Saving Thandi: Adventures of Jabu & Friends, #2

By Kate S Richards

After an accident that left Ice with a permanent disability, the last thing he needs is an adventure. The trouble is, the rhinos need saving, his friends are in danger, and he may be the caring hero they all need.

 

A furious storm, a clumsy gun-wielding monkey, a charging rhino, rogue waves and foolish courage will need to combine if Jabu and friends are to pull off a daring rhino rescue, an incredible kidnapping escape and save an animal orphanage from an impending shutdown.

If they fail, more rhinos will be slaughtered for their horns, Alexia and Billie will be taken away on the Jewel of the Sea, and the organised crime network will be victorious.

 

"Saving Thandi" is an exciting blend of adventure, mystery and action, with conservation at its heart. Well-loved characters from "Trainsurfer" and quirky animals take on evil villains in a series of riveting scenes.

 

With pounding heart and misty eyes, you may forever care about the plight of rhinos in Africa.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Green Room House
• Release date: Jun 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780473481940

Book preview

1

BEDTIME STORY

Green Room House, Durban, South Africa, 1994

C an you imagine crawling on all fours across the floor of a container of a moving truck, hoping to find food, only to discover…

What? Tell us Jabu! said the youngest child, who hadn’t heard the bedtime story before.

The children and a couple of teens snuggled on beanbags around Jabu in the corner of the dormitory. He recounted the story of how he had first met Thandi. The Zulu teenager captivated the children whenever he told them his survival story. Left alone in the world when his Mama died, Jabu had abandoned their tin shack in Soweto. He had resolved to make his way to Durban to find his Auntie. The journey is nearly four hundred miles long. It would take a grown up three days to walk from Soweto to Durban if they trudged through the night without stopping. It is a hazardous route. Walking was not an option, and he had no money for a coach, so he had decided to stow away in a truck.

Jabu was unaware that he was not alone in the container, and mistook a bulky shape to be a pile of vegetables under calico.

To discover, he repeated to add suspense, a living, breathing creature.

A creature! squealed the youngest, while the others shushed her.

It was a baby … began Alexia.

Shh, don’t give it away! said Bongani.

A baby rhinoceros, said Jabu finally. Her name was Thandi, and she scared me frozen. Literally, I couldn’t move at first and crouched there like I had been petrified.

And then what happened? asked the youngest child.

Then, I fed her a bottle of milk, and we became friends, he said, chuckling at the memory.

That’s such a cool story! Make up another one, said the littlest.

It isn’t a story silly. It’s true, said Bongani.

It is true, said Jabu, and that’s why I’m going up north tomorrow, to a game reserve. I’m going to see Thandi again. I haven’t seen her since I was twelve. I hope she recognises me, he said.

She’s not a dog. She won’t run up and lick you and wag her tail, said Alexia dryly. The children all laughed. Jabu laughed too, but he hoped there would be some connection between him and the rhino. Time had passed, but some bonds are never forgotten.

Jabu tucked the drowsy children into bed and said goodnight to the teens. Although he was only a teenager himself, he was like a parent to these orphans. The Kids Surf 4 Life programme had given them a new passion, and Green Room House had become their home. But, that is another story.

This story is about Thandi, who was soon to be in grave danger, in a game reserve called Umfolozi Private Reserve.

2

A MISCHIEVOUS MENAGERIE

JABU

Umfolozi Private Reserve, South Africa

Jabu followed the procession along a narrow path that cut through shoulder-high grass. He was being watched. Frank, the local game ranger, led the group, clad in khaki and armed with a gun. A black raven sat on the man's left shoulder, pestering him for food in fluent Zulu. Frank's wife, Saskia, followed behind him, scouting the pathway for snakes. She was flanked by a stocky crossbreed, a tiny terrier and a baby hippopotamus.

Excuse the menagerie Jabu, said Saskia over her shoulder. Go home Matilda! she said, shooing the hippo that was bounding along with the dogs.

Saskia has a bad habit of adopting waifs and strays, said Frank.

Jabu sensed the man was fonder of his wife’s way with orphaned animals than he would admit.

Somebody has to… said Jabu, patting the hippo’s moist back.

A rustle in the grass stopped Jabu in his tracks. He wondered for a moment if it was the low crawl of a lion intent on a snack. Or something more sinister. A stone-hearted poacher perhaps, armed with a weapon. He looked around skittishly. All he could see was an ocean of savannah with islands of acacia trees and the long necks of giraffes in the distance.

I think we’re being followed, he whispered to the adults up ahead.

Perhaps they didn’t catch his words. They continued their brisk stride through the African veld, undeterred. The grass swooshed. Jabu heard a cheeky chattering noise before a vervet monkey leapt into the pathway in front of him and sprang onto the hippo’s back.

"Oh, that’s Makhulu Thief. He often sneaks up on us, said Saskia. And watch out for your belongings - he has a passion for shiny things."

The monkey turned his miniature, sooty face towards Jabu, looking him up and down for bling. Finding Jabu to be disappointingly free of enticing, shiny objects, Makhulu Thief picked a tick off the hippo’s back and examined it. With dexterous fingers, he popped it into his sharp-toothed mouth like a raisin. Meanwhile, the hippo continued trotting along the path, ignoring Saskia’s instruction. Jabu couldn’t suppress a giggle at this mismatched troop.

The boisterous hippo toddler reminded him of Thandi in her clumsiness. A few years ago, when Jabu had stowed away in a truck, he had discovered that it was transporting Thandi to her new home at the reserve. Cruel poachers had killed the infant rhino’s mother. She had surprised and soothed him at a moment when he most needed a friend, and he had comforted Thandi with a bottle of milk. He wondered how hefty she would be now, and more personally, whether she would remember him.

He was twelve when he had run away from Soweto in search of his Auntie in Durban. Now, some years later, he was an unusually wise teenager with a dependable nature. He also carried many deep wounds, having been orphaned so young. The friendship he had forged with Thandi on that truck journey was one he had not forgotten. The two orphans had slept in a cosy heap on the container floor. Soon after they had bonded, Jabu had no choice but to say a tearful goodbye and was left all alone on the sidewalk in Durban.

Today as he followed the comic convoy, he felt as vulnerable as that orphaned boy. He needed his rhino friend to recognise him, but he doubted that she would.

The narrow pathway through the tall grass opened to a clearing. In the distance was a fenced, grassy enclosure, an acre in size. Inside, Frank had built a cable-reinforced wooden pen where visitors could go to feed the rhinoceros. At the far right corner was a hut. Jabu couldn’t see Thandi and wondered if she was asleep inside it. As they got nearer, he noticed Frank’s assistant. The man was sweeping dung into a pile, a weary expression lining his face. His hair was sprinkled with grey now, and his shoulders stooped.

"Sawubona Joseph," called Frank.

"Sanibona," said Joseph gruffly, not looking up from his work.

We’ve got a visitor for Thandi, said Frank as they approached the gate.

Do you remember the boy who hid in the truck? he asked.

Joseph looked up from his work and stared at Jabu, frowning into the sunlight. Then his expression lightened and he called out, "Umfana!"

He put down his rake and walked over to them, examining Jabu with interest as they entered the enclosure.

I’ll stay out here with the four-legged kids, said Saskia. She patted Matilda the hippo on her sturdy rear. Duke, the Jack Russell terrier, jumped up at her legs, yapping for attention.

Frank told Joseph that Jabu had written to him after seeing Thandi in a television documentary.

I invited Jabu up for the weekend. I thought it might cheer up Thandi, said Frank.

Joseph’s hand took hold of Jabu’s and shook it firmly. His palm was as rough as sandpaper.

You look strong, umfana. It’s good to see you, he said in Zulu.

You too, said Jabu nervously. He remembered the assistant's pincer grip on his arm when they had caught him as a stowaway. But he also recalled that the man had softened towards him on the journey.

Frank shook the tin of pellets. Thandi came charging out of the hut, wholly magnificent in size and form. Her ears moved in opposite directions, and her tail twitched with excitement. She trotted across the enclosure, right up to the low wooden feeding pen. She nudged Frank’s armpit with her lip, snorting through wet nostrils. Jabu took a step back. She was enormous and wielded a splendid horn, curved like a crescent moon and as long as a dagger.

Hello girl, said Frank. Smile lines creased around his bright eyes and softened his phlegmatic face. Here Jabu, I’ll let you feed her. Hold some pellets in your palm and open it flat.

Jabu approached the enormous mammal, who rested her face on the top slat of the wooden pen, her ears wiggling.

Hello Thandi, said Jabu huskily. You hungry?

He held out the pellets. Her broad mouth scoffed them up in a flash.

She’s a white rhino, said Frank. She has a wide, flat lip to graze grass with, unlike the black rhino that has a pointy mouth. Although she has plenty of grass to graze on here, we supplement her diet with...

Always the scientist, interrupted Saskia. Let Jabu have his moment, she said from behind the fence.

He rolled his eyes.

Yes dear, he said.

Jabu fed Thandi half the bucket of pellets, one handful at a time over the pen. After a while, Frank felt that the adult rhino had relaxed enough to allow the visitor into her space. He led Jabu out to where there was nothing between him and the adult rhinoceros.

Jabu froze as the armoured beast trotted over to him. She went straight to the bucket and gave it a sideways nudge with her snout.

She can’t get her wide mouth in there, so she wants you to tip out the pellets, said Frank.

Jabu tipped the pellets onto the ground, and Thandi lowered her head to eat. He put his hand out and stroked her craggy neck.

Hello old friend, he said. I wonder if you remember me.

She allowed him to pat her as she ate.

She imprinted on us when she was a baby, said Frank. We didn’t have any other rhinos in captivity that she could meet. As she grew up, we tried to introduce her to a male so that they could reproduce, but she rejected him.

That’s so sad. Doesn’t she get lonely? asked Jabu.

She used to play with the dogs, but she accidentally hurt Queenie once, and Saskia won’t allow it now. She enjoys human company though. We have to use these when we play with her, said Frank, pointing at a tractor tyre. She doesn't know her own strength.

Jabu’s pulse was racing, but he tried to stay calm as he had that day in the truck so long ago. Good girl Thandi, he said, as she finished off the pellets.

At that, Thandi lifted her horned head and turned to Jabu, opening her mouth and sucking on his face. She covered him with slobber.

Saskia laughed from behind the fence as Jabu wiped his cheek with his sleeve, an