Let's go back now to our safari in Botswana. After Sandibe in the Okavango Delta we went to Chobe Chiwero Safari Lodge on the banks of the Chobe River and the National Park. One of the hightlights here was the vast number of elephant herds that roamed freely. The herds were large and full of female elephants and their young of all ages and sizes. These elephants had it made here. There was lots of food and the river was full of fresh water and lots of mud holes to wallow in. The entire family would go to the river each day and do what was nothing more than frollicking, having a great time. You could see the young elephants playing and rolling around in the mud. The older ones were spraying themselves with water and keeping an eye out for the real young ones. Sometimes the real small babies would walk into deep water for them and unknowingly sink without warning. Their trunks would be the only thing showing from the water and a female adult would grab it under water and hoist the baby up and out of the deep water. You can sit and watch these playful elephants for hours without being bored. This was nature at its best....These elephants had no stress in their lives and were totally free!
We did stay a long time watching and taking pictures of this particular large group of female adults and young. While leaving the river area, one juvenile male saw us and did his best to charge us with his ears flapping and him trumpeting, but he stopped short and would not be much of a threat. He was just practicing. Then another juvenile male saw a large fallen tree limb along the bank of the river. It was a dead piece of wood, quite long and knarly. He approached it, and to impress his strength to us, he picked it up in his trunk and lifted it up in the air, mightly showing us his abilities and daring us to get any closer...
We were all impressed with his strength and courage.
As the whole herd slowly emerged from the river bank and crossed our dirt road back into the bush, we waited until all had crossed over to follow them a while. Our 4 X 4 diesel was just barely moving forward when we realized that there was one more very large adult female who had not yet crossed the road. She was not happy with us being in her way and before we knew it, she was charging! She had open ears flapping and her loud trumpeting was very threatening. Richard said to our driver, "FLOOR IT!"
It was a good thing he still had the engine on and we were able to get going fast enough to get out of her way. That was exciting, and a little too close for comfort. There are times when the driver would turn off the diesel engine so pictures can be taken without the shaking of the engine and it is quieter for the animals, but this time the engine was still running and it was a lucky thing. I would imagine that this adult elephant could have easily turned our vehicle over with her trunk. Fortunately, we had a great experience to talk about without any real injuries. We did get a quick picture of her beginning her charge, a little blurry, but that couldn't be helped....
We enjoyed our stay in Botswana and moved on to our next location Matesi Safari Lodge in Zimbabwe. There we celebrated the New Year!
More to come.....
Ellen
We did stay a long time watching and taking pictures of this particular large group of female adults and young. While leaving the river area, one juvenile male saw us and did his best to charge us with his ears flapping and him trumpeting, but he stopped short and would not be much of a threat. He was just practicing. Then another juvenile male saw a large fallen tree limb along the bank of the river. It was a dead piece of wood, quite long and knarly. He approached it, and to impress his strength to us, he picked it up in his trunk and lifted it up in the air, mightly showing us his abilities and daring us to get any closer...
We were all impressed with his strength and courage.
As the whole herd slowly emerged from the river bank and crossed our dirt road back into the bush, we waited until all had crossed over to follow them a while. Our 4 X 4 diesel was just barely moving forward when we realized that there was one more very large adult female who had not yet crossed the road. She was not happy with us being in her way and before we knew it, she was charging! She had open ears flapping and her loud trumpeting was very threatening. Richard said to our driver, "FLOOR IT!"
It was a good thing he still had the engine on and we were able to get going fast enough to get out of her way. That was exciting, and a little too close for comfort. There are times when the driver would turn off the diesel engine so pictures can be taken without the shaking of the engine and it is quieter for the animals, but this time the engine was still running and it was a lucky thing. I would imagine that this adult elephant could have easily turned our vehicle over with her trunk. Fortunately, we had a great experience to talk about without any real injuries. We did get a quick picture of her beginning her charge, a little blurry, but that couldn't be helped....
We enjoyed our stay in Botswana and moved on to our next location Matesi Safari Lodge in Zimbabwe. There we celebrated the New Year!
More to come.....
Ellen
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