Page 35 - Dark Matter Issue5 Part II

On the last day in Mashatu in 2016, we had been allowed to approach a large herd at a

water hole. They departed just at the time we had to repair to an elevated place for a last

cup of tea before going to the airport. We were stunned when the herd, split into several

lines, approached the Mashatu tree so closely we took cover in the truck. But

undeniably, they had come to say good-bye.

Now we were returning a year later. The one desire I had had to listen from within a herd

and to greet the Matriarchs formally had been met in Thula Thula and was unlikely again

with such a large Elephant population. Earlier, our time in Chobe had confirmed the

magical connections we had had there over the years. We accepted that we had been

incorporated into a field of co-existence that made communication possible. Now I

wondered what insights or messages might come from our next two destinations?

***

In a dry country, rain is luck. Abundant rains had come to Mashatu and were continuing.

A pulley system helped us cross a swollen river where the year before we had driven

across a dry ravine. Within minutes of going out on a first game drive, the winds picked

up and we stopped the Land Rover to put ponchos on before the downpour. In an open

vehicle without a roof we were as exposed to the elements as the animals. It was a good

beginning.

The rain accompanied us intermittently until sunset as we drove across darkened and

then brilliant yellow fields of devil’s thorn with which the female Elephants adorned

themselves.