Into the Bush

Animal Count: 1 bull elephant

Before dawn start for a long day eastwards, our guide Griffiths at the wheel.

We are six: one German woman, an Austrian couple and daughter and we two Canucks.  We went through Emalachenny which is brought to you by the letter "C" (coal, cattle, corn and cactus)

Then higher ground, through Belfast (pine forests and fishing), lunching at quaint old gold mining town Pilgrim's Rest.



The road became smaller, rougher and sided with ground blackened from smudge fires designed to prevent unmanagable brush fires.

grass beginning to grow after controlled burning

A distant cliff edge became a canyon formed from two rivers (the rover of sad tears and the river of happy tears) crashing into each other, creating potholes in the sandstone. 

one river cutting through sandstone....

plus another river.....

equals potholes

suspended animation

As we climbed the canyon I felt like we were in a scene from one of the Raiders of the Lost Ark films (cue music).




6 explorers in Africa

As we climbed the canyon I felt like we were in a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The sun set as we hit the final patch of gravel road, bumping along until we rounded a corner and there he was, a ginormous bull elephant looking right at us.  He was perhaps more surprised than we were and turned into the bush while we all became more alive and excited about what the next day would hold.