After a delicious breakfast, we decide to go with Harry to see his new brick making operation. He started it earlier this year after finding the right type of clay on his land. Bricks are used extensively in local construction, and there is a ready market for them. Harry consulted with a brick making expert in Bulawayo (the second largest city in Zimbabwe) before starting up, and found some used equipment that would meet his needs.

The bricks are fired in a "klamp", a huge mound of bricks covered with earth and interleaved with channels of coal that he also mines on his land. Once the klamp is constructed, the coal is lit and allowed to burn out over a week. It takes two weeks for it to cool sufficiently for the bricks to be removed. The first klamp he did resulted in bricks that were under done, and he is building his second klamp using more coal.

After a marvelous quiche and salad lunch and a short nap to avoid the heat of the day, we hop into one of Harry's trucks for a three hour game drive through nearby Hwange National Park. Our guide is a spirited fellow named Themba. He was born in Bulawayo and a fan of Western pop culture. He watches a lot of satellite TV and knew all about American sports (far more than me). He is also a huge Celine Dion fan.

Upon entering the park, right away we spot a pair of sable antelope, then wart hog and crocodile in a small pan.

The landscape is fairly open with scattered trees and low brush. This makes it easy to spot the animals Hwange is famous for: giraffe. When the first European explorers saw these animals, they could hardly believe their eyes. Even now, they seem bizarre, yet amazingly graceful. We are thrilled by numerous sightings, including one group of eight which included a frisky calf. Even the youngsters are twice my height. This one enjoys breaking into a series of exuberant, jumpy steps and running between the slower moving adults.

We come across a pair of ostrich with six chicks. The move purposefully through the tall grass, keeping a wary eye out. Themba says that he thinks this is the same pair he spotted a few weeks earlier, except then they had eight chicks. Reminds me of the ducklings at Mana Pools.

Farther on we come to a large pan with an elevated viewing platform packed with people. We decide to stay in the vehicle, away from the hubbub. A lone bull elephant approaches the pan, crossing in front of a solitary giraffe. In the foreground is a crocodile and a baboon, and I make an effort to try and get all four in one picture, but no luck. In the distance a small herd of elephants approaches.

We don't wait around for them: Themba has heard from another driver that lions have been spotted nearby, and we race off. Arriving at the scene, we find five other vehicles stacked up on the narrow dirt road. I can't spot them, though Rosemary says she sees some movement in the brush. Themba declares that they are moving off, and decides to circle round to see if we can catch them. On the way to where he thinks they might be going, we pass the main pan again and find that two large elephant herds of approximately forty animals each have moved in to drink and bathe.

The elephants are socializing noisily, trumpeting and running around. It's fascinating to observe how the herds interact, maintaining space between them while seeming to communicate. The calves in particular seem quite excited.

Themba points behind us and off to the left; yet another large herd is moving in. It's going to get crowded. This herd is excited; trunks raised high, they are smelling the water and practially galloping across the road close to another vehicle, whose occupants are being treated to a thrilling sight.

Now the scene at the pan borders on pandemonium. I've never heard such a racket as over 100 elephants jockey for position, trying to get to the water. The sun is setting and it's becoming too dark to take photographs. The park closes at 6:30, and unfortunately we have to depart.

We drive back to Nyati Lodge in the dark. That evening we are treated to another delicous dinner of chicken curry and fresh vegetables. Later, during my shower, a large frog hops in with me to rinse off. I don't object. We sleep well.