Jozi: On the edge of the earth

Today we were treated to a unique feature at Jozi - mountain biking the elephant paths.  We were provided with modern mountain bikes featuring front suspension for ease of travel over the rough terrain.  The peddling was mostly flat but it was a bit challenging when the sand got deep.  It also took some skill to avoid elephant dung, branches and other obstacles but it was exhilarating to be riding through the African bush down the narrow elephant trails that fanned out around camp.  Our first stop was at an old abandoned camp whose walls were crumbling and thatch roofs full of huge holes. It was a bit eerie to walk though the buildings and think back to the time when this camp was first built.  Apparently the owner abandoned the project towards the end and these buildings were left to deteriorate over the years.  Next we stopped by the anti poaching team and said a quick hello.

Then it was off down the trail into the wild.  We biked for about 5 miles as the sun set behind us.  We saw some grazing animals along our route but not much else. Still it was fun just to get out and ride in the bush.

Earlier that morning we had taken a game drive even deeper into the most remote part of Hwange.  The wildlife was plentiful from large herds of elephant to giraffe, zebra, buffalo and more.  It was so cool to know we were the only safari vehicle within a hundred miles and there were no tire tracks on the road ahead.  We eventually came to a junction where Tad Bradley, one of my business partners that represent Butch and Imvelo Lodges found a tree that he and Butch had slept under when they were scouting the area before building the lodge.  Tad told of how they slept on bedrolls on the ground and in the middle of the night he felt someone walking around them and was irritated because he thought Butch was kicking him.  In the morning he asked Butch what he was doing in the middle of the night and Butch said he was fast asleep all night.  Tad says he didn’t believe in spirits to that point but he swears he was in the presence of a ghost - perhaps an old park ranger roaming his territory.  Good stuff!