Great walls of Gwango
Nov 07, 2024
When we first arrived at Gwango, we set up two tents. There was no electricity, no running water - just the raw, wild embrace of the African bush and a whole lot of rubble around a rickety old tree house. We knew we were here to make a home for the wildlife; little did we know, we would be also living among the fabled Presidential Elephant herds of Zimbabwe. Our new neighbours were very welcoming. On our first night, as we settled into our tents, we heard the powerful roar of lions… a little too close for comfort, elephants roaming by and massive herds of buffalo moving along. Fast forward and Gwango Elephant Lodge became a stone fortress, with hand-carved pillars and walls as sturdy as Zimbabwe’s "dzimba dza mabwe" - our very own house of stone in the heart of Hwange.
As the years passed, our little lodge grew, along with our curiosity for the plants around us. After discovering their hidden medicinal benefits, we embarked on a mission to unleash their potential, eventually building a botanical garden and community farm, Gobelo. All this excitement brought in more plants, more research and… yes, more elephants. It turned out they were just as interested in our research, but mainly in how the plants tasted. We had to build a wall around the garden and staff quarters to protect these delicate plants from our gentle giants’ appetites. They had their eye on the greens and they didn’t shy away from it!
Soon enough, we realised that a single wall wasn’t nearly enough to hold off these very curious herds. We’d hear them at night, rumbling and pulling plants with their trunks. So, we raised the wall - only to have the elephants reach in with a bit more effort. Thus began our back-and-forth battle, building and rebuilding as the elephants found new ways to access the plants. Mr. Nyoni, our builder, cheerfully rebuilt the wall each time, only to see it knocked down again the next night. After multiple attempts, Mr. Nyoni had an idea. We’d build two walls - a tall one surrounded by a shorter one. You could see him, so proud of himself after he was done, as he had just built the "Great Wall of Gwango," confident that the giants wouldn’t be able to destroy it this time. Fast forward a few days and it was destroyed yet again! We ended up filling the gap between the two walls with sand, hoping it could withstand the playful strength of the determined pachyderms. It has held up ever since, a symbol of our endless efforts to coexist with these incredible animals and the creativity it takes to live alongside them.
Through every knocked-down wall and every elephant triumph, we learned to appreciate the humour, resilience and sheer ingenuity that coexistence demands. We came here to create a sanctuary, but it’s the elephants who taught us what it means to truly belong. After all, in this wild corner of Zimbabwe, there’s no “us versus them” - just a life shared, with all its unexpected surprises.
As we always say here at Gwango, life’s a little wilder - and we wouldn’t have it any other way!