BRANCHING OUT
“Pfffftttt. Pfffftttt.” The unmistakable sound of the elephant. But, while Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve has a flourishing population of pachyderms traipsing through its miombo forest, this isn't one of them. The source of this high-pitched trumpet is our African Parks ranger Happy Banda playing the ‘elephant tree’ leaf.
We are on an early-morning walk along the Bua River, which cuts through the reserve, with the jovial ranger and Clifford Chirwa, a guide from Bua River Lodge — where the previous night I had drifted off to the lulling sound of gurgling water, while being serenaded by a million-strong choir of beetles.
“This is the joint tree leaf,” [medicine] for joints.” But this isn't the only miracle it offers.
