George of the Jungle
On a beautifully warm and sunny Loisaba morning all the guests had headed merrily out into the bush whether in a game vehicle, on foot or on horseback and wandering back through the Lodge I caught sight of a herd of elephant heading down to the watering hole in front of the deck. Looking through the binoculars I was able to count at least 20 of these majestic creatures, including a number of very small calves, meandering their way towards the refreshing muddy water.
After watching the herd for about 10 minutes it was clear they felt this water hole was not up to scratch and so led by the matriarch they began to head up the valley towards our leopard blind and another water source. Realising what a great opportunity this would be for some fantastic photographs and a chance to get up close to such a large herd of I jumped into a game vehicle and armed with camera and binoculars headed to the leopard blind.
From inside the blind I was able to watch as 27 elephant made their way up the valley towards me and for the next hour and a half I sat transfixed as they took it in very ordered turns to drink from the source less than 10 feet from where I was sat, cool themselves in the mud and then rub themselves against the large acacia right in front of me. All the while the large bull stood watch over his herd, moving only occasionally to chastise a calf if it became over excited or acted out of turn.
Refreshed after a much more successful second water hole the elephant slowly headed off back into the bush ripping the odd tree apart as they went, and as I returned to meet guests arriving back from their morning outings I was confident I’d have a story to match any of theirs.
