An elephant encounter in Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

Posted on 22 February 2012

Endless blades of grass are whipping past my window, and we are hurtling along a bumpy gravel road in the heart of Botswana, on our way to Moremi Game Reserve.

The air is thick and heavy in the heat of the day. Shimmering clouds hang motionless on the horizon, bloated and unmoving, taunting the green hills standing in wait, thirsting for cool relief. The dust is rising behind us like rust-coloured mist, while the landscape passes us by, submitting in brittle shades of brown and bleach blonde, to the the fire of an unrelenting sun.

A tidy gate and a stark warning note our arrival: ‘Welcome to Moremi Game Reserve. Danger: wild predators.’ We pass through and scenes from Jurassic Park greet my eyes. The road is more like a path stretching out into the wilderness. Thick bush presses up against the its edge, parting at times to reveal small clearings and open plains.

A lone hyena surveys the scene, panting its hunger. Elephants lumber past unconcerned, ripping out the grass and toppling over the trees. Skittish zebra form a confusion of kicking legs and hysterical bleating around the trickle of a watering hole.

We follow twists and turns. The thorns of the trees reach out and tear at the canvas above our heads. We rush through pot holes, dips and bumps, and the lane sometimes vanishes beneath us until we find it again in abrupt landings. The rustling breeze reveals a gruesome scene. The fresh carcass of a kudu among the branches of the trees, shredded muscle swaying. A leopard’s kill.

The last dusting of light is falling over the landscape, illuminating them in the distance. Before long they are upon us, circling us. We sit in absolute silence – not daring to move. Elephants.

The matriarch peers at me, so close I could reach out and touch her, and I can see the tiny hairs protruding from her leathery skin, which hangs from her haunches like an over-sized shirt that’s lost its shape. Seconds stretch into ages. I hold my breath, my eyes fastened on hers. A tiny baby elephant scuttles between her thick legs, unaware that we are locked in a moment that will be ingrained in my memory forever.

 

Getaway Accommodation has some beautiful places to stay in and around Moremi Game Reserve.






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