S: Mike. Check. Mike. Check. Mike. Check. My check. Now, you might check that line.

D: Test, test, test.

S: What are we talking about?

What’s the story today?

D: I don’t know. Tell me a story.

Tell me about That Time You Shot a Tiger.

This is actually very exciting. A very exciting story for me, I don’t know. But it was exciting for you when I first told you. And I hope it’s exciting for the listener or the reader.

It is a very exciting story.

How can it not be so?

This was Nepal 2014.

I was in Nepal.

I went with, a World Vision group, and I photographed it, and I, it was an exhibition with my friend.

My friend and I went on the trip together, and it was because of her.

Well, you know, it was because of her.

Well, I’m not going to say her name… because it’s quite funnily… it’s the name that, white women are called, and she’s not quite that name that the white woman is now known as, but that’s her name.

Anyway.

So that’s why we were in Nepal, and it was absolutely just, a wonderful experience to go.

D: How cool. Nepal.

S: Yeah. Nepal. That’s another conversation.

So this is about the time I shot a tiger.

D: Okay. Yeah. Tiger. First… Jeeeez.

S: So we were in Bardiya

I think Bardiya, is down south of Nepal, so it’s just on the border of Rajasthan and all that and this is where It’s absolute jungle country.

And we had already traveled quite a way around Nepal. I mean, this wasn’t a five star hotel, you know, all roses and chocolates and soft sheets trip.

This was quite rough. We trekked it. We stayed really in remote villages. I got to photograph some really interesting things, meet interesting people and perspectives of things.

D: Would you say, like the real Nepal.

S: Yes, the real Nepal.

It was incredible. But the real Nepal also is quite cosmopolitan. That’s in Kathmandu and all that. So that’s another story altogether.

This is about me being an artist.

So we had already done quite a bit of Nepal and this this was a reward for us.

And we got to see elephants. And also I need to say, because the, the accompanying photographs for this will show us on elephants. That was the last time I rode an elephant, because these were elephants that were part of the elephant sanctuary there, but they were rescued elephants. And then the were told as to how they get, tamed or convinced to be used to carry riders on their spines.

D: I like how you said convince.

S: And we were sitting on the these beautiful, beautiful creatures feeling quite safe and then also feeling quite uncomfortable about it. And, and I had been on elephants before, but this was the first time I was really confronted about what we were doing.

You know, even though the elephants, knew it had been rescued, it still had to do what?

I don’t know. But that was the last time I rode an elephant.

So now the rest of the trip is on foot.

So I am with three other, women, young women. They’re all in their 20s and they’re very, very lovely and I have to say their names.

Karen, Estelle and Claire.

Such a fun, fun group we were. It was just so amazing what we experienced.

So after the elephant trip, we then, by foot, trekked (a few of us decided to).

Because we had already seen as a group, as a bigger group, this world Vision group, and, also, people from Nepal who were with World Vision and this was around April, 2014.

The World Vision people are very Christian, by the way. They’re very Christian. So they will believe things like rapture. They’re going to be, you know, floating up in the air, etc., etc. so of course that was supposed to happen. That was supposed to happen sometime.

D: Yeah. It’s always, it’s always about to happen, you know.

S: Yes.

So anyway

But they have done some good things around Nepal but we won’t get into that.

But anyway, we’re in Bardiya National Park. So as a group earlier on that day we had sat like a kilometre away because tigers and the hearing.

I know you know.

D: Oh man. That’s just crazy.

So you were on purpose looking for a tiger?

S: Look, we were as part of a group of people and also staying at this large fantastic lodge in Bardiya National Park where a group of Americans who had come out to see tigers and they were going to see, God damn it, tigers, you know, something like that anyway. But the, stereotypical thing.

So they had been careening all around the place in their jeeps.

We were all in like open jeeps. It’s so cool. And we’re just all hanging off these jeeps feeling like, yay, jungle safari! Dora the explorer. I don’t know all that stuff.

D: Looking for tigers?

S: Let’s just, listen. And rogue elephants and rhinos, okay?

D: Yeah. Okay, Even better.

S: Okay, so we were.

We did see.

We were chased by rogue elephants, and we had to hide up trees from rhinos. Because we had to.

D: Because rhinos can’t climb trees.

S: Well, we thought it was the safest place.

Okay, but listen.

In the morning, the first sighting of the tigers, we saw two of them.

You know, there was.

“Oh, my God”.

They’re out, there were hunting that morning.

And we had to be super quiet because they could hear you from, like, I don’t know how far it was, but it was far. I’ve got the photo.

There it was. It was really, really far. Okay.

It was a kilometre.

I don’t know, it was far.

D: I think they can jump a kilometre.

S: Okay. Whatever. It was a little bit scary. I didn’t have the right lens on me and I’m like, oh my gosh. So. And we had to be very quiet because tigers can hear you right?

Oh my God.

D: I think they also have some kind of sonar.

S: They have that sonar. They have everything. So you’ve got to be very careful. Super careful.

Anyway, we were blessed with the sighting of two tigers, and everyone was like, oh my gosh, not one, but two.

And no one had seen tigers for a while up to that time. And we were seeing two tigers and they were feeding and it was just so exciting. We were all so excited.

It was so exciting.

And, you know.

Oh my gosh.

So that was it.

That was the end.

And after that, we then got to ride on the elephants.

It was beautiful riding through this jungle, but we were like, so those tigers, where are they

And we’re just like, our feet are dangling.

But it’s okay, you know, we’re off the ground.

But where are those elephants going?

And where were those tigers going?

You know, all this went through my head.

And also the guilt of like, oh, my gosh, you poor magnificent…

D: Did they have enough to eat you while

S: They were fishing for themselves? That’s.

When we saw them.

They were fishing, when we saw them at the riverside.

Fishing for themselves, eating breakfast.

D: Wow.

S: It was beautiful. I was so blessed. We were so blessed. Well, it was around Easter.

You are in a Hindu country.

So who knows?

Everything coincides.

Everything came from all over anyway.

But anyway.

So that’s the elephants. Oh, beautiful.

I have to say, the elephant handlers have a beautiful relationship with their elephants. They understand they are friends of the elephants.

D: Right, okay.

S: But so they sit in a comfortable place on the elephant’s neck.

And I think I’m saying that, I’m projecting and until an elephant can speak to us so we understand their language, you know.

D: Yeah

S: Then, we’ll never really know.

So we can only project and surmise.

Anyway, because apparently of elephants think of us like how we think of ants.

Like they think we’re cute.

D: Ants? Yeah, sure,

S: I don’t know.

D: I don’t know, maybe puppies.

S: Maybe puppies. Yes.

Anyway, back to that.

So somehow or the other, four of us found ourselves with two young, male, beautiful young men guides of the jungle, armed only with ‘danda’, – sticks.

Okay.

Sticks.

Okay. It was a very sturdy stick,

D: So you were looking for?

S: Shhh

We were going for a walk in the jungle. Okay.

Like, you know, amongst the elephants and rhinos and stuff.

So the rogue elephants we saw, well, thankfully we were on the jeep, so we were able to, you know, sort of speed away from there.

But we were on foot now and oh my gosh. So all they were armed with was walkie talkie.

Oh, they had a walkie talkie.

This walkie talkie…

walkie talkie…

See, wee…

I don’t know….

It was just wonderful.

We were blessed with the sighting of a rhino coming out of the river after its bath.

And I’ve got these photos here.

D: And this is in the wild?

S: Wild.

D: On foot?

S: It’s amazing you have to be on foot.

You can’t go that deep where we were, they don’t want you to go in by vehicles it’s supposed to be sanctuary.

D: Of course.

S: Oh, my gosh, it was absolutely incredible.

But. So we had one in front and one behind the kindest, loveliest, loveliest young men.

And they were just very, you know, very trustworthy too, and very respectful.

And it was just absolutely beautiful. Us walking through this jungle.

And rhinos and all of that.

And. Oh, look, we have our jungle animals here.

Look, our magnificent turkeys have come to join us this beautiful afternoon. How wonderful.

Anyway, back to Bardiya.

Then we get one of the guides as we were walking through, just says, he starts talking in their language and says, you know…

Then we’re like, okay, what’s going on?

So so there’s Tyger, Tyger, Tyger more tiger over there.

We’re like…

Great great, great.

So we’re thinking, but at the same time, let’s go back.

I’ve got a photograph of the three girls in front of me.

Okay.

Look, I’m super fit. So even though I’m twice their age, they’re.

They’re more tired than me.

I can go for.

I can run for a day.

D: Still. Now. Today.

S: Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. So how old was I?

It was 2014.

I was 43.

Anyway.

Now we’re heading to Tigers. So now we’re heading in the direction of where the Tigers are because we are about to…

They said that no, they’re just sitting by the river.

So I’m still thinking, okay, it’s going to be the same sort of distance right?

Then as we get closer they’re like shhhh…

And then they start saying,

‘you remember, walk backwards. Tiger come for you, walk backwards.

Oh, what!?

What do you mean?

And I forgot to say something very crucial by the way, as we’re running through the jungle. Because we’re not just walking through the jungle.

Because by now we’ve got to run through the jungle.

Because we have to get to the right spot at the right time.

Because the tiger is about to get there.

And if we’re lucky, we’re going to get there in place just at the right time.

So we actually have to run. So I’m running through the jungle, but for some reason I have Wi-Fi.

I have Wi-Fi, and I am writing as I’m running.

I have Wi-Fi in the jungle, in Nepal

We’re running to tigers.

We’re running to TIGERS!

Because I lost my Facebook account. But I know that I may have somehow kept this somewhere because I had shared it again about the story, about how I shared this on Facebook as it was happening to me.

D: Yes, yes, yes I remember.

S: So I’m running through the jungle and, you know, writing about this, these tigers okay.

And it’s just like, oh my gosh.

And also my ex-partner was you know at home with his children, and they were all like, who cares?

We’re celebrating our birthdays, blah blah.

I’m like, yeah, I know.

Great.

That’s fantastic.

I’m running through the jungle chasing tigers.

So I’m really, really sorry I’m missing your birthdays lovely, lovely children.

But you know I love you every day. Not just your birthdays.

So. Yeah, but my ex-partner was trying to make me feel very guilty about it all.

But anyway, I’m running through the jungle chasing tigers.

Okay, whatever. I couldn’t believe it was.

It felt so amazing.

And then, as I said.

I’m doing all of that.

I’m actually writing the story on Facebook.

And then as we get closer to it, it’s all jungle life.

We have to walk through a bit more of a thicket type thing, like, I guess, reeds or bamboos.

And so it’s like getting close to the river.

So I’m still thinking we’ve got about the same distance as we were early this morning, and we’re going to be on a ridge high up, and it’s quite a distance.

This is when they tell us, ‘time when tiger come for you, walk backwards.

D: Now they tell you. Excellent.

S: Shhhhhh.

No noise.

Let’s talk about the shutter sound in cameras.

Like I was carrying a, like my massive old dSLR, okay.

And it was just, and my massive camera bag.

Oh my gosh.

And I’m anyway.

And I have a massive cam…

And anyway…

So we round the corner…

And no.

We’re not on a ridge and we’re not, a kilometer away.

We’re eye to eye almost, let’s just say we are just,

like a little creek.

Tigers.

Tigers take a leap longer than this, this, this distance separating us from the tiger.

D: I think a Tiger can jump an entire kilometre.

S: The tiger was there, right there, right there, right there, right there.

And it’s like.

Shit.

So, okay, walk backwards. If it advances.

And I don’t really know how, but I am taking photos.

So the shutter, which is like, sounds like, you know, that, I hope pop culture and movie connoisseurs and people know this, but just get the idea.

This is in, in, Indiana Jones and the last Crusade when they’re in the library and, you know, the librarian as the librarian stamps because Indie is also hitting and it’s that large gongggg like the sound is, is it can wake up a planet.

D: Yeah.

S: That’s how loud my shutter was sounding.

S: But because like, this really incredible thing happened.

So I don’t know how I know that this was a tigress. And they were saying, it’s okay. She has eaten.

D: Okay.

Yeah. But did she eat enough?

S: When did she last eat? Did she eat enough is the question you had asked.

D: Do we have any fish?

S: So. So this, this little creek, the little puddle of water that is separating us about 150m?

D: Forget about it.

S: Does it? Is it deep? Does it have fish that she might stop and say, yeah. Not worth it.

Fish is all I have.

And that because.

And then she stands up this magnificent creature and while and she walks away and then my shutter, goes CLICK and she looks at me.

And my shutter goes click again?

I think I swear I passed out.

I don’t know, because I have photos to prove.

So I didn’t clearly, and I know what my lens was. So it wasn’t a super zoom. I know how far away we were and it was like.

What?

The Tigers there.

I don’t know.

D: Where the Turkey’s were?

S: Yeah.

D: Easy.

S: Yeah.

D: Damn. That is close.

S: No kidding.

But it was sacred and it was beautiful and she was beautiful. And she looked back at me and it was like, what did we just experience?

And I don’t, I don’t remember anything after that either then did we all walk backwards out of there just in case she was tricking us and saying, I’m just going to go walk away so they think I’ve gone.

But I don’t know if the other three remember it.

D: I thought you said there were two tigers?

S: Oh my God, I never even thought of that. Like, what if they were just.

Oh Lord, will I sit here today?

2025. June.

And I lived to tell you I was spared, that they were not circling us. We were just blessed with such a sacred, sacred thing as seeing a tiger in the wild.

And I shot a tiger in the wild.

The only way a tiger and any animal in the wild and anywhere else should be shot.

With a camera.

And I wish I did have the proper.

But it was.

It felt more special that we were this close. I didn’t really have any special equipment, but there was a tiger in front of me, and I photographed that.

And the shutter was so loud and so, so like, oh my God.

So if we were supposed to be quiet, a kilometer away, my shutter is insanely loud.

And she looked back at us.

I don’t know if the other three remember it the way if Estelle, Claire and Karen remember it the way I do. But I have absolute clarity. And I also have a camera.

Oh my goodness me. It was absolutely incredible.

D: How cool.

S: So that’s yes, Nepal in April 2014 when I shot a Tiger in the wild.

And yeah, quite amazing. Very cool. Thanks for listening.