Adolf has been having more adventures and recently returned from a 16 day Zimbabwe & Botswana Game Tracker safari and shares some of his experiences with us...

The Okavango Delta is one of the highlights of Botswana, not just the safari we did but also a highlight to anyone coming to Africa to explore its beauty. We were going to the Okavango Delta for 2 days, staying there in tents in the middle of the bush, surrounded by all sorts of animals that frequent the area like the Cape Buffalo and African Elephant, as well as herds of zebra and blue wildebeest. Sometimes we are even lucky enough to spot giraffe. The first day we were in the delta we went for an afternoon walk to explore the surrounding area with our local guides...

As we were walking we spotted some elephant in the distance. We stopped to look and take pictures when we noticed they were walking straight at us. Elephants have such long legs they can comfortably walk at a much faster pace than we can and we soon realised we were in their way! The herd made up of about 15 individuals led by a matriarch.

We wisely decided it would be in our interest to move out of their way as soon as possible.

It was not 1 minute later and they were only about 150 meters away from us and we diverted into the bush to view them from a safe distance. They were not bothered by our presence and they calmly walked by in single file; the dominant female leading the group and youngsters following trying to keep up with their short legs. Everyone in the group was astonished by the size of the elephants. One can only grasp when you view them from the ground while walking. We were taking as many pictures as we could while some of us just sat there looking at these majestic animals passing by going to wherever they wanted to go.

They truly are the kings and queens of the Delta, every other animal bows down to their superiority and gives them the respect they deserve.

They came and they were gone in mere minutes. We were all silent at loss for words to describe the beauty and majesty of these magnificent creatures. It was one of the most intimate animal experiences one can have in the bush.

We walked back to camp happy that we were tolerated and able to experience the presence of the formidable force known as the African Elephant.