We arrived in Kimberly to participate in my brother-in-law’s wedding. I haven’t been one to attend these events much in my life, since I don’t care about formality. I usually shun church events, not trusting mercenary man made institutions to glorify their gods. Yet, here I was at a ceremony. Without expounding about the stressful and uncomfortable wedding events, all I can say is it ended. Simon and I would be departing to explore various sections of South Africa. The marriage would remain in my husband’s family, but we lived worlds away in a society that knew nothing of this part of Africa. My home society, the USA would comprehend little about this place. If they could consider the experience at all, they would only explore it through their own culture and lives with some degree of provincialism.
We would eventually be traveling to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park for wildlife viewing and to rest in the lovely Hilltop Safari Lodge but first wanted to visit other significant places along the way. We had rented an economical and practical little red Volkswagen, which would take us to our destination without luxury, but with certainty. There was only one catch – it was a standard shift, and Simon didn’t know how to use it. I certainly didn’t want to do all of the driving. Correctly assuming that he could practice proper shifting, we went to Vaalbos National Park northwest of Kimberly, a remote place and human unpopulated. It was an amusing experience with the little red car bucking down the orange colored dirt road, three giraffes curiously watching in the background. They must have wondered about how silly humans can be. Finally, Simon grinned at his new found freedom to capably drive this not so powerful machine.
Kimberly and my brother-in-law’s wedding were now melting behind us, and we were engrossing ourselves in another adventure meandering around South Africa. It was grand excitement to truck down the road in our little car, visiting so many interesting parts of that country, but finally we arrived to our destination reserve. Our traveling was almost complete with only a few miles more to drive.
We arrived at the park in time to witness the falling sun, painting a plethora of varying red shades, with the sky silhouetting the dry scrubby landscape. It wasn’t a barren place, but instead contained thick forests of low level trees and shrubs. We could observe distant landscapes with the pleasure of beautifully green, thick vegetation surrounding us. The climate felt on the dry side, yet some rain had to cover the landscape to encourage the hearty plant life.
Our little red car appeared conspicuous against the background of the scrubby green and brown world, the vehicle not being a natural color for this landscape. This was strictly African with us effortlessly and silently absorbing the environmental culture and sensation. Given that both of us had been on most continents, we knew that some places were not so distinctive, yet others had intense identities, this being a part of Africa with a very specific character. There was a mystical, bucolic quality that one would never feel in an industrialized nation or in the multitude of cities around the globe.
There are those who ungratefully believe the earth will always provide, but I worship it attempting to take little. It allows me to exist, to consume food, to attain prosperity. For as much as it grants me, it could snatch that away in a flash. The power of the planet is mesmerizing. In one swipe, it could, destroy everything that I have achieved and acquired. I am at the earth’s mercy and for that reason, I adore, respect and appreciate it. It is the only god that I recognize and desire to treat it gently, not preferring to be one of those ignorant, selfish individuals, exhausting the planet’s resources, worshiping some abstract God, probably providing them nothing. Here I was in the essence of naturalism in Natal Province, South Africa.
Simon started to become apprehensive with having some distance to cover, prior to arriving at our lodge. We didn’t wish to drive in the Park at night, due to the presence of a large number of game animals. If we encountered one, we would rather it be while we could still see. Simon drove a little faster than he probably should have with an arrival of a few minutes earlier only helping with the diminishing light. We pushed down the well maintained dirt road for some time, red dust spraying up around us, enjoying the wild surroundings, accompanied only by the car engine hum.
As we drove, we observed a small, sun-backed silhouette in the middle of the road. At first, we didn’t ponder much being relaxed and drained after a long over stimulating day. The closer we traveled to this dark image, the larger it became, seeming to swallow the entire portion of the road where it had settled. Our eyes eventually adjusted to what we were viewing – an elephant chomping food on the roadside. Its massive body grabbed the road, while it chewed on grass and tree matter. There it stood in its colossal splendor, there we crouched in our quandary as to how we would pass. We transversed the road as we dared without endangering our own lives. If we threatened this beast, its behavior was at best unpredictable. It didn’t budge, but kept on masticating its meal, seemingly having no awareness of the small living beings in the red car on its path. It remained serene as it probably mostly was in its world. Simon exclaimed, “Oh damn, what next. We must have the time!” “Well, he doesn’t seem to want to move too soon,” I remarked. “Let’s sit here awhile and see what happens,” Simon continued. Five minutes seemed like an hour with the animal not trotting away from us.
Female elephants live in large groups with a matriarch that dominants all ages in their family from infancy to full grown adults. Because the lead mother’s female offspring stay with her in the herd, it must be a comfort to have members of the family around her. Males or bulls remain by themselves, being expelled from the family to shift around and forge for food on their own, making them become temperamental and independent. Anthropomorphizing their lives, the males are lonely beasts. Although the individual animal is isolated, genetically it’s optimal. The young males need to find a new group of females for gene contribution, spreading the inheritance wealth.
Given we were viewing a lone elephant, we assumed it was a male and probably rather temperamental, not reassuring. Since it had been a warm, dry day and without air conditioning in the car, the windows were open. However, it was a concern, since we knew instinctively that we should conceal ourselves as much as possible from the animal, not preferring to be smelled. How to avoid observation in an opened red car is a bit of a trick. Finally, it began to meander away from the road into the bush, never lifting its face while ambling off of our path. When we could not view the animal any more, we powered up the car, progressing forward. The elephant had moseyed back in the bush, continuing his relentless feeding venture. We were able to maneuver close to the small bridge near where it had stood. From somewhere in the bush, I detected trumpeting, knowing it was from my side! Simon had very little experience with a manual transmission, dutifully stalling the car. The elephant spotted us, resenting our intrusion into its tranquil world. He made a slow stride in our direction, causing my insides to pound with adrenaline. I yelled, “Simon, get the hell out of here! In gear and on now!” That’s the last that was shrieked prior to the impact with the elephant striking on my side, thankfully at the back end. We encountered a loud thud, but we remained upright. The animal had not released all of its power, only hitting enough to convince us to expel ourselves from its territory. It backed off with us surmising it would probably deal another blow. With petrifying fear, Simon mechanically forced the car in gear, slamming on the gas pedal. We took off like a shot, realizing that the car had been crippled. The elephant again trumpeted, but didn’t choose to squander its valuable energy to chase us. We were dazed in a cloud, not knowing if we were still alive.
The red ball in the vanishing blue sky was pulling itself closer toward the earth. We pushed on for the lodge, avoiding any more incidences. We remained silent, and I could only contemplate how precious our lives were. The elephant was only behaving as any living creature would on this earth, protecting its home, its resources and piece of earth, its behavior a reflection of those who live on the planet. It struck quickly without warning or premeditated vengeance.
We arrived at Hilltop Lodge, registered and surveyed the damage bestowed upon the red car with the back end being smashed. What would the rental car agency say? We would approach the car situation some time in the next few days. We felt exhausted. I guess escapes from stressful weddings don’t always turn out better.
As we approached our cottage, there laid a majestic zebra with her tiny foal in front of it. How gentle they appeared. We saucily sauntered around her. She had spent significant time at the lodge, so felt comfortable with humans, probably finding it easier to tolerate us than take her chances in the wild, where lions or leopards could devour her.
The next day we met a Zulu ranger in the lot who viewed the elephant encounter car results. He glanced at us, politely asking with his tribal-South African accent what had occurred. When we relayed the catastrophic story, he remarked, “Elephants don’t like red cars.” We proceeded to join him for one of my favorite ventures – rhino walking. We would shelf the car problem for a couple of days.
Happy Adventures,
Jennifer Horton Chadwick
California Gypsy 