On safari in Africa

Carinthian sports ace fled from armed poachers

Vanessa and Tom Herzog went on safari in Namibia for twelve days.(Bild: zVg)

Carinthia's speed skating ace Vanessa Herzog had a scary encounter with locals during her African safari. Her husband Tom remained cool.

An adrenaline rush of a different kind! Vanessa Herzog went on safari with her husband Tom in Namibia at the end of the season. "We are already experienced in the area and love going in search of animal encounters," emphasizes Tom.

Respect for the elephants
This year, the couple also did this on their own in an off-road vehicle. "We saw around 80 lions and 200 elephants - once we were surrounded by two herds of elephants and the animals suddenly charged towards us - and passed our car at arm's length. We weren't afraid, but we had respect," says Tom.

Shocked by three poachers
An unplanned encounter with poachers was completely different. "We were watching lions - then three locals came up to us with Kalashnikovs. Vanessa filmed them, I drove away quickly after the initial shock."

At the camp, rangers confirmed the video: "There were known poachers there. We were lucky that there was no confrontation."