Lipape and Tswiriri at Tshokwane and the Rabelais and Hartebeesfontein areas at Kingfisherspruit Sections having exceptionally high Zebra and Wildebeest herds as was the case in the Mlondozi and Salidji areas. These animals followed their historical migratory/ grazing routes; these routes were curtailed when the veterinary fences were erected on the western boundary. Many herbivores died here during the drought period before they got used to the fences and developed new patterns.

The dry periods was a time of feast to the predators as they soon learnt to drive the herbivores into the fence and then make their random killings.

At the Shibangwanene stream where it flows into the Olifants River, near the old Gorge Camp; Gus came across a tree on the banks of the fast flowing current with markings on the trunk bark, which must have served as an anchor for crossing wagons, preventing the wagons from being washed down the river.

The trail must have been used by traders to and from Mozambique. At a few sites ash heaps were found as well as inscriptions in the tree bark. A Baobab carried “Briscoe-1890” another “1891” and “W.H. Barter – 1901”.

Unfortunately the Gorge Camp was broken down due to a problem with fresh drinking water – water was drawn from the Olifants River. Gus kept one of the huts as an overnight hut for when on patrol. Apparently the Gorge Camp was often hired by a visiting group and some wild parties were held, this could be another story.

Gus mentioned that of the finest roaring took place in the Gorge area, with the roars echoing and resonating from the cliffs and through the valleys – a place with wonderful acoustics.

The water for Satara was pumped from a borehole about 270 metres from the compound and was supervised by Nambrete Sithole, it was his duty to switch off the pump at 22:00.

One morning early Nambrete arrived at the Rangers abode walking with difficulty and with his head all bandaged when questioned about his condition, he told that after had turned of the water pump the previous evening and he was a little way from his hut, he realised that he was being followed by Lions.

He ran off and shut his door, peering outside he saw two Lionesses, fortunately they left before sunrise.

When asked to remove the bandage, no injury was found when questioned about it Nambrete mentioned his terrible headache, the bandage was taken off after a week, apparently he also injured his leg – pulled a muscle during the sudden burst of speed during the race with the Lionesses.

One evening at Satara a leopard got into the Adendorff chicken run and killed twenty four chickens of which one was taken away, leaving nine. A few days later a Picanin was sitting on a drum near the chicken run eating his porridge, the falling crumbs were being picked up by the roaming chickens. Suddenly a yellow spotted flash appeared and vanished with a chicken in its mouth.

Gus could not allow this to continue, Nambrete offered to make a trap out of small poles, a chicken was tied by its leg to a peg deeper in. A spring trap which was chained to a peg was placed at the opening; all this was well camouflaged for this cunning animal.

The following morning the Leopard was caught and destroyed. The animal was old with badly worn teeth, the reason for changing to a diet of the Satara Ranger’s poultry – the hen used as bait was unharmed and released to lay her eggs and eat the porridge crumbs.

Gus now had two dogs Bonzo a thoroughbred Boxer and Abdul a purebred Boerboel, as a pair the accounted amongst others for three large male Baboons.

One day while driving back home at dusk they spotted four Lions walking in the road, the dogs were on the back of the truck with the game Guard. Gus shouted to the Game Guard to hold Bonzo down – too late the Boxer had seen the Lions and was off in a flash with Abdul following. The Boxer grabbed one of the Lions by its hind leg, the wild animal turned and swiped at its aggressor sending it sprawling. Pat was by now hysterical as she imagined both dogs were being killed. Fortunately the Lions disappeared into the bush and the dogs could be called off, they returned and jumped onto the back of the truck, Bonzo the big hero except for a gash on his back, whose scar he wore until his time came.

While at Satara an expedition lead by Dr. Willem Punt to track the fateful van Rensburg trek of 1836. Gus who would act as an interpreter was part of the group who set off the morning of 18 September 1959.

They travelled from Satara to Letaba, two Jeeps crossed at Giriyondo, while the rest of the party would cross at Pafuri.

Their party travelled only 19 kilometres into Mozambique the first day due to the rough terrain. They were hoping to reach the Shingwedzi River where there was an old crossing called the Mashamba Drift.

A compass was used to indicate the direction of travel as there were no roads, impenetrable jungles Ironwoods obscured their caused many deviations, fuel was running low, they decided to return to Kruger and refuel, one Jeep ran out of petrol about eight kilometres short of Letaba while the other barely made it.

The vehicles were scratched and the canvas roofs were torn. The group set off the following morning and crossed at Nwanetsi and proceeded to Mapalunquene, then to Gedja where they crossed the river by ferry, here they were informed by the Assistant Administrator that the Portuguese officials were already at Matsambu about a hundred kilometres upstream of the Limpopo awaiting them. They joined up with the rest of the group later that day.

The following afternoon the Portuguese returned to camp telling them that the natives knew of an old anvil in one of the kraals. The South Africans could visit these kraals as the Natives were very suspicious them.

The following day the Portuguese returned with the anvil and with the information the van Rensburg trek party had been massacred at the Dzindi Stream just of the old Inhambane trade route.

The group was allowed to cross the river the following morning, arriving at the site they sifted through the soil and found a few pieces of porcelain none could be related to anything, a metal detector also did not reveal anything.

Dr. Punt bought the anvil and the group departed on 26 September 1959.

They followed the Limpopo route and noticed no signs of Nature Conservation what so ever on the eastern side of the Lebombos.

They often came across places along the sandy riverbank where netted fish were just left to rot.

Gus Adendorff Part 9

The Satara vegetable garden was well established it also had some really good orange trees whose born fruits were of the sweetest Gus had ever tasted; he guessed that high lime content soil had much to do with this. Klaas the kitchen help had his hands full in keeping the Baboons who also knew about the sweetness of the oranges.

A very bad outbreak of Anthrax occurred in the Northern Areas of the Park during October 1959. Gus and other help were summoned to come and assist, large areas were burnt for observation purposes, and all the affected carcasses indicated by the vultures, were burnt and many new pickets were established.

While at Satara the area was open to the public only during the period May to October. Much maintenance was done during the closed season.

Once during the closed season Gus went on patrol along the Timbavati River, reaching the chosen camp site, the bell tent was erected for Gus and Pat with the Game Guards sleeping at the camp fire with Abdul and Bonzo in close attendance.

After the evening meal all quietened down and it was bed time, the quiet was soon interrupted by the roaring of the King and his family, the sound was deafening and it felt if the tent was vibrating.

The Game Guards seeked refuge at the truck whiles the two dogs with their hair bristling were barking at the opening, which was left open for the dogs to enter should they have wanted to.

Pat snuggled up to Gus, saying that the tent canvass seemed very thin and did not offer much protection. She realised that the stretcher was not designed for two and Gus moved the stretchers together, neither closed an eye as the close by concert continued until the early hours.

One day while on patrol near the Gorge Camp Gus and his Game Guards saw three people running towards Mozambique, they were followed and arrested before they could cross the boundary – they were armed with a .458 and 9.3 calibre rifle.

Apparently they had wounded a Buffalo in Mozambique and followed it into KRUGER.

The hunter produced a permit to hunt in Mozambique; he came from Johannesburg and was unfamiliar with the area. The two guides had been previously caught poaching in the Park. Gus was told that the hunter’s wife was still in their camp in Mozambique.

Gus decided to send the two Game Guards with the hunter with the instruction to fetch the wife and they were all to be at Satara early the following morning. Gus took the guides with him.

The following morning they all went down to the Warden Oom Lou Steyn at SKUKUZA, their story was told and believed, however they were prosecuted for entering the Park illegally, the hunter paid the fines. He became an ardent supporter of the KRUGER PARK and later on often visited the Adendorffs.

As a layman Gus collected several species and with the assistance of biologists identified bats, rodent, fish, reptiles and birds, he also enjoyed the plants, trees and grasses of the Park. Gus and Mr. Dolf Brynard who then was the appointed botanist in the Park spent much time determining their feeding values.

A further outbreak occurred in the Punda Maria area and Gus was requested by Mr. R J Labuschagne, (oom Lappies) the Chief Nature Conservator, on 16 October 1961 to assist with getting the disease under control.

Four dead Kudu cows were found along the Shisha stream, which were burnt. Gus and Doctor Pienaar burnt the Nwatsitumbe area, Awie de Clerq and Neil Fairall combed the Mopani forests close to Punda.

The sand veld area from Punda to Magovane to Klopperfontein to Shingomene was also burnt. An Elephant carcass was found at Pafuri, tested blood samples indicated that it did not die of the dreaded disease, a post mortem indicated that it had died of an old gun shot wound – most probably from Mozambique, to avoid vultures being attracted, the carcass was buried with the assistance of a borrowed bulldozer.

The Shinonyane fountain which Gus suspected as being the source of the Anthrax was closed with thorn bushes to prevent animals from drinking.

After returning home, Dr. Verwoerd the then Prime Minister came to the Nwanetsi Camp to recover after the attempt on his life at the Rand Easter Show by David Pratt and Gus spent a very enjoyable fortnight with the Verwoerd family.

A decision was made to re introduce Hippos to The Addo Elephant National Park, Oom Lappies instructed Gus to find a suitable location in KRUGER with suitable Hippos young animals, two cows and one bull. Gus soon found the requested, the catching was planned.

On the day of the great occasion Dr. Rocco Knobel the Chief Director, Oom Lappies, Herman v/d Veen and some other staff members. The catching team would be of course Gus, Dr. Tol Pienaar and Piet Barnard and a few other eager hands.

The plan was that Dr. Pienaar would dart the animals and then the catchers would rope them and drag them out by Gus and Piet. Easier said than done. The first one was darted; unfortunately it was bigger than calculated, resulting in it being under dosed.

The Hippo also did not quite clearly understand the role it was supposed to play and started its own choreography and charged Gus and Piet who were in the water with the rope, Gus went under water and swam to the edge, Piet was a bit slow and the Hippo charged him.

Fortunately Dr. Pienaar was standing by with the loaded .375 magnum and placed a well placed shot which saved Piet’s life, he had a stomach graze caused by a Hippo fang. He was rushed to the Acornhoek Hospital where he soon recovered. Needless to say the Director called off the operation.

A further failed attempt was by digging trenches in the established Hippo routes alongside the Crocodile River, deep enough for the animal to fall into but not injure itself. What they did not realise was that the Hippos have a keen sense of smell, they must have smelt the sweat of the diggers and just by-passed the trenches.

Later on Hippo were caught and translocated with the aid of a road grader, which also once disappeared into a deeper than estimated pool of the Sabie River and had to be hauled out by a Bulldozer, Oom Jan van Achtenberg the workshop foreman then put a stop to the use of his vehicles for these antics. The caught Hippos were kept in an enclosure at SKUKUZA and later released at the Caesar dam in Addo, the first Hippos back in the Eastern Cape after a considerable period of time.

Gus accompanied the animals on their two and a half day trip, stopping at filling stations for refuelling and the cooling of the Hippos always drew quite large crowds of onlookers.

Enjoyed this very much.
Thank you.

Bornfree.

Thanks a lot

Only halfway now. Then Johan Kloppers and a few more.

Gus Adendorff Part 10

Once while on patrol in the Gudzane area Gus found an Elephant with its trunk hanging from a piece of skin. The poor beast was suffering as result of the wire snare that was hanging from it causing gangrene .. . . . . The poor animal was mercifully relieved of its suffering by the very upset Ranger.

Firebreaks about 100 yards wide were burnt along the Mozambique border to prevent runaway fires from the neighbouring country from destroying the grazing in KRUGER. Teams of up to 25 men went out during suitable times (right wind direction and correct wind strength) after some careful planning and sweated it out while carrying out this very important part of a Ranger’s duties.

Veld fires caused damage that was visible still many years after they had occurred. Excessive burning changes feeding habits and also the nutritional value of the grasses.

Many trees offering refuge to many living creatures were badly damaged by these veld fires.

Gus once arrived at the Nsemane Dam and noticed seven Lions on the road forming the wall, a Buffalo came to drink, and one of the Lionesses went off towards the Buff. There was a stand off between the two animals with the other Lionesses, Gus and some tourists being interested onlookers, an Elephant arrived and put and end to show when it trumpeted and chased the Lions off.

Gus mentioned that one day when returning from Orpen Camp he saw a large congregation of cars at the Nsemane dam, Lions. One tourist was out of his car taking photographs of the Lion pride laying fifteen metres away. On another occasion Gus was offered a little boy for five pounds. He came across a parked vehicle with a young boy hanging out of the window. Gus drove up and told the boy that he was costing his father five pounds – the father replied that Gus could have him and the five pounds.

Once a family were travelling along the Salidji road, they noticed an Elephant approaching and drove closer, blocking its way, the animal became enraged and charged. The car was badly knocked about and the tusks were driven through the roof. The parents slipped over the front seat, joining the two children at the back. The badly shaken family were given a lift to SKUKUZA by other on looking tourists.

Johan Kloppers from Tshokwane were summoned to SKUKUZA and instructed to find the Elephant and destroy it.

The two held court in the bush and decided that the Elephant was found “not guilty” and subsequently reported back that they could not find the animal.

Gus once more did “the wrong thing” when he came across a crippled Lioness with three starving cubs at the Nsemane dam. She was limping badly and appeared to have a bad leg injury. The ranger shot an Impala and offered it to the four felines. The mother tore it apart and Gus watched with satisfaction as he watched the faces being covered in blood and their little stomachs filling out. He left feeling that he had a good deed.

Once tourists also did a well appreciated deed. A Game Guard was riding on his bicycle between Satara and Orpen, upon entering a clearing he saw nineteen Lions, there were no trees so he decided to as little attention as possible the Lions ambled onto the road and tracked the Guard, fortunately a tourist car arrived and offered him a lift, which was gratefully accepted.

The meat ration scale for the Field staff was one Impala for six people per month. An Impala was shot and hung in an empty hut at one of the pickets. That evening the occupants of the adjoining hut were woken by a scratching noise from the roof of the empty hut and went outside – just in time to see a Leopard jump off and disappear into the dark . . . .

Gus once came across an untouched, dead Buffalo in the mud of the Bangu Dam. Judging by the tracks it appeared that thee Lions had chased the animal, it fled and seeked refuge in the dam and got stuck where it died in the mud and slush – it may have been better if the Lions had caught it, preventing the long suffering before its death and of course being a few meals for the Lions.

Oom Gus also told the story about when taking photographs of a pride of Lions at Ndumbane; he used a pillow on the truck windowsill as rest for the camera, it fell out and ended up as a soft toy for two of the half grown cubs littering the area with feathers.

Gus one day found six dead young Waterbuck at the Ngumla Pan near the Sweni Stream. On investigation he found that a Crocodile had been responsible. Gus decided to shoot it as it could not “remain in the pan preying on everything that came to drink”.

The Adendorff family were transferred to Pretoriuskop during 1963 after five years at Satara.

Gus Adendorff Part 11

Pretoriuskop with its pleasant climate was enjoyed by the new Ranger and his family.

Here Gus found that Tsessebe and Ostriches had disappeared and found a herd of seventeen Roan near Shitlave, as well as the re introduced Oribi, Sable seemed well established as well as Reedbuck.

The Oribi was organised by Doug Jackaman and commenced on the farm Somerset in the Barberton District. Huge nets were taken from the Park and erected on the farm. Fourteen men on horseback flushed the Oribi and chased them into the nets, only two were caught, they were blindfolded and transported to the Park, where they were released in the Rhino paddock close to Pretoriuskop.

Here he met Helfas Nkuna the legendary Game Guard. Helfas arrested so many poachers that he was a marked man and warned that should he be found outside the Park – he would be murdered. Gus as everyone else who had to do with Helfas only had the utmost admiration for this man who could always be relied on in any circumstances.

Sergeant Helfas Nkuna did not dare leave the confines of the Park unless he was accompanied by a member of the White staff. He had received several warnings that people outside were awaiting the opportunity to kill him in revenge for the many poachers he had caught. Fortunately his kraal was within the Park boundaries- situated near Phabeni.

One morning early it was reported that the telephones were again out of order – an Elephant was known for causing this problem. Gus and Helfas set out as instructed by the Head of Nature Conservation, who had been told that the telephones would remain out of order until the Elephant had been dealt with.

Gus and Helfas found the spot on the Nahpe Road where pieces of copper wire were strewn cross the tarmac with fresh Elephant droppings as well. They followed the tracks for about four hundred metres and there the culprit was just ignoring the two Rangers. Orders were orders and the animal had to be destroyed, much against Gus’ personal feelings.

Gus and Helfas roamed all the roads and tracks in the area with Helfas filling in the white Ranger with all the historical facts about the area, mentioning The Stolz family, Jan Meyer, Mataffin, Willem Pretorius, Nelmapius and many others.

Helfas one day took Gus to a spot in the Stungwane area where metal parts of an ox wagon were laying around none of the wooden parts remained.

One of the highlights of his stay at Pretoriuskop was taking care of the re introduced White Rhino in their quarantine camp. The fence was often broken during a bull fight; very often an already released bull would challenge one in the paddock . . . .

The fence would be repaired the following morning. Merriman was responsible for patrolling the fence, ensuring that it was kept in order. One day while carrying out his duties he was confronted by a Lion who had entered the paddock the previous evening. Merriman must have set a record for his age group during his escape – fortunately the Lion did the same but in the opposite direction.

Merriman had very much practise in running away as he was regularly chased by Vrystaat – the ostrich brought from the Golden gate national Park and kept in the paddock. Vrystaat ignored other people but seemed to find great pleasure in competing with Merriman. Merriman did not seem to be too upset when he found the remains of Vrystaat at what seemed to be a Leopard kill.

After their release the White rhino seemed to favour the hills in the Lambane area, to the south east of Pretoriuskop.

A sad day was when he found a badly mauled Rhino Bull near Shabeni, Dr. Eddy Young the Veterinarian at SKUKUZA was called but after examination Gus was told that the Lions had done too much damage, every open scar was inflamed and the poor animal could not even stand anymore as gangrene had set into its legs, and it would be better to shorten the suffering.

Here at Pretoriuskop the chickens belonging to Gus had a visit from the feline family, Gus on investigation of the rumpus found three spotted cats in the run, a mother with two half grown cubs together with thirteen dead chickens. They must have climbed over the nearly four metre high fence. Gus now decided that a fresh chicken for Sunday dinner and the few fresh eggs were no longer sufficient reason to keep chickens.

Lion pug marks were often found in the early morning round the donkey stable by the attendant, fortunately the stable was a sturdy brick building.

Tourists reported a big black maned Lion in the company of two Lionesses on the Doispan road; the male was in a poor condition and limping badly. Gus accompanied by Helfas went to investigate. The one front leg was twice the size of the other; puss was oozing from the wound from which a wire noose was protruding. Gus realised that this poor animal was beyond recovery and relieved it of its suffering. The leg was gangrenous. The carcass was taken to the Camp and the visiting tourists were very annoyed by the cruelty of the poachers who had set the snare.

Gus saw more Black Mambas at Pretoriuskop than anywhere else in the Park. One morning Merriman reported a dead Giraffe near the Rhino paddock with a huge ant heap close by.

On investigation by Helfas the flesh in the upper part of the upper neck was found to be of a very unnaturally dark colour, Helfas identified it as the symptoms of a Mamba bite. He suggested that the Mamba was in a tree and when disturbed by the feeding Giraffe, attacked it.

Elephants have a tremendous affinity for oranges; they often broke the fence and went into nearby orchards, enjoying themselves, the very often swallowed whole fruit. Gus mentioned they often passed through the digestive system undamaged. Game Guards often picked up these oranges and after washing them ate them, Gus was also offered to join in which he a few times did and found them quite tasty.

These are all amazing stories! Thanks for posting them. They should be published in a book. The fish eagle cry gives me goose bumps as I repeat it.
I am wondering about your details. More than a ranger. Involved in conservation- a director yourself or maybe just a scribe for now.
I have to drag myself away but will return.