In the Old Chief's Country

Synopsis

"We pushed on well beyond the hour mark, neither of us wanting to remind the other of our agreement to return to the vehicle if we found nothing within that time. Surely beyond the next bend we would stumble across something. Instead we stumbled across several large mounds of what looked like undigested grass and leaves smoldering in the middle of the track. This prompted Dave to announce that it was time to retrace our steps. 'What are these?' I asked, wondering about his abrupt reaction. 'These are elephant turds,' he said, 'and judging by their appearance and smell I'd say their owners are not too far away.'" In the second volume of his African memoirs Chris McIvor recalls his first stint in Zimbabwe, the many great characters he met, the poverty, the enormous job of repair required to European - African relations and, through it all, the hope.