Lightning Strikes

I live in Texas. I’ve seen some gnarly thunderstorms before. Torrential rains, gusty winds, noisy crackles of thunder overhead – all par for the course, but I don’t think I’ve ever been in a storm as sudden and vicious as the African doozy that caught us off guard on our way to the local market.

We had just arrived at the guest house in the smallish town of Whitriver after a half day drive North from the Johannesburg airport. Since we can’t do any driving in the park at night (lions will eat you, rhinos will gore you, elephants will step on you, hippos will….you get the picture), we stopped here for the evening to rest up before another full day drive into the heart of Kruger National Park for our 4 day safari.

We saw the ominous clouds as we approached the town and figured we’d get a shower or two but since people who enjoy retaining their money and personal possessions don’t go driving around at night in this part of Africa, we were on a limited schedule to get back out to buy snacks and fluids before dusk.

The rumbling began as we departed the guest house. 5 minutes later the whole sky was aflame with electrical explosions and thunderous booms.

When the lightning struck ground 100 yards from our Van, we decided to turn back and postpone our refreshments run for safer times. How ironic to be downed by a bolt of lightning 24 hours into your grand African adventure!