The Elephant – My Highlight Of Africa Part 2

The Elephant – My highlight Of Africa Part 2

Elephants are the most remarkable creatures in my eyes. They are so big and yet at the same time, they can move so quietly through the bush. There are times you hear them literally knocking trees down with there trunks and heads and yet, these creatures although they can be aggressive, they also have a gentleness about themselves, particularly when it comes to caring for there own.

They live in communities and will go to great lengths to protect their kind. Even in death, they will each year make the trip to visit where their kind breathe their last breath. They weep for there herd.

I’m so taken with these giants of Africa, as no matter where you are sitting, standing and observing these wonderful creatures, there is always something nice in viewing them. You can’t take a bad picture of them at all.

Although their eyes are small in relation to the rest of their body, they are just so expressive and there are times when I could swear that they are talking to you through their eyes. That might be me being all misty and romantic to the elephant but there I times when I have felt this.

This series of pics is showing them going about their daily wanderings against the imposing landscape. My pictures are no where comprehensive and certainly not up the standard of those who live there all the time but what my pictures do for me here, is enable me to relive my experiences there.

I remember all the details of the times when looking at anyone of my pictures.

Pictures enable things to be relived and these can bring joy and sorrow at the same time.

When running my Photographic African Tours, we go to an elephant hide and this experience will leave you speechless.

We arrived late in the afternoon, around 4 pm. We drove in and walked the rest of the distance. We had to get there about two hours before the sun went down, as we had to be there before the elephants arrived.

The hide is at a water hole and like clock work, near sunset the elephants start arriving. We ended up having 3 herds, which was unheard of at the time. This gave us around 60 elephants and I have no words that describe the immense awe and joy that came with seeing them so close.

At times they were within a metre of the hide and we had to stay very still and not move nor make a sound. The hide that we stayed in is in the shape of a beehive and according to the guide that we had, if an elephant doesn’t recognise the formation, it will leave it alone. We were happy about that!

Honestly we were surrounded by the elephants but it gave us the best viewing platform that you could ever ask for. The attention to detail in your shots was unreal as these creatures were just so close to the hide.

You felt like you were part of the herd or in fact, you were watching the best wildlife doco ever put together and you were in the heart of it.

We ended staying there for roughly 4 hours.

Some of these shots are from that hide.

If you want to join me on a life changing adventure to Africa, then to to my tour page on the website and lets talk some more. Once you have been to Africa, you will always be drawn back and you will see why it is such an awe-inspiring area. Pete 🙂