I adjusted the slab of rock that I was sitting on and pulled my knees in close. The voices of the guide and my professor faded away as I let the moment sink it. Before me, three African elephants bathed themselves in the watering hole only a few feet away. I felt the air fill with mist as the elephants lifted their trunks and sprayed their bodies. That moment, watching the elephants at Mole National Park,  was nothing less than surreal.

I had been less excited than my comrades were to visit Mole. After a year of health problems I knew that I wouldn’t be capable of going on a long safari. Upon speaking with Leslie ( our professor), we decided that she and I would go on a smaller safari tour. We started our tour with the rest of the group, but after only a short walk it was time to spilt up. Doing my best not to feel like a wimp, I swallowed my pride and waved goodbye to the group.

Leslie and I spent the majority of our tour by the watering hole. We watched the elephants bathe and as she talked to the guide, I sat and reflected about the past year.  Something about nature always puts me in a pensive mood. It makes my problems seem small and the solution nearly as straightforward as finding a watering hole and being at peace with the simple joys. I still wonder why life isn’t that simple.

I originally wrote this blog post, a lengthy two pages detailing every moment of our safari. However, I know that at least one other post will be written on the same topic and the group encountered far more exciting moments than Leslie and I. Yes, we eventually saw the elephant out of the water and less than ten feet away. We waded through crocodile infested water and attempted not to disturb a heard of kob with the sounds of our sloppy stomps in the swampy fields. However, those aren’t the moments that I’ll take away from this safari. Instead I remember sitting in silence watching the elephants and letting the world melt away.

– Neethu