My Journal of Survival in the
Grasslands
It’s All Your Fault
How was the savannah made?
Elephants of course!
If you don’t believe me,
take a geography course!
Tramp, stomp, thrash and roar
completely cleared the savannah floor!
Now lay only dirt and rocks
the only elements,
if you want to blame someone,
blame the elephants!
Day one: Excerpt from Kayla’s Journal
I am in the middle of nowhere and I just got
dropped off. It’s very warm and there’s no
shade. Trees are scattered for miles. All I have
is a hatchet and a first aid kit. I walked for
about two miles and I was getting parched so I
went to the nearest Baobab tree which holds
gallons of water in it’s trunk. I will have to set
up camp near by to save energy from chopping
trees. I was chopping for about a half an hour
when I felt my body going limp. I slid my back
down on the tree and rested. My eyelids were
getting heavy on me when I was jerked by the
screeching whine of a Tasmanian devil. I forced
myself up and started chopping for another
hour and a half, when water sprayed all over
my poncho. I cupped my hands and slurped the
water out. I shoved a small stone in the hole to
keep the water inside.
Day one: From Kayla's Journal
(continued)
I stepped back to get going again when I
slipped on something. At first I didn’t
know what it was until it tried to strike
my leg. I jumped back not thinking,
picked up my hatchet and sliced the
snake. I felt scared not knowing what I
had done. My heart was racing like a
marathon. I looked at it and right away
knew it was poisonous but the venom
was in the head. I knew it was edible if I
cut off the head. It was an Egyptian
cobra because it had a had a head like a
shield with yellow scales. I rapped the
body in a palm leaf and set on the
ground. I saw the sun setting so I picked
up the snake and headed up the grassy
hill.
Day one: night
Day two: sunrise
Day one
I found a cave carved into the mountains.
I spotted many palm leaves to use as a
bed. I collected piles of dead grass to
sleep on. Below the cave the brush was
sparking. My heart stopped as I thought
maybe there were hunters. I looked
down to see it was only a brush fire. I
knew I needed fire to survive so I
grabbed some dry grass and lit it on fire
to bring back to camp. I took the snake I
had killed earlier and cut it into fourths
to last the nights. I took a stick and
scraped out the meat out of the skin, put
it on a rock near the fire and watched it
sizzle. I took a small bite and at that point
it tasted like the best thing I had ever
eaten. I finally got on my grass and leaf
bead and went to sleep.
Day two
I don’t know what happened but I just
woke up to a sound. The fire was
crackling but just barley a spark. It was
foggy and humid as I tried to keep the
fire alive by blowing softly on it. A breeze
came and swiped out the only light I had.
As a minor miracle the sun was cracking
over the baobab tree as a swarm of
vultures swooped down like rockets
tearing apart a rotting zebra. I need to
get going because while I’m here, time is
precious.
Day three: morning
Last evening I woke up in the middle of the night to an acute pain in my lower
abdomen. I crinched in pain as I saw a coffin shaped head and brown scales
slither out of my den. I realized I had just been by the deadliest snake in the
world: the black mamba. I knew it’s venom was 100% fatal if not treated. I
injected the anti-venin as needed. I lie in my makeshift bed and reached over my
limp arm for some cooked snake. It felt good in my stomach.
I am turning around in the way I
feel about myself. I lay down as the
savannah breeze tickled my skin.
The long brush swept my bare feet
as a flock of neon birds glided
overhead. I could smell the evening
greeting me. I took a deep breath
and felt like a whole new person. I
am a survivor.
Days 4 and 5
I slept in today which was a terrible idea. An
animal had stolen the remainder of my snake. I
haven’t eaten a decent meal in days. I haven’t
heard a Tasmanian devil in several hours either,
which is a relief. The savannah is quiet as a
ghost town. I thought I heard a sound but it
was only a breeze blowing the trees. I need to
spend the next few hours or even the rest of
the day hunting for food and searching for
water.
I was just awoken by the rumble of a helicopter
as I looked at the sky. I could see Mrs. Dudek in
the helicopter doorway looking quite air sick. I
quickly climbed the ladder desperate to return
to civilization. As I head for home, I sat back
and thought about how lucky I was to have all
of life’s conveniences at my fingertips. When
I’m hungry at home, I search in my kitchen
pantry. When I’m thirsty, I search no further
than the refrigerator. I truly appreciate all that
I have. Life is good.