11. swimming with ostrich

We’ve all heard of ‘swimming with dolphins’, a very spiritual experience; 
Dances with Wolves, a stirring love story; 
and Free Willy....let’s no go there. 
recently, we have been swimming with ostriches.

Along with the purchase of Milimani we inherited many creatures – tigers, crocodiles, horses and a very tame ostrich named Bahl.

Bahl was an amazing character, a lonely male who had changed persona and seriously thought he was human. Going for a walk was like a scene out of Forest Gump. Ken and I were not allowed to walk side by side as Bahl positioned himself strategically between us. He delighted in interfering in the workshop, and he had a fascination for anything that happened at ground level. He slept outside our home, shared his space with warthogs, dogs and humans, and was truly a part of the family.


We are not sure how old Bahl was but suspect the number 13 spanner he swallowed had something to do with his untimely death. He went peacefully in his sleep about a year ago, and his presence is sorely missed.

For ages we tried to source another ostrich, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. The local pet shop doesn’t stock them, and you are forced to buy up to 10 at game auctions. So we were delighted to discover a breeder in Newcastle and immediately ordered three of the flightless birds from him.

When I phoned I was excited to hear he had five-month old birds and had visions of shooting up to Newcastle, popping them into the back of the Landi. This dream was abruptly shattered when he told me they were six feet tall.

We arranged to have them delivered, and when they arrived we offloaded them in front of the restaurant, where we hoped they would settle. Two immediately tucked into the food, but the third disappeared into the bush. Poor Enoch, who was manning the bar, had to thrash his way into the forest to retrieve him, while the others continued to dine. By the time he arrived back, one and two discovered their companion was missing and ventured off to find him. Eventually all three were united, and after this circus, we sat down to well-deserved cold beers.

That night the three newcomers, now named Faith, Hope and Chastity – not Charity, followed the staff to their quarters and sat around the fire, and there they spent the night. They bonded with Doctor, the gardener, and follow him and his rake everywhere, picking up tit-bits.

The next day we had people for lunch. The ostrich had come back to the original source of food and seemed content to hang around while we all oohed and aahed. The next thing they went to the pool and settled on the slasto, dipping their necks in the water. I had a premonition of them going for a swim, and sure enough two of them calmly walked into the water. They swim like ducks! We plucked them out of the pool, and they sat there like drowned rats, confused about all the fuss. They continued to dive into the pool on a regular basis, forcing us to fence the area off.

We thought we’d had to deal with something unusual, but that same week we received a panic call from our neighbour calling for help to get a giraffe out of the pool. Other lodges have had similar strange swimmers, such as rhino and elephant to fish out.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water

Published in Country Life, November 2002

Other blogs by Lois Kuhle:

SMOKE RINGS IN CUBA. A TWO WEEK JOURNEY FILLED WITH SALSA, SUNSHINE AND SILLY PEOPLE:
http://smokeringsincuba.blogspot.com/2013/10/smoke-rings-in-cuba-journey-filled-with.html

COOL THOUGHTS. MUSINGS AND OTHER MAD MOMENTS:
http://loiskuhlethoughts.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-impatient-gardener.html