Elephants

After a leisurely breakfast, we set off for Hwange National Park, the largest national park in Zimbabwe. It’s much different than Nairobi National Park…much more remote and wild, and the animals are much more wary of cars.  There is only one road through it, a single lane track that was tarred about 25 years ago, and hasn’t had anything done to it since.  The road was constructed by the military during the war, so there was no reason to ever upgrade it.  It’s partly tarred, partly gravel, interspersed with lots of dirt.  In some places its incredibly rough, and we felt like our teeth were being shaken loose in our heads.

Between Victoria Falls and the Park we passed a coal mining area, that was as black and bleak as the old photos of mining in Wales.  Everything was covered in black dust, and it looked as though nothing would ever grow there again.  The coal is essential here, it is one of the main sources of electricity.

Inside the grounds we saw lots of animals: herds of zebras and various kinds of deer, giraffes, warthogs and mongooses (mongeese?).  Hwange is famous for its elephants, however, and we saw lots of them.  They are so impressive in the wild. We saw them drinking, with little ones swimming alongside their mothers. We saw them rolling in the mud and blowing dust on themselves.  We even saw them chasing some deer, kudu I think,away from the water hole where they were drinking. It is when they cross the road in front of you that you realize just how big they are.  They are wary of cars, and are always watching out of the corner of their eyes.

We saw giraffes drinking from a water hole – it appears to be a very awkward activity, as they have to keep spreading their legs until their heads can bend down far enough.  Then they hop back up all in one motion when they are done.  They were also wary, and one of them seemed to be keeping watch the whole time that the smaller ones were watching.

Just as we left the park, we were amazed to see a family of lions drinking from a water hole. Even Buhle said she had never seen them in the wild before. I doubt if my pictures will turn out, they were quite far away, but it was amazing to just sit and watch them drink and then go and lay down in the sun.  They are a beautiful colour, and amazingly hard to see here as they really match the colours of the savannah.

Just as we got to our hotel, the sun went down.  The hotel is built in a crescent shape overlooking a slight valley that has been busy all evening with elephants walking back and forth.  We ate dinner outside, and just watched them go by.  I was surprised by how noisy they are, calling to each other, and grunting and bellowing.  There are lots of babies, and you can see how cautious the mothers are.  The restaurant is outside, with tables under thatched roofs, and as we ate, there was a steady parade of elephants passing by a few yards away.  I had eland for dinner…they also had warthog, but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat it.

When we came up to our rooms, we were surprised to find that there was one very large elephant in the parking lot, on the outside of the crescent, just below our balcony.  He was nosing around, checking the garbage cans, moving a ladder out of his way, and tearing branches off the trees.  Every once in a while he would bellow.  He was big enough that he was sweeping the roof of the garage with his trunk, apparently looking for any fruit that might have fallen out of the trees.

I have been sharing a room with a Ghanaian colleague, and it has been very easy.  Tonight was the first time I wished I were along – I would have slept with the window open and listened to the animals in the night, but she didn’t feel safe without it closed and locked.  I’ll just have to come back.