Mayafudi Goes Back Home And Why Elephants Love Autumn!
Late afternoon Mayafudi reached his destination, after driving himself from sunrise to sunset. Like an elephant with a mission he walked, from Shingwedzi all along the H-1 highway in a southerly direction. Past the rest camp Mopane, the ranger base Mooiplaas and Letaba towards Olifants Camp. Then to Satara in the heart of the Game Reserve.
From Satara, to the astonishment of immobilised breakfast cooks, with their frying pans, sausages and eggs – he walked right across the picnic spot Tshokwane, then past Leeupan and the Elephant’s drinking hole to Skukuza.
Early morning only or late in the afternoon when thirst and heat drove him, he would veer off his course to a water hole or man-made dam. Then he took long draughts of water. Should other animals become too cheeky and risk coming too near, he would rush at them with his trunk swinging wildly, and drive them off.
Even a few lions had to flee from this danger. He wanted to be alone when he quenched his thirst.
Eventually he finished the last stage: from the Kruger Gate to the well-known beacon of the magnificent fig tree, hardly two kilometres west of the high-water bridge across the Sabie River.
The old aristocrat of the wild was deadbeat when he reached the equally aristocratic tree. Clinging to his large feet was the dust of far trails. He was grateful that his pilgrimage had ended. It was more than 250 murderous kilometres from Mafunyane’s world – the place where he looked for peace, many years before, when he had to recuperate after a former crisis.
This was Ukuthula’s real world, his home patch. Here, where the Bushveld spoke to him as seldom before. Here, in the bush which he knew and loved from childhood, he felt at home. This was the land of his fathers and mothers. These were his trees, his animals, his birds and his veld.
He felt a deep bond with everything around him. For the moment at least, his sombre thoughts made room for an appreciation of nature along the Sabie River.
Autumn came late that year, it suddenly struck him. It was already past the middle of May. Even though elephants did not possess calendars, they kept track of time.
They observed how the sky slowly became a deeper, softer blue. How the green of the grassy plains and the deciduous trees made way for hues of yellow, red and rusty brown.
This, too, was the time when it was no longer necessary for an elephant to remain close to water. When autumn arrived, it was no longer a crises when a day should pass without the luxury of a shower.
All elephants love autumn
Mayafudi was no exception. The calm of nature seemed to enfold the temperamental moods of the elephant. The moodiness of high summer vanished. The inclination to irritability, especially at water holes, tapered off.
Mayafudi was in pensive mood. His perception of the seasons for a moment replaced his thoughts on the past. All crises, conflicts and confrontations were moved aside as he enjoyed the restful dusk of the evening. The glowing sun in the west tinted the dark trees a deep red. Animals were preparing for the darkness of the night. Remembering Ukuthula’s Grave & The Elephants Who Died In The Kruger Park
Mayafudi purposely focused on the evening games of a troop of monkeys in the jackalberries. Almost jovially he lifted his trunk when a kingly kudu bull walked past. Then he carefully moved his huge feet to avoid squashing to death a tiny animal or insect.
His ears were attuned to the well known sounds of the bush: the call of a fish eagle sweeping the water in a last salute to the sun; the snorts of a company of impala rams, the trumpet blast of a hippopotamus, the lamentation of a hungry hyena.
Mayafudi wished that the same peace and serenity would encompass him.
Suddenly, the regular drone of a powerful engine interrupted his peaceful thoughts. He knew what the sound meant. Could he ever forget?
It was one of a horde of green safari vehicles on the roads of the Park. A group of eager tourists on the back of a Nissan truck were enjoying a so-called night drive from the Kruger Gate. Rich visitors with expensive video cameras seeking the Big Five (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and buffalo).
At this stage Mayafudi was a really fine specimen. His shoulder height was almost four metres. His length was nearly five metres. His mass was an astonishing 7 000 kilograms. He carried two ivory pillars of more than 2,5 km each, weighing more than 100 kg. But the bush vegetation dwarfed him as he stood drinking in the beauty of the golden hour of the day. Life Is A Jig-saw puzzle For the Elephants That Live In The Game Park .
He realised that he could cause the night drive to be a really memorable occasion for the tourists. Just a few steps to the left and he, the largest of the Big Five, would be exposed in all his glory.
“Olifant, elephant, elefant!” would then echo from the back of the vehicle – even, in the heat of the moment: “Rhino, hippo!” The vehicle would come to a sudden halt. Cameras would flash. Viewers would chatter. The guide would suddenly feel very important, and recite a number of facts (or not quite facts) about elephants, and think about tips which would follow.
For a moment he thought of joining in the fun – as he would have done years before. Then he scotched the idea. Enough was enough. He was too old for this kind of joke. He was really tired. He had too much on his mind. Until later, when he would lean against a fig tree or against the riverbank to relax his old limbs, he would rather just enjoy the balm of nature.