Observations of a rookie Buffalo Herder | Part 2 | Fiona Coward

Buffalo Herding is a vortex.

It sweeps us up into a maelstrom of memories, sights, sounds and smells to the point where we occupy a parallel universe.

A universe where we still identify as riders of the freedom trail but temporarily own a separate slice of it in the wilderness of the Baviaanskloof. Here in Kudu Kaya, riders arrive with shattered dreams or elation at their successful navigation of the mythical Osseberg.

As the riders recount their experiences, remove thorns, fiddle with bikes, we are swept up in their tales and we relive our own moments of fear, confusion and elation.

And then, just like that, the vortex collapses. The riders disappear into the dark the next morning with a lone herder tailing them until they cross the cattle grid.

And then we wait. We wait for the the first stirrings of the breeze that will bring the next riders, the next surge of stories and the strange oxymoron of a fleeting connection that lasts a lifetime.