WATCH: Up close and personal with a herd of buffalo

Considered as one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, tourists aren’t encouraged to interact with these magnificent species in the wild. Hunters are just as wary of buffalo as they are known to lie in wait for pursuers and then charge at the last minute.

So, needless to say the last thing I expected was to be surrounded by a herd of curious buffalo, sticking their heads into our game viewer in search of something to eat.

I was visiting Lejwe La Metsi Private Retreat, just outside of Bela-Bela in Limpopo, when I made the acquaintance of these beautiful animals.

I have only ever admired them from afar, never getting close enough to reach my hand out and touch one of them.

On the afternoon of our first Game Drive, Piet, our guide for the duration of our stay, stopped the vehicle in the middle of the veld, took some lucerne out from underneath the seats in the game viewer, walked a couple of meters away from the vehicle and gave a loud whistle.

What happened next was just the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

A herd of buffalo came rushing toward him, and he just calmly stood there in the veld feeding the buffalo, encouraging the rest to come closer ‘Kom buffalo, hallo buffalo’ with a great big grin on his face.

Piet has been at Lejwe La Metsi for a really long time and his love for the animals and the land was etched all-over his face as he rushed back to the vehicle, his ‘friends’ hot on his heels.

The curious animals followed Piet to the game viewer, where he fed them more lucerne from his hand to the delight of the guests.

At this point, more buffalo from the herd came closer to see what all the commotion was about, and gave us a truly spectacular show as the sun was starting to set over the Limpopo bushveld. They were so close to us at this point, I could just reach out and rub their heads.

When it was time to leave, the herd weren’t ready to say goodbye to their friend Piet and ran alongside the vehicle as we drove away.

The next afternoon Piet didn’t even have to whistle for them to come and greet us, the moment they heard they game viewer in the distance, their heads snapped up and they started trotting in our direction.

Whether they wanted food or because Piet is a real-life buffalo whisperer, we’ll never know.

For more information visit www.lejwelametsi.co.za or call or WhatsApp +27 72 529 7602.