On arrival at the lodge 2 hours later we were told that we needed to pay an exhorbitant fee to drive through their land to see the animals, and that in any event they were likely seeking respite in the shade somewhere so we wouldn't see anything particularly exciting. Even to stay at the lodge to eat our packed lunches would have cost $5 so we departed in search of a nice shady tree to have our picnic and head home.
On the way back, Davona (the director) spotted broken trees and piles of not-quite-dry elephant dung, and was insistent that if we just drove over 'there' ('there' being off the dirt road and through the bush) we would surely spot them! Her husband reluctantly agreed, and for the following 2 hours we got sore bottoms, saw lots of elephant dung, a few giraffes, but no elephants.
By this time we were lost because we'd been intent on finding the elephants - searching in vain for a landmark to show us the way back to the road, out of nowhere we at last spotted the elephants hiding under some trees!!!! It was so exciting, because we'd almost given up hope!
Mama Ju (my nickname for my american roommate, Julie) was terrified that we wouldn't find our way out of the bush by dark...and was suddenly not so impressed at the prospect of finding more elephants. Eventually we made it back to the main road, and arrived home weary, but extremely satisfied, just in time for dinner.
Such a lovely outing - and our adventure offered so much more fun and excitement than had the lodge allowed us to view their game.
Oh that's so exciting Bec!!! Lelephant!!
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