My Adventures in Africa

“A dusty mist lends unreality to the warm dawn which is sleepily awakening. A peculiar wild babble of sound can be heard behind the pale wall of fantasy. Our senses sharpen; we enter the forest and witness the sight of a strange dance created by the mist which is escaping, little by little, from the earth; rising, curling, dissolving, diluting into space. The rising sun with its hazy heat gives a promise of the furnace to come. The magnificent view quickens our longing for adventure, and deeply moved, we pause to admire each feature of the wonderful surroundings. A living compendium of natural history, named Gorongosa Park. From the prehistoric rhinoceros to the antelope with the elegant profile and graceful movement, from the huge crocodile to the careless and playful squirrel, from the majestic lion to the elusive and perfidious hyena, all the specimens crowding the bush, the veld, the dams, fit into an astonishing scene of everlasting surprises. Aloof, a herd of clumsy elephants cooling themselves in a nearby pool. A kudu, instinctively aware of danger, slightly raises his beautiful head, anxiously investigating scents carried on the breeze. The colorful zebras are farther away, browsing quietly, fraternizing tolerantly with wildebeest, who seem to be one of Mother Nature’s jokes, misshapen and awkwardly ugly. A huge hippopotamus lazily measures the uselessness of time, breathing heavily, bored, half-submerged in the waterhole where even now a corpulent lone buffalo quenches his thirst. Over there, an imposing kudu challenges the greatest sculptor, proudly dominating the horizon, silhouetted against the sun, appearing to stand on an elaborate pedestal. Exotic birds fluttering, hopping, gliding, pecking, chirping and warbling, give beauty and color to this strange world, singing improvised hymns, praising life as if this were a magnificent cathedral and they the choir. Millennial trees rise proudly to challenge the hostile elements, embracing each other with their crowning branches to form an impregnable refuge. The restless comings and goings of the butterflies add a final touch to this dazzling scene. This is the living shrine of the Creator, enabling man to experience the adventure of traveling thousands of years back through time, in a mystic pilgrimage, to witness the splendors of Paradise; and for you, dear visitor, it will be a scene where the unexpected is always happening.” We reached the station near Beira where we boarded the van for the trip and the company car was waiting, ready to take us back to Chicamba.