Out of Africa

Elephants walking

Along the trails

Are holding hands

By holding tails. - Lenore M. Link

What an awesome way to wile away a Sunday Afternoon. My brother and his wonderful wife treated the little ones and I to a visit to an Elephant Sanctuary in the North West Province.

This pic of them was not taken on the trip but I just love it.

Touching and amazing only begins to describe how awesome these great big gentle giants are.

Having just spent a morning with kids roughing each other up (and getting annoyed by it), it was fun to watch how young elephants behave the same way, Momma Elephant too looked annoyed after a while.

Most amazing for me was to see the Children and how they reacted to the elephants.

Even my little chicken who is afraid of all creatures living fed touched and interacted with these gorgeous creatures, and babbled not stop about it for the hours drive home. She took a liking to a little gentleman named Temba in particular.

Of course feeding the dude was just a grand thing to do.

Liam absolutely loved the experience and even took Pumba for a stroll. It is truly amazing to watch a little man lead a 4 ton giant around. All it took was a cupped hand which the elephant holds on to.

Even my City Slicker Kevin got into the action, and told me what a great time he had. Driving anywhere out of town often has Kevin acting as if the very world will end so I was amazed to say the least. No I wont post his picture here. My boy would rather sacrfice limbs than have his picture taken.

For those who are inclined to tactile experiences touching the elephants was something amazing. The elephant truly is a myriad of textures, bumpy and rough on top, bumpy and soft on its belly, The skin behind its ears velvet like. The hair on its tail like very thick fishing line. Its tongue slick and wet and smoother than glass. Most amazing for me had to be the underside of its feet. Not the rough calloused pad you may imagine, but rather a smooth soft very finely textured sponge.

Intriguing to me are the stories of an elephants legendary memory.

One such tale related on this trip is of an elephant orphaned as a youngster. It was raised by hand and then re - released into the wild. 17 years after this fact it was injured in a fight with a Hippopotomus. The elephant suffered a large open wound on it's leg that required treatment. Elephants because of their size cannot be safely sedated and this one was in pain making it unapproachable to boot. Her original keeper was tracked down and after 17 years of running wild, her keeper approached her with a simple, "Hello, my girl". The elephant allowed the wound to be cleaned and treated by her handler with no resistance whatsoever. She still knew and trusted that person.

Every so often I am struck by being in the presence of some ancient wisdom far greater than I could hope to understand. It’s a feeling I very much associate with being African. If I am totally honest about it, something about these magnificent creatures touched me so intently I stood to the side hoping no one would notice my tears.