PACK TRUNKS FOR A SAFARI

A surprise of a lifetime awaited Ed Gleave as he headed off on a real Zimbabwean adventure

- 

“ELEPHANT! Elephant! Elephant!” came the cry. And boy it made us all jump. We'd been driving around Zimbabwe's glorious Zambezi National Park for three hours and we were about to reach the exit just 20 yards away — all tired and ready to head home.

But the scream jolted everyone back into action and made us realise the fun might not be over just yet.

A member of our group sitting at the back of the Jeep had spotted an elephant lurking behind some trees and wanted to make sure no one missed it.

As the driver slowed down so we could all have a look, it became apparent there wasn't just one... there were three or four. Within a few minutes there were more, and more and more. Fully grown adults down to little ones less than 3ft in height.

We were surrounded by a herd.

Yet despite elephants being considered the most dangerous of all the wild animals by locals, we all felt quite safe.

"Stay in the Jeep and they won't bother you," we were assured.

The elephants did indeed seem disinterested in the bunch of excitable watching tourists. They ignored us and focused instead on munching their way through some trees and grass.

Seeing such majestic creatures just four or five yards away was nothing short of magical. In fact at times it felt overwhelming.

By the time the herd moved on, our guide estimated there were up to 100 of them in the vicinity. It was easily the most memorable moment we had during the drive that morning, when we also saw zebras, kudu and impalas.