Human competition for wealth has resulted in some of the most catastrophic events in the history of the planet we call home. Fortunately the discovery of gold at Millwood and Jubilee Creek, near Knysna, did not result in mine dumps and the degradation of the natural environment. But the discovery of gold and the magnificent Yellowwood, Stinkwood, and other hard timber trees, did result in the discovery of the Knysna Elephants.

No one really knows how long these gentle, shy, giants, had made this tiny patch of beautiful forest their habitat, nor does anyone really know how many there were when the gold diggers and woodcutters arrived. What we do know is that they were hunted, to near extinction, and slaughtered for their tusks. Macabre photographs of hunters, posing beside, and often on top of, the dead animals, bear grim witness to the relentless hunting that took place at that time.

Today there is an Elephant Park near Knysna where these amazing animals can bee seen, touched, and appreciated. Pathways in the forest, from Jubilee Creek, lead to old excavations, tunnels and places that still bear the marks of the desperate men who came to the Knysna forest to find gold, fortune, and fame. Mother Holly’s tea garden at Millwood provides wonderful refreshments and the opportunity to travel back in time. The old buildings and other relics at Millwood providing the links to those long gone years and events.

I wonder if those people were as amazed by the sheer magnificence of the place as I am. Did they appreciate, or marvel at, the pool of crystal clear water in a place where almost all the water is stained black by the vegetation. Did they stop, in wonderment, to consider the hundreds of years it had taken the giant yellowwoods to grow to their amazing heights and girths, before they toppled the trees that were there long before the first Europeans ever landed at the Cape of Good Hope? Did they feel any compassion for the elephant cows and calves when they found them grazing in the forests, or did greed, the promise of reward, and the prospects of drunken festivity, and the “good” life, bought with the remnants and death of the elephants, obliterate every vestige of empathy, sympathy, consideration and compassion.

Why not take a walk up stream from Jubilee Creek, with an occasional stop to see if you can find a Golden nugget. Take a torch with you and enter the tunnel the prospectors dug, or simply take a dip in the crystal clear pool at the end of the trail. You may even get lucky and catch a fleeting glimpse of one of the few remaining giants that are left amid the magnificence of the trees that bore witness to the quest for gold and ivory in the Knysna forests. The faint aroma of pipe tobacco or the haunting notes from an old guitar may not be from the pipe or the instrument of another tourist.

Today only the ghosts of long dead prospectors, and the fleeting glimpses of a few remaining giants are left amid the magnificence of the trees that bore witness to the quest for gold and ivory in the Knysna forests.

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