A relaxing escape to the Northern Drakensberg takes an unexpected turn when giant ants, a well-timed prank and a rather large spider enter the picture.
Photo: Pexels
‘Good grief! Would you look at that!’ I gasped as my husband and I sat taking in the views from our accommodation in the Northern Drakensberg. We were lounging beside the pool, enjoying the sunshine and the warm weather after leaving a grey and rainy Cape Town behind. Having taken it easy that afternoon, we had a sunset game drive to look forward to, so there was no need to rush.
Then I noticed the ants.
‘Those can’t be ants, right?’ I asked, pointing towards the tiny creatures moving nearby. My husband took a closer look and confirmed what I had been hoping wasn’t true: they were ants.
But these were no ordinary household ants.
I’d always thought of ants as the tiny pests that occasionally appeared on my kitchen counter at home. These, however, were considerably more impressive. A quick Google search revealed that they were Matabele ants, which can grow to around 2.5cm long.
‘Yep, I was definitely happy that it was their cousins I’d been having an issue with on my kitchen counter at home, and not these,’ I thought.
An unexpected sighting on the game drive
A few hours later, we were heading out on the reserve in our game vehicle. The bumpy ride, combined with the fresh breeze and nearly setting sun, lulled me into a relaxed state. This was the sort of game drive where you find yourself hoping to spot an animal in an unexpected place – although, naturally, I was secretly hoping to be the person who spotted a leopard.
As my eyes scanned the surrounding bush, our vehicle came to an abrupt stop.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I foolishly wondered whether perhaps it was for the leopard I had been searching for. Instead, our guide announced that he had spotted something in the grass.
It took a moment for his words to register.
Matabele ants.
There they were: a thick, dark line of ants moving through the bush, with what looked like a completely blackened mound on the ground.
Suddenly, the ants I had laughed about earlier that day seemed a lot more interesting.
Eventually, the line of ants began to move, and the sheer number of them made it difficult to look away. I had been fascinated by them earlier, but seeing them in their natural surroundings made the encounter even more memorable.
And then my husband saw his chance.
A very well-timed bushveld prank
While I was busy watching the ants, my husband decided to have a little fun at my expense.
In place of the breeze that had lightly touched my bare arm was suddenly a soft tickle.
‘What the…!?’ I exclaimed.
My response was immediate. I slapped at my arm and jumped up, convinced that one of those enormous ants had somehow made its way onto me.
My husband, naturally, found this hilarious.
His laughter broke the silence of the bush, and soon another guest was laughing along with him. I, meanwhile, was frantically scratching my arm and wondering what would happen if one of those ‘dinosaur-sized’ ants managed to crawl underneath my sleeve.
I had already started plotting my revenge.
Before I could exact it, however, we continued with the game drive. Eventually, all was forgiven and the incident became just another funny story from our trip.
Or so I thought.
Bushveld karma strikes back
The following day, my husband got a taste of his own medicine.
We were back on a game drive when something rather unexpected happened. A spider blew against his chest, and his reaction was immediate.
He jumped up, trying to get the spider off him, before eventually settling back down.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
After all, if there is one thing a bush getaway teaches you, it is that nature has a way of keeping you humble. You can head out hoping to see a leopard and instead find yourself fascinated by a procession of giant ants. You can spend an afternoon beside the pool thinking you’re safely away from creepy crawlies, only to have your husband turn one into a prank.
And sometimes, when you least expect it, karma comes in the form of a spider.
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Written by Megan Paulse for Getaway June/July 2026 issue.
