reached the water, they spread their spindly legs and dropped their heads to drink. Bindi was spellbound. Finally she was seeing the real Africa!
Bindi was glad when they finally approached their camping place for the night. She wasnât sure if she was going to be able to walk when she dismounted. Her legs felt very stiff but she didnât want to let on to Hannah and Thabu. They rode every day and probably wouldnât be sore at all. Thabu called quietly to her and Hannah. âLooks like we have company.â He pointed to a group of curious meerkats who were watching the three riders. Bindi was thrilled. âTheyâre soooooo cute!â The meerkats stood on their hind legs and seemed to be chattering about the strange humans they were looking at. They reminded Bindi of a group of kids gossiping. They had long slender bodies with big eyes and seemed to be constantly in a state of alertness. âIf weâre quiet and make no sudden moves, they might stick around,â said Thabu. He dismounted slowly and the girls did the same. Bindi grimaced as she tried to walk. Groaning loudly would have made her feel better about her stiff muscles, but she was determined to be as quiet as a mouseâshe was not going to scare away those gorgeous meerkats. Bindi reached into her saddle bags to unpack some of the cooking gear. Her hand brushed against the small package Robert had given her. Sheâd forgotten all about his surprise present. As the cloth wrapping came undone, an enormous hairy black spider sprung out from the material! âArggghhhh!â Bindi screamed into the quiet African dusk. The startled meerkats bounded off. A far-off flock of birds took flight from a tree theyâd been nesting in. Hannah and Thabu rushed over to see what had happened. A scorpion bite? A snake attack? âWhatâs wrong?â cried Hannah. Bindi pointed to the ground where sheâd dropped the huge spider. It seemed to stare up at her. Typical. Everything else had been scared away by her scream but not the scary spider! âA nasty little brother surprise is whatâs wrong!â Thabu kneeled in the dirt and gently touched the spider with a stick. âIt looks like a baboon spider.â It didnât move. Thabu leaned in closer before picking up the creature with a smile. âArggghhhh!â cried the girls in unison as they backed away. âA fake baboon spider.â Thabu began to laugh. âItâs made of rubber.â Bindi rolled her eyes. âYouâve got to be kidding me. My heart almost stopped beating!â When she saw Hannah and Thabu give each other a quick smile, she felt a little foolish. What kind of wildlife warrior was scared of a rubber spider?
Once the horses were rubbed down and fed and the camp set up, three very hungry trekkers sat down to eat. The view was amazing and made even prettier by the pink haze of dusk. Thabu heated up their dinner. He explained that the slightly spicy mince dish was called bobotie and was a traditional South African meal. As Bindi gulped it down she thought it was the best food sheâd ever tasted. They could hear various animal sounds as night approached. They passed the time eating and listening to Hannah do her own imperson-ation of a few animal calls. She was really good! Bindi noticed a tall wire fence to the west of the camp. âWhatâs behind that fence?â Thabuâs face lit up. âWeâre very excited about this new sanctuary,â he explained. âItâs a new breeding center for the Angolan giant sable antelope. This breed of antelope is on the critically endangered list and needs to be protected.â âItâs awesome that a sanctuary has been set up!â said Bindi. She loved hearing about animals being protected. âMaybe we can check it out?â Thabu nodded. âIâd like to have a look myself. Itâs not out of our way. We can drop in