Life Is Grumpy.

That first night in the hide was as still as the mirrored waters of the drinking hole in front of us. Occasionally, baboons warning of an approaching leopard or hyenas laughing at each other (well, that’s what it sounded like) pierced the deafening silence. Animals and money have one thing in common: they don’t like noise, especially usiku hehe. Nixon, who I am convinced is an animal whisperer, would constantly remind us to be still when the animals came to drink. There were times I worried the others could hear my loud thoughts, hehe.

When our eyes grew too heavy, we lay down in mute, hehe. The hide has side, front, and back lights that reflect well on the animals for us to take good photographs. Throughout the night, we all stared into the darkness, waiting for animals to appear. We were an audience in the theatre of the wild. The darkness was a huge curtain that parted, revealing an elephant, hyena, leopard, buffalo, and even an owl, each performing its own act.

Nixon was able to sense an animal when it was still out of sight. He knew when most of them would appear and from what direction, and he was right most of the time. It was like he was in a WhatsApp group with the animals, and they texted him whenever they were approaching. He was the movie director of our experience in the hide.

When two bull elephants crept up to the watering hole, I couldn’t decide whether to look at them through my lens or simply marvel at these giants standing just a few feet away from us. That was a special night, and I’m so glad I put my photo out there and won the opportunity to visit Shompole. We ushered in the dusty morning with a troop of baboons coming in for their morning coffee, a.k.a. maji. They were followed by impalas, guinea fowl, and many doves and weavers. It was a busy watering café for everyone.

We took some photos and then left for camp to rest at about 8 a.m. That afternoon, we repeated the drill. We freshened up in our tents, downloaded our images to our laptops, and took a nap after breakfast. We gathered again at 4 p.m. and walked to the riverbank for our short boat ride across, powered by Nixon, hehe.

As we walked on the dusty path, chatting, a lady ahead of us stopped suddenly and pointed, exclaiming, “Elephant!” I was immediately excited at the prospect of recording until we were quickly guided off the track into a bush. Nixon left us and joined his colleagues in coaxing Grumpy out of the way so we could pass through safely. Grumpy wasn’t in the mood to comply. He stood his ground and stomped his feet, then, just as suddenly, chased one of the young men through the thickets.

By now, I was both scared and excited. I wanted to witness this standoff—get close enough for a good view but far enough to be out of harm’s way. Crouched in the bushes, hearts hammering, we started asking ourselves what we would do should Grumpy find us. We could hear the loud breaking of branches and the guys talking in very nervous tones. We considered those theories of sijui stand your ground, and don’t run. I’m not sure how that would have worked out because the instinct is to flee, even though you can’t outrun an elephant. We hurtled to the staff quarters nearby, which was a bit consoling as we now had a hiding place should Grumpy come our way. Still, I had doubts about whether that structure would withstand his strength.

Yaani, these are the reels we see on Instagram, and here we were in the middle of one, trying to outmanoeuvre the biggest elephant I had ever seen. He even appeared much bigger than the ones at the Mara. After a while, Nixon came back and tried hard to guide us to the river as safely and as fast as possible while his men tried to push Grumpy away. The sweat on his brow and his look of worry weren’t comforting. We were in real danger. Anything could have happened at any moment, but for some strange reason, I knew we would get through it, and we did. I like my food with pilipili, and this encounter with grumpy was the pilipili for my trip. It was hot.

We finally got to the boat, and Nixon powered us across with all the strength his arms could muster. That’s when we saw Grumpy partially hidden in the bush on the edge of the river, having a snack. Again, his size was just staggering. We got across and quickly walked up the riverbank with our mizigos and into the cruiser. Grumpy could still have easily crossed that river and come for us. Maybe Nixon was the admin in that animal WhatsApp group and had removed Grumpy for his fujo. He could have been protesting removal from the group, hehe!

We got to the hide without further drama, but our hearts were still racing. That was close, but then again, isn’t that how life is? When we come out of our comfort zone and pursue new things, an elephant can occasionally come in our way. Or are we the ones who met the elephant in his way? Whichever the case, life does get elephant some times, and we have to deal with it. To me, the lesson here was finding a way to get around Grumpy and cross the river to the hide.

Abandoning our mission and going back to camp wasn’t an option. We doubted, hid, and even retreated at some point, but getting to the boat was still the goal. That whole escapade lasted barely an hour, but it coloured our trip. We can say that now because all’s well that ends well.

So go off the beaten track, folks, and if you find an elephant, take it as a sign that what lies beyond it is bigger and worth going for. That was the case for me and my fellow hide mates. We got good images because Grumpy’s relas and neighbours showed up to pose for us. Or were they apologising for the mzee’s bad behaviour? Perhaps, hehe.  

We had a good kesha with the wildlife at Shompole, and when morning came, my heart was content. When we finally emerged from our hole, I walked around trying to see how the animals saw us from the watering hole. Nixon showed us the various footprints, who they belonged to, and what direction they went after their nightcap.

I was amazed at the elephant’s print in the ground. Its size and intricate veins stamped into the ground were impressive. Did you know elephants have three toes on their feet? Now you know. I removed my shoes and pressed my foot next to that print to leave my mark too (and try some earthing—I hear it’s beneficial). My size ten foot was tiny in comparison, and that challenged me to leave a footprint as big as I can on this life. You should too, folks.

Pssst, that photo up there is for sale, and a few others on my gallery here (LucaShots)