Before he could reply, she was through the flap into the comparative gloom of the tent.
He strolled back up the track, kicking the dust absentmindedly as he went. It seemed to hang in the stillness of the air, there wasn’t a breath of wind and he was conscious of the harshness of the sun’s rays on the back of his neck. Even the birdsong sounded muted as though it was too much effort in the midday heat.
His thoughts turned to Meru. It was strange but even baby elephants could get sunburnt he had learnt. Their skin was still quite soft in places, which is why they often spent time directly under their mother’s great bodies, even when walking along. It was the shadiest place around.
Chapter Five
It had been an afternoon full of little bits and pieces for Harry; in the supply store checking things off on rather dull lists and then with the mechanics trying to gain more of an understanding of what was under the bonnet of the Land Rover and how it worked. He was amazed about how much he had learnt in such a short time. There was something he particularly liked about practical knowledge and he had already developed real respect for the crew who kept everything mechanical working in the camp.
He was still buzzing about the decision to buy the repeater aerials and had already given a rather grumpy Aziz internet details for their purchase. However, the image that kept jumping into his brain was of Mara, and how safe she and her family were. Harry had talked to Kilifi about where he thought they might be and now had a few good ideas of where to look.
Five o’clock came round surprisingly quickly and he wandered down to Ana’s tent where he had fully expected to find her still asleep but she was sitting in the shaded canvas porch writing in what seemed to be rather a large book.
“You’re spot on time Harry; just give me a couple of minutes while I finish up my journal. He sat down in the other rather rickety chair, trying not to let his enthusiasm to be up and going show too much. He could see the page of closely packed neat script and thought how unusual it was to see someone writing by hand in this way.
As if to answer his question Ana looked up and said, “I expect you are wondering just what I write in this journal of mine.”
“The day’s events I imagine, I have thought about doing something like that myself, since being here anyway, but somehow I never seem to get round to it, too tired at the end of the day I suppose.” He thought that a pretty lame excuse, even as the words came out.
“That’s part of it I suppose but it goes much deeper than that. I am aware you will know something of why I am here and a little of my immediate past.” She put up her hand to prevent Harry saying anything. “I don’t expect you to understand, indeed I am only beginning to get my head round some of it myself but one of the doctors who has been keeping an eye on me suggested I keep a daily record, not just of what I have done but importantly what I have been thinking about. I am a journalist and writing has always come easily to me but this is something very raw and personal and involves lots about my thoughts. Getting them down rather than having them flying round my head really seems to help and writing by hand rather than on a computer has become important, it becomes much more a part of me. In a way the journal has become one of my closest friends and when I try to make sense of things, rereading it helps me to understand stuff. We are going to be seeing a great deal of each other. Don’t expect me to go into detail about the past but I feel we will become friends and it’s important that you learn a little, at least, of what makes me tick.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me.” There was a time when he would have said much more, questions tumbling out of his mouth but he remained silent.
“Now what about trying to find those elephants?”
It was just the two of them, as Kilifi was busy, so Harry had taken Bluebird. It was odd, he thought, that he should have developed so much affection for the oldest vehicle in Uwingoni. Everything seemed to rattle, the canvas seats were positively uncomfortable, especially on hot sweaty days, the gears often grated unless he got the change just right and with no power steering, he already thought he had built up new muscle strength, just through turning the large, old-fashioned steering wheel. Harry had grown to love her, oddly for all the reasons that many would consider negatives.
He drove a little faster than normal. Being so close to the equator the light slipped away quickly, at six-thirty everything was clear and well defined, yet by seven it was dark with little chance of spotting or tracking much. They had an hour and a half if they were lucky.
They were heading for Twiga waterhole, as the Swahili name implied, this was somewhere favoured by giraffe. It was a little off the main drag and Bluebird’s suspension was struggling with the endless line of ruts that ran horizontally directly in front of them, the product of the last heavy rains.
Harry stopped to inspect some animal tracks. Kilifi would have been proud of his pupil. He identified two sets of hyena prints moving from right to left in front of them and several tell-tale indications that giraffe had passed this way fairly recently, but there was no hint of elephants.
“Are we heading in the right direction?” asked Ana. “I am afraid you could write my knowledge of wild Africa on a postage stamp so I won’t be much help.”
“That’s exactly what I was like a few months back,” he smiled, “but there are some great teachers here and because I really want to learn I have found that I only need to be told things once. Sometimes I need a little clarification but because I show a real interest everyone is keen to tell me what they have spent years discovering. I have such a long way to go but already my head is bursting with information I could never have imagined.”
“Where are we heading then?”
“Well at this time of day, particularly when it has been so hot and dusty many of the animals pay a visit to one of the waterholes before the darkness really settles in. The larger elephants can drink up to fifty gallons of water in a day. That’s as much as you could fit into your bath if you filled it up. They can go up to four days without a drink but always quench their thirst when they can. Amazingly they can actually smell it from more than two miles away.”
He could see the look of surprise on Ana’s face.
“They are incredible animals but until they come close you don’t really appreciate just how huge they can get. Bethwell told me that the average weight is around twelve thousand pounds. I am not very good with metric I’m afraid but I think that is getting on for five times as much as the average small car. They usually spend over half the day just eating; grass, leaves and bark from the trees and any other vegetation they think is tasty. A large bull elephant might eat as much as six hundred pounds.”
“In one day?” said Ana, almost a look of disbelief on her face. “Your facts are staggering, I simply had no idea.”
“As I said I am only just learning myself but when I sit and listen to some of the older rangers I feel like a kid again, listening to some magical bedtime story I never want to end.”
Harry took the right fork, stopping briefly to put Bluebird into four-wheel drive. “This is a steep track down to the waterhole and if I only used the brakes they would be red hot before the bottom, so it’s first gear and slowly does it.”
Below them was a thick patch of greenery with a thin line of shrubs and bushes leading to it.
“You can see where the stream usually feeds the waterhole,” Harry pointed out. “Although there is only a trickle in there at the moment there is a surprising amount just below the surface so the Twiga watering hole nearly always has something in it, even in the very dry season.”
Bluebird bucked and jolted over the rocky track, the thorns from the acacias scraping against the worn paintwork and the engine protesting loudly at the steepness of the descent.
After what seemed an age the track levelled out and wound its way towards the shade of the trees.
“There will be little, if anything drinking now. We have made enough noise to startle even the boldest of animals.”
/> “This might sound a rather stupid question Harry, but what’s the next step?”
“Simple,” he replied. “We find a good viewing spot, turn off the engine and just sit and wait. There is a lot of that out here.”
“Perfect. I feel that is something so many people never do these days. They rush from one thing to the next, are rarely still, have their heads down outside so don’t even notice their surroundings.”
As soon as he turned the engine off, the chirp of crickets was almost deafening. A strong breeze that seemed to come like individual breaths threw up small cones of dust by the water as it rippled the surface, but there was no sign of any other movement.
Time ticked by but neither of them was aware of its passing.
It was getting near dusk and yet still there was no sign of life round the water. “This is very unusual,” whispered Harry. “Something is up. There would usually be several different types of animal drinking round the hole by now.”
“I am sure I caught some sort of movement just over there in the bushes to the left of that large boulder, said Ana, “but what do I know, it just seemed briefly that the shadow of the bush was darker and…”
She caught a gasp in her throat and held it down. As if by magic two male lions were standing in front of the tree line. They appeared both unconcerned and unhurried. Their heads moved slowly scanning the far side. It seemed to Ana as though they were staring right at her. Although they must have been seventy or eighty yards away it was still possible to pick out some of the detail. The particular evening light seemed to emphasise the deep redness of their manes. The one on the left stretched his back in just the same way as their cat back home. Their large tummies swung gently beneath them as they moved easily towards the water.
Harry was reluctant to break the spell but whispered gently, “These are two young brothers; I have seen them before with Bethwell but never at this watering place. That would explain why there were no other animals around, they must have sensed them. But by the look of their tummies they need not have worried. The reason they are hanging down so much is that they must have killed and eaten fairly recently. They are beautiful but lazy and they won’t be bothered by anything much until they are hungry again.
“If I was standing up I think my knees might have gone weak,” replied Ana. “I know we came looking for elephant but this is unbelievably special.” Even as she spoke the two brothers ambled to the water’s edge, crouched down with their chins on the surface of the water, their large pink tongues delving repeatedly into the surface, their heads though remaining amazingly still and watchful.
Suddenly the spell was broken, a sound in the dusk, not even near but the brothers were off, a few quick strides and it was as though they had never been.”
“That distant crackle sounds like gunfire,” said Harry. “That’s what spooked them!” He revved the engine into life.
“See if you can get the camp on the radio. I need both hands on the wheel over this surface.”
“This is Ana in Bluebird,” she shouted above the noise of the clattering on the track. “Can anyone hear me?” She took her finger off the send button waiting for a reply.
“Keep trying,” said Harry. “This is such a steep valley we are probably still out of radio contact!”
“It is difficult to know where the shots came from. It felt as though it was over to the north but perhaps I am just jumping to conclusions because that has been the danger area for so long. Keep trying on the radio, someone should pick us up soon.”
Harry suddenly turned right down an even narrower track. “I know this seems nuts heading back down again but I am sure I remember this route with Bethwell a few weeks ago although in this half-light I can’t be sure.”
Ana was still trying to get through on the radio. “These repeater masts can’t come too soon,” she said. “Just think what a difference it would make. All the decisions and actions would be joined up.”
The hill seemed to be getting even more sheer if that was possible and Harry could actually feel some of the endless loose rocks that littered their way hitting the underneath of Bluebird. He knew he should have slowed down but in his mind, larger than any other thought was the image of Mara and Meru. Where were they? Were they and the other elephants safe and who was behind the gunfire?
“There is a crossing a little further down here. It is like a concrete ledge under the water of the stream which will take us up onto the far side and quickly to a major track.”
The trail dipped even more steeply and they could actually see the line of the water below. Harry braked sharply but they didn’t slow. He pumped the brake pedal but it went straight to the floor. If anything Bluebird was speeding up.
“We have lost the brakes Ana! Hang on to whatever you can.”
She didn’t say a word but braced her legs in the foot well as Harry gripped the wheel fiercely in a desperate attempt to keep them on the track. The trunks of large trees flashed past, almost close enough to touch. He didn’t let himself dwell on what on what a mess it would make of Bluebird, and more importantly them, if they were to hit one straight on.
They took one final turn and there was the water, dark and uninviting baring their way. Strangely time seemed to slow down and the images played out in front of him. The trees cleared on either side, one last large boulder seemed determined to knock them off course. He knew how vital it was that he hit the narrow concrete wash-away as near centre as he could manage. He remembered Bethwell’s tip, even though that was when they had been driving slowly! Always keep your eyes on where the track begins on the far side and aim for that like a target, forget if you can, what is under you.
He lined them up as well as he could and with his foot still on the accelerator, so that he at least had some control, they hit the water. It was better to have speed than nothing at all.
When Bluebird met the surface, neither of them could believe the amount of spray that erupted around them. It was obvious the stream was far deeper than they had realised. Harry fought the pressure and the wheel with all his strength staring with a fixed vision at the other side.
The engine stuttered a couple of times and with one final splutter died completely. They both sat there in the sudden silence, neither saying a word but being in no doubt how lucky they were.
“Well, I’ll say one thing for you Harry you would make a great dodgems champ. You missed all those trees and the huge boulder at the end. Don’t know how you did it. Think you have a special bond with old Bluebird here.”
They both laughed somewhat nervously, aware of just how narrow the margins in life can be.
“I wouldn’t normally say this in such odd circumstances but how happy I am to be sitting where we are! However, let’s get out of here now.”
Harry turned the key several times but the engine showed no sign of life. In frustration he kept trying, pumping the accelerator repeatedly.
“Just stop Harry. You will only make things worse.”
He looked across at her, surprise written on his face. “What do you suggest then?” he inquired trying to keep his voice level.
“Well, something similar happened to me once in Jordan when I was out with a film cameraman. We hit a flooded road unexpectedly and our vehicle, also some old four-wheel drive, just ground to a stop. Luckily he just happened to be a good mechanic as well as being great with a camera. I remember it well because I had just the thing to fix the engine in my bag!”
Harry looked puzzled. “What on earth was that?”
Ana delved inside the large kiondo basket behind the seat, her hand emerging with a small pack of tissues. “These,” she said with a chuckle.
Harry was none the wiser but avoided coming out with some stupid comment that would show his lack of knowledge.
“He showed me what to do, so let’s see if I can remember. Of course I might be completely wrong but at the moment we are going nowhere and are still unable to get in touch with anyone else so let’s give it a go.”
She had a good point he thought so cautiously he opened the door. The water level was below the rim so fortunately nothing was getting inside. “Step out on your side but take care, I suspect you are pretty close to the concrete edge.”
“About a tyre’s width,” she smiled. “Perfectly judged! Now get that bonnet up and let’s have a look inside.”
Harry pulled the lever inside the cab to release the bonnet and holding it up with a rusty, old metal rod they both peered into the comparative gloom of the engine compartment.
“My knowledge is pretty basic,” he admitted. “I am learning from the guys at camp but have a long way to go.”
“I know some bits and pieces that I have picked up over the last few years. In many of the remote places I’ve been there are no garages or mechanics for further than you can imagine so you have to look after yourself. Luckily I have rarely been on my own.”
The water droplets were still dripping from parts of the engine. The force and speed of Bluebird as she entered the stream had been huge.
“My feeling is that as we stopped so suddenly it will be to do with the electrics getting wet.” Ana flicked a catch on the side of the distributer, a control point that contained the leads that went to the four spark plugs. She checked a tiny pair of metal points she knew to be important and then ran her tissue round the inside of the cap. When it came out it was more than damp.
Handing another to Harry she said, “Now wipe down each of those cables that go to the spark plug caps and then the plugs themselves. Wetness in these areas means the plugs don’t work properly, so no spark and without that nothing to ignite the fuel and so the engine cannot work, simple!”
Harry made a mental note of yet something else to study up on as soon as he was back in camp.
“Right then, hop back in and try starting her again and remember gentle on the accelerator too, otherwise there will be more flooding, only petrol this time!”
Harry cautiously turned the starter a couple of times without success but on the third time after a brief hesitation the engine coughed once and then roared back into life as though there had never been a problem.
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