Zambezi by Tony Park Page A

escarpment into the Zambezi Valley. The sign had said it was seventy-three kilometres to Kariba. There were no lights at all on either side of the road, just rolling tree-covered hills and valleys. He wound down the window and switched off the airconditioning, hoping the night air would help keep him awake. As he descended he felt the humidity and temperature rise, despite the fact that it was now dark.
    Suddenly Jed saw a movement in the corner of his eye, off to the left side of the road, and he stood on the brakes. A tiny antelope leaped into the beam of his headlights, paused in the glare for a second and then skittered away to the other side of the road. He put the truck into first and carried on, a little slower, his eyes roaming left and right in search of other game.
    For half an hour he saw nothing unusual and he started to speed up again. The moon was beginning to rise, and every now and then he would catch a glimpse of the wide man-made lake in the distance.
    It took him a couple of seconds to realise something was not right.
    It was the road. The white line running down the centre had suddenly disappeared, as though the paint had run out when the road workers were marking it. Then the line became visible again. Jed blinked and then braked hard as the massive black shape reared up in front of him.
    ‘Fuck!’
    It was an elephant. It had stopped in the middle of the road and its great bulk had blocked out the centre line. Jed turned the wheel to avoid slamming into the huge beast. He skidded to a halt on the dirt verge. He rammed the gearstick into reverse as the elephant raised its trunk and stuck out its great sail-like ears.
    The animal trumpeted, so loud that it seemed the Land Rover was vibrating with the noise. Jed stood on the accelerator and the vehicle zigzagged backwards as he overcorrected left and right with the steering wheel. The beast was coming towards him, still blowing shrill angry notes and shaking its massive head.
    Jed had been looking over his shoulder to make sure there was nothing behind him. He looked forward again and saw the elephant had stopped. It looked to the left and then to the right and then straight at him. As he watched, stupefied, a baby elephant emerged from the bush to the left. It barely reached the underbelly of the big one. It paused for a second, looking in his direction, its wriggly trunk flopping wildly as it tried to sniff the air. The adult, which he guessed was the mother, nudged the youngster with her trunk and the pair of them carried on across the road.
    He stayed parked for a full five minutes and counted fourteen of the gigantic creatures cross the road in front of him. It was an awe-inspiring experience and he realised, with sadness, that he wished he had someone there to share it with. Most of all, he wished Miranda was with him. This was the sort of thing he had hoped to experience with her on his planned visit. He edged the vehicle forwards and watched the last of the massive baggy-skinned rumps disappearing into the gloomy undergrowth.
    His heart was heavy as he changed gear and drove on.
    The winking lights of Kariba were a welcome sight and he stopped for directions to the Lake View Inn at a gas station on the edge of a steep drop that overlooked the lake. Even at night he could get a feeling for the immensity of the man-made inland sea. Out on the water he saw bright pinpricks of light, which he assumed were fishing boats. Jed was exhausted after his long journey. All he wanted was a beer, a steak and a bed.
    The hotel had a nineteen-sixties feel about it – flagstone floors, and a mix of heavy dark timber framing and asbestos sheet walls. The rooms were arranged in long flat-roofed buildings set above each other in tiers on the side of the steep slope overlooking the lake. The place seemed to Jed like a twenty-five dollar a night Midwestern roadside motel with a million-dollar view.
    In the lobby he was greeted by a smiling African woman. ‘How much for