Until that evening, under the Ukwa tree where Mama told us that Muyenge is the only place in the whole World where elephants run to as their haven. I listen with rapt attention. Our Geography teacher just taught us how, if care is not taken, the species of elephants would soon go into extinction. Just like dinosaurs, and those white dragons in the movie, Thor.
Muyenge houses the largest elephants in the globe with their huge tusks which have been the targets of greedy hunters in the savannah region.
Mama, where is Muyenge located?
I asked with my eye bulging out from its socket.
It's in the western part of Cameroon.
Mama answered me as she made to wrap up her story.
Every August, she would travel to Cameron to audit her father's cocoa farm. Her usual route was to board a ship at Oron across the Atlantic Ocean to Cameron. This Muyenge story has pulled out a long of strings in me. More so that our teacher did not mention it in all his explanations of the topic. There must be something about this place called Muyenge that must unfold. So, I went to Mama in the comfort of her bed and asked.
Mama, can you please take me along with you when you are traveling to Cameron next month?
She looked surprised at my question and got up from her lying position.
Why the sudden interest in following me to Cameroon? I thought you said you would be seasick.
At first, I had no valid answer to her question. She was right about me being seasick. But now it is a different ball game. I need to get to the root of that elephant story at Muyenge.
Mama, you know I have not had the opportunity to see an elephant before. If you take me along, at least I will get to Muyenge to see a lot of elephants.
After pestering her she agreed to take me along. It was the greatest decision she had made as far as I am concerned.
The trip to Cameroon by sea was a mixed experience for me. The large body of water with no sign of trees from the four cardinal points made me feel that sea transport is deadly. We landed after twelve hours on the sea. It was the longest journey I have undertaken in my entire life.
Cameroon looked beautiful from the harbor. We boarded to a place called Bamenda where my maternal grandfather had a very large cocoa farm. The farm is the source of family wealth and it has been handed from one generation to another.
We rested for two days before Mama and I went on a tour of the cocoa farm. It is so large and has a lot of facilities like a farmhouse, a silo, and a warehouse where the processed cocoa seeds are kept.
Though I had fun and learned, all my mind was on Muyenge. I wanted to see those elephants.
Mama, is Muyenge far from here?
I asked her silently as we were shown around the farm yard.
She looked at me and gave me a smile of hope.
It's over there, behind that mountain but it is risky going there.
What is she talking about?
What is riskier than traveling through the sea? I said to myself.
Mama looked ahead without bothering her head about my request to go to Muyenge. She knew all along that it was the reason I came to Cameron with her. Why won't she allow me to visit there? As if she knew the agitations going on in my mind, she turned, yet again smiling:
There is a leaf on the route to Muyenge that can make a visitor go missing in the wild.
A leaf? That sounds magical. How would a common leaf make me walk astray into the wild?
My enthusiasm was beginning to get higher and Mama could read that through my countenance. She decided to sort me out by asking two grown men to accompany me to Muyenge.
What seemed like a stone's throw from the cocoa farm took us two and a half hours to arrive at the elephant's haven. What I saw there is indescribable. There were so many elephants in the wild there.
One particular herd of elephants were seen drinking from a muddy stream. The sight looked so beautiful yet something doesn't speak well about their presence in this part of the country. In my curiosity, I asked one of the men why the elephants chose to live in Muyenge. His response left me in a shock.
Here, elephants are gods. They are the ancestors of the people and by their culture, they must be cared for.
Now, the picture seemed clearer. All that Mama could not tell me, I have heard from the strangers. The people who knew more about the Muyenge elephants than Mama.
When we returned to the cocoa farm, Mama had gone home and making dinner. She was waiting for me to share my experience at Muyenge. After I had told her, she had her mouth wide opened in amazement.
For me, it was a satisfactory journey to see what elephants look like and their survival instincts. I thought I got more than what I envisaged.