Day 11: And Four Legged Animals .....

5 am wake up call and 6 am pick up... focused on laundry drop and an urgent drive for coffee I rush out into the still dark morning to be hit with the strong smell of animal. Hummmmm.... maybe I should move a little slower here, nothing like running into the side of a grazing hippo in the dark. There are 3 hippos that choose this lush lawn to graze on at night and I think that I heard them. Felt like a large truck going by....

Ready? We are off to ride elephants in the bush.... it takes about 45 minutes to get down the back roads, into the game preserve and then the site. Dawn is breaking quickly, Victoria's steam is a heavy plume against a clear dawn blue sky. Steam rises from the river and there IS hot tea. But I'm going to be bouncing on an elephants back.... actually swaying if I do it right. Here's hoping that my new hip joint will not be too cranky, or the elephants back too broad.

Yes this is great, this is a group of 5 so I get the single seat up behind the guide. Its a 13 year old female so she is not too big and I can ride reasonably comfortably (though I was happy to get off when we ended up) Swaying along in the cool morning air African Bush Elephant Calista decided that she didn't want to lead so after a bit of a temper tantrum she settled down in second place and we looked for and found Kudu, large, dark grey with stripes and a huge rack, a herd of young Impala and 3 Cape Buffalo. The silence is musical, all kinds of birds. And I am very much at peace. This is the perfect way to go wildlife looking, a natural rhythm.

We are off tomorrow, so stay tuned..... we have many miles to go before we sleep again.