Last night around 11:30 there was the most almighty commotion going on outside our lodge, crashing and bashing, snuffling and snorting. As usual Ian slept through the whole thing but I lay there, heart in mouth, just glad that we were in a sturdy structure and not a tent. A herd of elephants had decided to walk through the lodge, breaking anything that got in its way. Footprints just near the breakfast area were clearly visible this morning.
As it's our last morning here at Muchenje we opted to do the early
morning walk (6:30 start) with Wilson as our guide.
He gave us a very serious talk as to walking single file and
what to do if we met a lion – stand still (if you run, they think you are prey)
and look directly at them. Although he
was carrying a shotgun he said he’d never encountered a lion on any of the
walks but there was always a first time.
Also elephant and even giraffe can be dangerous particularly if they
have young with them.
Having been frozen solid on the early morning game drive we
were determined not to be cold today so we wrapped up well. Unfortunately without the breeze from the
moving vehicle it warmed up pretty quickly and we were soon very hot.
Almost immediately we bumped into a mother giraffe with young; apparently after giving birth (a long drop for the poor thing) the baby is hidden in the bushes for 3/4 months whilst the mother goes off on feeding trips and comes back to let the calf take milk.
We learned a lot of useful info, the most interesting being:-
- if you have a swollen womb (?) wrap yourself in a blanket and inhale the smoke from burning elephant dung.
- you can navigate by termite mounds as the tip will always point west.
- the dried roots of the lavender bush have hallucinogenic properties and many older folk won't (can't) leave the house without their fix
A termite waiting to get back into his house
A termite waiting to get back into his house
Elephant skull
Our lodge from a distance
Back for another delicious breakfast and time to pack up ready to leave at 11am. We’re really sorry to be going, this has been an amazing place with lovely people – we arrived as customers but we’re leaving as friends.