Day 11 – So Long Morukuru

This morning we had an unexpected morning drive on the way to the airstrip, one last opportunity to tick off our Big Five. Spoiler, we didn’t, and we didn’t actually see too much, but it was nice to get out one last time. We spent some time exploring newly re-opened roads after the rains we’ve had, exploring different areas. We came across a few elephant road blocks, one of which was a lovely lady who we spent some time with just observing her behaviours and her technique at puling greenery off bushes. She would routinely pull branches tight, then kick the bottom to break them off from the ground. And ones that were too high to do that with, she would hold in her trunk or mouth and then hook it on her right tusk and pull. This is how Emile determined she was right handed, as her right tusk had notches from the wear of pulling branches on it. It was so humbling to see such intelligence from this animal, and seeing the thought process of her actions. It’s incredible to watch, and really made me wonder what she was thinking, particularly when she stopped to take in our presence in he truck, and determine that we were not a threat – what did she see?

It wasn’t long until it was time for our flight. When we pulled up to the airstrip, the plane was even smaller than the first one we took, so we said our goodbyes and headed towards our ride. It was a small 8 seater front prop plane. It was a little intimidating having to duck just to get to your seat, but once we were seated and strapped in and heading down the runway, it felt just like every other flight i’ve been on. This was the first of three flights we were taking to get home today. It has been such a full on trip that after take off, a quick look at the scenery and spotting some buffalo, I managed to fall asleep briefly before landing at Johannesburg airport. The transitions were easy, hopping on our flight to Singapore and then onto the last flight to Melbourne. After 27 hours of travelling, we are finally home. It was a magical trip, and I have been gifted with memories I will hold dear until the day I die. An absolute dream.