Elephant with your coffee?

There has been too much happening to cover everything, and it's almost 7:30pm, which means it is dark here, and that most definitely means it is bed time!!!!  We have got used to 5:30am starts, and 7 or 8pm bed times. And no remote to change channels!!! actually, no channels anyway.

So, very briefly, walking in the African bush (this does not mean anything like NZ bush) is an experience that we cannot get enough of. Sadly, once you are on your own, it is mostly either prohibited or at least strongly advised against.  We are ok with this, as we do not have a large calibre rifle (or any other firearm) and nothing like enough experience to go wandering without one.

The drum signalling time to get up (yes, a real drum) got beaten most mornings at 6, by which time, we were almost always up, and ready to go. The schedule: cuppa with rusk and cereal, then off for a walk or a drive then walk. Back at camp for brunch, rest, shower..  drum, again, high tea, which  was a whole meal, about 2:30, then repeat...  drive/walk  or just walk.

Very cool to be sitting in the sand of a dry riverbed to have a huge bull elephant (everyone just calls them ele's here) wandering slowly towards you totally oblivious to your presence.  The guide/teacher lets him get to about 30 metres and then quietly says "hello boy" at which point the bull stops, with a clear gesture of surprise, pauses for quite some time, then decides he hasn't heard anything and continues towards us. Very exciting this. Again  "hello boy" very quietly spoken, and now, he stops, one foot not quite on the ground (this, exactly as guide told us it would do.. "he will stop, one foot up, and think"..  "don't do anything, let him decide"  "he'll likely just pretend he didn't really want to go this way anyway, and change course slightly, as if saving face")  and after a good minute, he peacefully, places the foot on the ground, changes course a few degrees and quietly walks past us all.

There have been many other encounters with numerous animals, but nothing quite compares to the power of the elephants. The bulls on their own are fine, but the herds with cows and small (and very funny to watch) babies are dangerous and almost unpredictable, well at least for us.

Last day of the 2 week course, coffee after brunch, sitting at the camp...  up walks a large bull ele. In fact, a visiting diesel mechanic all but bumped into it on the track to the vehicle park, he came back to camp a little flustered.

I just happened to be on the same side of the table as the elephant, and with a mixture of excitement and a little anxiety, sat, sipping the coffee as he slowly approached, plucking little clumps of grass and swatting the mud off them before delicately placing them in his mouth.  Head guide, says to me, "just stay there, don't do anything quickly, he has chosen to bring us into his space, he knows we are here".  So, no real choice other than to just enjoy the moment. The ele decides that about 3 metres is close enough, and keeps pulling up grass and swatting the dirt off it. Some of that dirt ends up in the cup of the guy sitting on the other side of the table to me!

For quite some time I was within easy reaching distance (for him, not me) of this elephant, and it was amazing to realize that if it was in a bad mood, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him from doing so.

We were asked for a highlight of our two weeks course, but really there were too many to pick just one, but if I had to, that would be it.  Bed time...  8pm

This was after coffee, and I had a chance to get my camera. He stayed in camp for about 1.5 hours. In this shot, he is about 5 metres away, and I am looking though the screen that is the tent wall.