Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Walking with Elephants

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While visiting The Hide in Hwange National Park, we took a walking safari, meeting up with this guy.
He doesn't look big, but he was.  He was big and just beautiful.

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I've done quite a few things in Africa now, but when you're about 5 feet from a bull elephant,
and your guide says "Stay very still, he'll think we're part of the tree" and you realize you're about,
hmm, like a millionth the size of the elephant, well, your heart just plummets through your toes.

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And plummet my heart did...and it was was amazing, stunning, and terrifying at the same time.
Apparently showing visitors to Zimbabwe both the beauty and healthy fear of elephants is my new go-to tactic!

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Just when my heart returned to its proper place in my chest, this guy came toward us.

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He just continued to confirm why I absolutely love elephants, their beauty, their intelligence, and their
ability to remind you of what a tiny little place you occupy in this universe.

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Just to add a tiny bit of variety to the elephant stream, one of Hwange's beautiful Acacia trees.

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A red-billed horn bill.

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And some pretty birds that my visitor would admonish me for forgetting their name since
apparently everyone (but me!) enjoys bird watching on safaris!



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