6/5/98: Up at 4:30am to catch a flight to Bulawayo. Sylvia H. met us at the airport and brought us right home, introduced us to her husband Arthur, then we made haste for Hwange Game Reserve…
NOTE: The photo above shows the first elephants coming to Nyamandhlovu Pan in the late afternoon.
6/5/23: Sylvia later confessed to us that she had had misgivings about meeting us. She feared we would be “stuffy missionary types.” On the other hand, she had warned me when we spoke on the phone that Ruth and I (who were in our early 30s at the time) would be “stuck with a bunch of ‘gerries,’” as in “geriatrics,” or “old folks,” since they and their friends, with whom we’d be spending the weekend, were all retired. As it turned out, we all liked each other quite well and got along brilliantly.
The four of us, along with Ian and Flo W. and Pete and Jilly Q., all arrived at Hwange Main Camp very nearly at the same time. We all got settled into cottages that had been reserved for us, ate a late afternoon lunch together, and then went off into the reserve to begin our first drive.
WOW!!! Nyamandhlovu Pan (“pan” = watering hole) was our first stop and could not have been more exciting for Ruth and I. In the brief 45 minutes we stayed we saw at least 100 elephants come and go. Three hippos lazed about, along with a pair of crocodiles. Giraffe and cape buffalo were also coming and going. For our hosts, who were born and raised in Zimbabwe, it was probably an experience so common it disappears. But for Ruth and I, going on a safari was like being a child stepping into a fantasy book. We were not in a zoo gawking at caged animals in Chicago. The tables were turned. These huge and dangerous animals were coming and going as they pleased in their own domain, while we were uninvited guests caged in the vehicle or viewing stand for our own safety. It was beautiful, awe inspiring and thought provoking. And the H.’s generosity in taking us along was humbling.
I am reminded of the old, expression: “familiarity breeds contempt.” On our trip we learned, over and over again, that one valuable benefit of stepping out of our comfort zone to go on any adventure has the opposite effect. Whether celebrating Easter on a Greek Island, folk dancing with Turks in Ephesus, hiking up Mount Sinai with a hundred other pilgrims, drinking Papaya Leaf Tea with missionaries to prevent malaria, or seeing elephants as a guest at their watering hold, new and unfamiliar experiences breed respect and humility.
