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PhotoTechno Reflections - Elephants !
Yesterday I promised to show you some elephant.
The Chobe river valley is swarming with them. Most of the
day they are scattered around the hillsides surrounding the valley, and
as the sun begins to sink towards the horizon, they descend to the valley
in their hundreds to swim, roll in the mud, eat and socialise. This
young lad was with his natal herd when we saw him, about a mile from our
campsite.
The rest of the herd had settled into a glutinous mud puddle and were making the most of it.
This baby in particular was slinging mud with the best of them, totally in her element.
Further on, the rest of the herd were bathing in dust after their mud rolling. The adult on the left is showing the natural pacer balancing act that is innate to elephants. They are the only quadrupeds that move both legs on the same side at once, rather than opposite 'arm' and 'leg' as do antelope, horses, lions, baboons and just about everything else.
In the distance in the photo above you can see many more elephant heading this way.
We relaxed in our camp for the rest of the afternoon, until things cooled down a bit, watching the river below for the elephant to arrive for their evening soiree
...... and we didn't have too long to wait. Soon they were crossing the river in both directions in their droves.
This carried on for an hour or two, until both banks were liberally covered in elephants of all sizes, from this year's calves through to a few who must have been upwards of 50 years of age.
This remarkable sight was happening right in front of our campsite. It was like sitting on a set of Jurassic Park, only this was real (and of course, elephant like these weren't around yet in the Jurassic period, but poetic licence and all that!).
We moved our camp chairs to within 50 yards of the river (the vehicles and tents were 50 yards behind us) and proceeded to enjoy the most sublime sundowner ever. While the weakening glow of the setting sun gently warmed us, the elephant herds promenaded between us and the river in front. This is what dreams are made of.
We did keep a wary eye on the distance, and when this young bull decided to walk rapidly towards us flapping his ears, we cautiously retreated up the bank by another 20 yards or so ...... just in case. He didn't quite do a mock charge, but one is so much less brave when on foot than when one is inside a vehicle.
This remarkable day had to be rounded off by something special, and it was. The youngsters treated us to campfire made pancakes .... and they were fantastic. What an ending to the best day of the safari! Ihaha had become my favourite spot of the whole trip so far. We only had 3 days left and wondered if it could possible live up to today.
Tomorrow we would drive along the Chobe river for a very short distance (about an hour or two) to the Chobe Safari Lodge and hot showers, clean linen and a restaurant. Sheer luxury.
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Permalink | Posted by: Ian at Saturday, September 18th, 2004 23:00:00 | Location: Ihaha, Botswana | Category: Botswana Safari
The rest of the herd had settled into a glutinous mud puddle and were making the most of it.
This baby in particular was slinging mud with the best of them, totally in her element.
Further on, the rest of the herd were bathing in dust after their mud rolling. The adult on the left is showing the natural pacer balancing act that is innate to elephants. They are the only quadrupeds that move both legs on the same side at once, rather than opposite 'arm' and 'leg' as do antelope, horses, lions, baboons and just about everything else.
In the distance in the photo above you can see many more elephant heading this way.
We relaxed in our camp for the rest of the afternoon, until things cooled down a bit, watching the river below for the elephant to arrive for their evening soiree
...... and we didn't have too long to wait. Soon they were crossing the river in both directions in their droves.
This carried on for an hour or two, until both banks were liberally covered in elephants of all sizes, from this year's calves through to a few who must have been upwards of 50 years of age.
This remarkable sight was happening right in front of our campsite. It was like sitting on a set of Jurassic Park, only this was real (and of course, elephant like these weren't around yet in the Jurassic period, but poetic licence and all that!).
We moved our camp chairs to within 50 yards of the river (the vehicles and tents were 50 yards behind us) and proceeded to enjoy the most sublime sundowner ever. While the weakening glow of the setting sun gently warmed us, the elephant herds promenaded between us and the river in front. This is what dreams are made of.
We did keep a wary eye on the distance, and when this young bull decided to walk rapidly towards us flapping his ears, we cautiously retreated up the bank by another 20 yards or so ...... just in case. He didn't quite do a mock charge, but one is so much less brave when on foot than when one is inside a vehicle.
This remarkable day had to be rounded off by something special, and it was. The youngsters treated us to campfire made pancakes .... and they were fantastic. What an ending to the best day of the safari! Ihaha had become my favourite spot of the whole trip so far. We only had 3 days left and wondered if it could possible live up to today.
Tomorrow we would drive along the Chobe river for a very short distance (about an hour or two) to the Chobe Safari Lodge and hot showers, clean linen and a restaurant. Sheer luxury.
[Complete Safari and wildlife photo index] << Previous | Home | Next >>
Permalink | Posted by: Ian at Saturday, September 18th, 2004 23:00:00 | Location: Ihaha, Botswana | Category: Botswana Safari