Thursday night we threw a send-off Braii for Abbie, Eva, and Louise with the help of Lionel and Andre. The festivities began around 8:00pm and the theme of this Braii was “Animals”. With the very few resources we have here at the Loose, Abbie and I managed to pull together two vulture costumes with the use of garbage bags and two orange insemination gloves (I had brought them with me to collect fecal samples). With the use of Eva’s crazy make-up skills we somewhat resembled vultures. By the end of the night not only did we look the part, but we also acted it as well. For dinner we enjoyed Kudu sausage, Impala kabobs, chicken, lamb, and even had the chance to try white rhino (The white rhino on the reserve were recently hunted to prevent illegal poaching making it available for the Braii). The night started off fairly tame but by the time we had finished eating dinner we had broken out the Amarula and were enjoying round after round of shots. With Lionel’s car pumping beats it was only a matter of time before the Braii turned into a dance party in the bush.
At 1:00am I managed to find my way to my room and collapse on my bed. Abbie was only few minutes behind me... and then Lionel showed up... and then Andre... and then Sarah... and lastly, Butch and Tiny. The party had somehow found its way into our room but luckily the conversation only lasted thirty minutes before everyone decided to call it a night. Lionel, who has a flat at the Homestead, spent the night on our floor in a sleeping bag. Butch and Tiny on the other hand climbed into bed with me and slept on my feet for the majority of the night.
. . .
I would be lying if I said that Friday morning wasn’t rough. Abbie, Eva, and Louise were scheduled to leave at 7:00am. Knowing this, Abbie managed to get herself up and out of bed by 5:30am to have a shower and make sure all her things were in order. At 6:00am Lionel’s alarm went off and he too got up to get ready to head home. Unfortunately for him, his car battery was dead and he only managed to make it 30 seconds down the road after his car was push started. I had managed to pull myself out of bed around 7:00am, took some Tylenol, and slowly but surely got ready to go out for the day. By the time the buses finally arrived and whisked the girls away it was nearly 10:00am.
The day that followed taught me two things. The first fun fact of the day was that trying to view elephants, or anything for that matter, through binoculars is exceptionally difficult when nursing a hangover. My once steady hands were shaking continuously for the first half of the day and my eyesight was slightly wonky. One elephant easily turned into two and I often found myself squinting severely while trying to identify them. Fortunately, by the afternoon I was feeling much better aside from feeling the effects of not getting enough sleep. The next thing I learned was how much a miss Eva, Louise, and Abbey. We met six weeks ago and for five of them have spent every waking moment of every day together. The four of us saw the elephants for the first time together and even witnessed the introduction of a new calf into the herd. We have seen elephants roll around in the mud and spray each other with water, we have seen elephant calves learning to use their trunks, and we have seen what it is to be an elephant. Sitting in the Ele-truck with the extra space is bitter sweet and I miss having Abbie to talk to about who knows what. Last night was even odder sleeping the entire night through without waking up to her mumbling in her sleep or yelling about data entry. Having a room to myself is a big change after five weeks of living with Abbie and the week spent in Intibane with twelve other girls.
It was also different without Louise there to count the train cars or to record something with her camcorder. In the first few weeks of the trip her camcorder was basically mounted to her hand, recording everything from the birds flying above us to the giraffe poking their heads out from behind trees. I am also going to miss hearing Louise’s stories and the look that Eva and I often exchanged during them (If you are reading this Louise... your stories were always wonderful). Eva’s absence was made apparent by the lack of “stuff” in the Ele-truck. On any given day Abbie and I could find Eva’s water bottle and pencil case amongst our things or her jacket lying underfoot. It was also strange not having to stop the vehicle when she accidently dropped her camera case or her clipboard out of the truck.
The Loose Mongoose is also eerily quiet in the morning without Eva jogging around the camp or the sound of the shower running at 7:00am because Abbie never could take a quick shower. The kitchen isn’t cramped during the rush to make breakfast or pack lunches, and only cooking for five people is a breeze. The last six weeks would not have been the same without them. I came to South Africa without any real expectations for making lifelong friendships, but after meeting three amazingly crazy women and getting along with them ridiculously well I have done just that. They may be situated halfway around the world but surely another eight hour flight from hell will be worth the trouble. With less than two weeks to go before heading home I can’t help but wonder where all the time has gone and reminisce about all the memories that have been made.
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