It was a very exciting head to head challenge as the two finalists, Carrie Grant and Jeremy Sheffield, had to each take three conservationists on a two hour safari into the bush looking for the big five i.e. elephants, rhino, leopards, buffalos and lions. Refreshments had to be offered during that period to their guests who would be testing their knowledge and performance to find a winner.

Carrie had a difficult time finding the animals so kept her guests entertained with general knowledge of the camp as they drove, stopping to explain rhino dung on the side of the road as been used by the animals as territorial marking by stepping into it. This way the other animals knew that the territory was marked as theirs. She was very confident and exuberant, chatting away but with a big disappointment as she whipped out the champagne (her big surprise treat for her guests) only to find that all were non drinkers and had hoped for a cup of tea. After forty minutes she spotted antelope (blesbok) which kept them entertained as she gave them information on the animals. After radioing in, she was guided to a herd of elephants, the special request of Dr. Johan Joubert, who was thrilled. When asked why she had come on the trip when not an animal lover she said she believed it necessary to revolutionize one’s life every few years and this was her challenge. She now loved animals and took to ranging like a duck to water.

Next we had the gentle Jeremy who was fortunate to come across both white rhino and a bull elephant, referred to as ‘she’ which went against him, very early in the trip. He had also explained to his party that a flock of birds flying overhead were call ‘butcher birds’ because they hung their prey on the large thorns of some of the plants. With time running out, Jeremy asked his guests if they would prefer refreshments to finding the leopards which had been radioed in as being nearby. They chose the leopards hoping it would not count against Jeremy who was willing to take the chance. It actually counted very much for him that he had shown both courtesy and consideration by cheerfully offering the choice to his guests.

The ‘guests’ then had to decide which of the two would be the winner of the Safari School competition. It was very close with a divided choice but in the end it was Carrie who won because of her confidence, knowledge and vivacity. One guest said she had felt very safe as Carrie had taken her gun with her, holding it correctly, to protect her guests. Being the winner, Carrie was taken to release the rescued Tammy, a lioness and Kumma, a male leopard, into the reserve. Kuma was so pleased to be out of his cage that he immediately took off into the bush but Tammy cautiously looked around before leaving her cage and just as watchfully, walked slowly into the giant enclosure. It is wonderful to see these wild animals having all the space in the world to in which to run wild. This has been a very informative and entertaining four week show.