It was in September 1970 , when I saw my first BIG tusker , and that experience made a lasting impression on me that stayed with me until this day .
It was our first visit to Kruger , and as at that time it was still cheap to visit there , and as such also quite difficult to get reservations unless made a year in advance . But things were different too , and much has changed .
Our baby-daughter was just three months old , and , lying in the back of the old Volksie beetle , every time we came onto something interesting , or exciting , she cried or howled . Certainly not fun for my SO , Okie Dokie , who then had to tend to her , feed her or something .....
On our last day , and we were on a late , late afternoon " round-up " before returning to camp , when we encountered a Parks ranger , who , firstly reminded us to make sure te get back to camp in time , then , as an afterthought , told us about this huge old elephant , resting/grazing a mile or two up the road , under a tree . And I remember him saying " he is very old and very big , but he is old , and I do not think you will ever see one like that again . " .
Now , at that time , the legend about the Magnificent Seven had not yet started , but a few names were being mentioned , such as Mafunyane , Shingwedzi and Kambaku .
I had an old , mik and druk ( aim and press ) camera , and being late in the afternoon , were only ably to take a rather poor snapshot , half into the fading sun , of the old gentleman . And that old fotograph has also faded over time
Was it perhaps Kambaku ? -- maybe .......
My big Tuskers
My big Tuskers
Last edited by okie on Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Enough is enough
Re: My big Tuskers
It was quite a few years that went by before we had our next encounter with a BIG one .
Our second child , a son , was born , and being quite difficult to get Kruger reservations , we mainly holiday'd by the sea-side . In 1979 we had another Kruger visit , and then moved to Cape Town . With the kids in school , it now became even more difficult to visit Kruger due to the long drive , etc etc . and it was not until 2003 that we could visit paradise again . The business was going well , and SO and I took off time , flew to Nelspruit , hired a car , and spent a few well-earned rest in KNP .
Again , on our last day before departure , we were sitting quietly at Nhlanganzwane dam ( off the S28 ) , enjoying the silence , when out of the bush came a group of elephants , and following shortly behind them , was a bull with the most magnicifent pair of tusks I have ever seen . They were almost touching the ground , and in fact , was actually scraping it every now and again .
Wow , what a beautiful and awesome sight - we just sat there , dumbstruck He had to walk , holding his head held high , otherwise his tusks would scrape on the ground in front of him , which of course must have been quite painful when it happened .
And then , like the rest of the group , he drank from the dam .
His trunk could not reach into the water , so he kneeled down , and those huge twin tusks dipped down into the water , so that he also could drink his fill .
And when they had all quenched their thirsts , including the big tusker , they all continued on their way .
Despite searching for him again , time and time again during subsequent visits , we never saw him again .
in the meantime , his fame spread , and we heard that he had lost his one tusk , and later on , lost the other one as well .
And we mourned his passing - to me he was not just a Duke , but a King amongst elephants .
Duke -The king amongst elephants
Our second child , a son , was born , and being quite difficult to get Kruger reservations , we mainly holiday'd by the sea-side . In 1979 we had another Kruger visit , and then moved to Cape Town . With the kids in school , it now became even more difficult to visit Kruger due to the long drive , etc etc . and it was not until 2003 that we could visit paradise again . The business was going well , and SO and I took off time , flew to Nelspruit , hired a car , and spent a few well-earned rest in KNP .
Again , on our last day before departure , we were sitting quietly at Nhlanganzwane dam ( off the S28 ) , enjoying the silence , when out of the bush came a group of elephants , and following shortly behind them , was a bull with the most magnicifent pair of tusks I have ever seen . They were almost touching the ground , and in fact , was actually scraping it every now and again .
Wow , what a beautiful and awesome sight - we just sat there , dumbstruck He had to walk , holding his head held high , otherwise his tusks would scrape on the ground in front of him , which of course must have been quite painful when it happened .
And then , like the rest of the group , he drank from the dam .
His trunk could not reach into the water , so he kneeled down , and those huge twin tusks dipped down into the water , so that he also could drink his fill .
And when they had all quenched their thirsts , including the big tusker , they all continued on their way .
Despite searching for him again , time and time again during subsequent visits , we never saw him again .
in the meantime , his fame spread , and we heard that he had lost his one tusk , and later on , lost the other one as well .
And we mourned his passing - to me he was not just a Duke , but a King amongst elephants .
Duke -The king amongst elephants
Enough is enough
- Richprins
- Committee Member
- Posts: 75838
- Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 3:52 pm
- Location: NELSPRUIT
- Contact:
Re: My big Tuskers
Brilliant, okie!
The best thing is you can see he was large in stature too...some of the new ones are small!
Please check Needs Attention pre-booking: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=322&t=596
- nan
- Posts: 26304
- Joined: Thu May 31, 2012 9:41 pm
- Country: Switzerland
- Location: Central Europe
- Contact:
Re: My big Tuskers
wow... Duke at his apogee
Kgalagadi lover… for ever
https://safrounet.piwigo.com/
https://safrounet.piwigo.com/
- mposthumus
- Posts: 976
- Joined: Thu May 31, 2012 9:51 pm
- Country: South Africa
- Location: Pretora
- Contact:
- Lisbeth
- Site Admin
- Posts: 67241
- Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 12:31 pm
- Country: Switzerland
- Location: Lugano
- Contact:
Re: My big Tuskers
Wow!! That's what I call an experience that you will never forget Unique too
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
Re: My big Tuskers
Thank you everyone for sharing these memories with me
Now , over the next nine years since first seeing Duke , we visited Kruger regularly , almost twice every year , and we never saw him again
We did however see many many elephants , and I took hundreds and hundreds of pictures of them from Croc bridge right up to Pafuri . And , during this time , we saw quite a few of the " named " big ones , but never another one that could even come close to the Duke .
I would like to share these with you , although , maybe I should have shown these "newer , smaller " ones first , and maybe I should have left the best for last
In any event , please be patient while I browse and sort through all my files to pic and post those pics .
Now , over the next nine years since first seeing Duke , we visited Kruger regularly , almost twice every year , and we never saw him again
We did however see many many elephants , and I took hundreds and hundreds of pictures of them from Croc bridge right up to Pafuri . And , during this time , we saw quite a few of the " named " big ones , but never another one that could even come close to the Duke .
I would like to share these with you , although , maybe I should have shown these "newer , smaller " ones first , and maybe I should have left the best for last
In any event , please be patient while I browse and sort through all my files to pic and post those pics .
Enough is enough