Kat in Wanderlust

At seventeen I found myself travelling independently for the first time; I had won a school competition to work with leopard conservations in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The organisers had a treat for us, but it was shrouded in mystery as we hauled into the jeep with all our gear, moving the camera traps and spare boots to hunker down. We gained speed, trees and grazing animals whipping past us as we bumped along the trail.

When we arrived we found a middle-aged man, baking in the sun and sitting beside a wooden box. He introduced himself as Neels Bothma, and then introduced his hobby. We stared through the glass as he explained about his extensive snake collection. This was his prized possession, a black mamba named "Swart Bek", meaning 'black mouth'. She stared at us, docile in the sun, and then he asked if we wanted to meet her. At this time my only knowledge of black mambas came from Quentin Tarantino's film 'Kill Bill', and all of us were momentarily hesitant about coming face to face with such an infamous creature.

I stepped up first and Neels let her out of the box. She came towards me slowly and he encouraged me to remain calm and not make any sudden movements that might startle her. As Swart Bek came towards me, Neels explained how he had been bitten by her several times and had to drive himself to the hospital several hours away. He explained that he had missed her warning signs and provoked her, and that it was his own fault, not Swart Bek's, who had shown she felt threatened. We asked why he hadn't removed her fangs and he believed this was a cruel thing to do, as Swart Bek's fangs released necessary enzymes to help her digest her prey.

I felt incredibly safe with the organisers and Neels there, and she was very tame as she came towards me. She bobbed her head a little, as if sizing me up, and stood up to her full height, staring straight at me. She extended her jaw and opened her mouth fully, displaying the thin wisp of a black tongue, the dark abyss of her mouth and those lethal fangs. Her tongue darted out and tickled my hand softly. She was bloody gorgeous. I felt privileged, like I'd seen something rare and majestic. Yes she was deadly, and she seemed proud as she looked at me. I felt humbled by this small brush with death and the kiss of the black mamba.