Elephant safaris

Elephants are the largest living terrestrial mammals, with males weighing up to 6050kg/13,330lbs, standing 4.0m/13′ at the shoulder.

An elephant’s upper lip and nose are elongated to form a trunk, which is used as a fifth limb, as a sound amplifier and a method of touch. At the tip it has two opposing ‘lips’ (unlike the Asian elephant which only has one) which are used for precise and delicate manipulation.

Their ears are enormously enlarged and contain a network of blood vessels to assist with temperature regulation.

Elephants have four molar teeth. As the front pair wears down they are replaced by the rear pair, with a further six pairs growing during a lifespan of 40 to 60 years. Once the last pair wears down the animal will most likely die of starvation.

The tusks, which also continue to grow throughout the animal’s life, are enlarged incisors used for digging, stripping bark and fighting.

ridiculously long nose and teeth

The vast majority of African elephant interactions take place by vehicle.

The key variables that determine the quality of a sighting are the absence of other vehicles, the size and quantity of the elephants involved and their level of habituation.

Good locations for this type of experience are too many to list here, you can expect it in virtually all high quality safari areas.

Elephants regularly front up to vehicles, charging to within five metres, flapping their giant ears and trumpeting loudly, but in almost all cases these are mock charges designed to ensure that you keep your distance, whilst the more vulnerable members of the family move off to safety.

If you are with a good guide, then the chances are that this type of encounter will not be unduly stressful for the elephants, it’s just part of their regular behaviour. We’ve seen them do it to other animals too, including lions, wild-dogs and rhinos.

However, there are occasions when elephants do actually charge vehicles. Most often the situation is resolved by simply driving away, but if the animal catches the vehicle, it will think nothing of barging it, ripping at it with its tusks and even overturning it. Fortunately these incidents are relatively rare, but they do happen from time to time, particularly in locations where the elephants have suffered stress from hunting, poaching or conflict with local people.

There are some locations (notably Lake Manyara in Tanzania) where elephants are so habituated that they will approach a vehicle and even slide their trunk in through an open roof or window to sniff around for food, which can be most exhilarating. However, this behaviour is associated with areas of high vehicle traffic.

the easiest and most relaxed way to view elephants

Approaching elephants on foot is inherently the most exciting and intimate way to interact with these wonderful animals.

However it can also be very dangerous. Although the number of serious incidents are very low, we usually hear of one or two each year.

In 2010, one of our own guests was trampled by an elephant and was fortunate to get away with just a few broken bones. However, this was not during a deliberate encounter, but an unexpected encounter around camp.

Most of us here at ATR have approached elephants on foot many times and definitely recommend the experience. The key is to be with a very good guide and to listen and obey their every command. But even then there is an appreciable level of risk that you would need to take on board.

Here are some of the very best locations …

In Zimbabwe the very best location is Goliath Safari Camp in Mana Pools National Park, where approaches can be extremely close. Another good option is Hwange Bushcamp in Hwange National Park, where we have also found ourselves wondering who was the slowest runner in our group!

In Zambia we’ve also experienced some wonderful elephant approaches, especially when staying at the top walking camps in Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa.

In Namibia we have experienced some very close approaches onto desert elephants out of Palmwag Rhino Camp and Hoanib Valley Camp. In both locations there are rocky outcrops that you can sit on and be perfectly safe.

In Tanzania the parks authority is just starting to wake up to the possibilities of proper walking safari and we have experienced some very good elephant approaches in Ruaha, especially out of Kichaka Zumbua, as well as increasingly good experiences in Selous and Tarangire.

In Kenya the best on-foot elephant approaches that we have experienced have been on the Mara Naboisho sector of the Maasai Mara. You generally have to seek out camps which happen to have a Zimbabwean or Zambian guide, as there is no great tradition for this kind of activity locally.

In South Africa the only place where we have experienced approaches of this type have been in the Kruger Private Reserves, although they tend to be quite few and far between, not many properties are prepared to take on this level of risk these days.

elephants on foot can be extremely exhilarating

One of the best ways to interact with elephants is back in camp. These gentle creatures are regular visitors to many camps, making it possible to sit quietly on your veranda and watch them grazing just a few metres away.

In some camps you may be woken up at night by the sound of a rough elephant hide scratching on the outside of your tent, bowing the canvas inwards as they reach for fruit in the trees overhead. Always check to see whether the tree above is fruiting

In Zimbabwe, there are several camps where you can more reliably find yourself surrounded by elephants, especially in Hwange during the Jun-Nov dry season. Properties including Camp Hwange and Little Makalolo Camp have very active waterholes out front, whilst at Somalisa Camp and Nehimba Lodge herds often come right up and drink from the pool, sometimes whilst guests are swimming. In Mana Pools the intimate Kanga Camp is built around an often very active waterhole.

In Zambia, the number one area for elephant-in-camp action is Lower Zambezi, notably at Chiawa Camp and Old Mondoro Bushcamp. Close behind are the camps of South Luangwa, most of which enjoy regular visits, although by far the most extraordinary is Mfuwe Lodge where a particular herd regularly walks right through reception.

In Botswana, virtually all of the better camps in the Okavango Delta and Linyanti Waterfront areas also play host to local elephants on a regular basis. We have had notable experiences at Little Vumbura Camp, Tubu Tree Camp, Kwara Camp, Linyanti Savuti Camp, Duma Tau Camp and Lebala Camp. On occasion we have been pleasantly besieged in camp by a herd of elephants, literally on all sides and sometimes preventing us from going back to our rooms late into the night.

In Tanzania, we’ve had some pretty intense visitations in Selous at Lake Manze Camp and Sand Rivers Camp, in Ruaha at Mwagusi Camp, Mdonya River Camp and Jongomero Camp and particularly in Tarangire at Swala Camp.

In Kenya, many of the larger camps and lodges are surrounded by electric fences, so this type of experience is much less frequent, although we have had some very close encounters in the Maasai Mara at Rekero Mara Camp and Elephant Pepper Camp, as well as at Elephant Watch Camp in Samburu.

in many camps elephants are regular visitors

A hide is a simple structure in which you can conceal yourselves in order to view wildlife up close. Some hides are designed largely for the viewing of elephants.

The best hides are designed for just one or two people in which case the experience can be very intimate and hypnotic.

In Zimbabwe, two of the properties in Hwange, namely Camp Hwange and Little Makalolo Camp, have what are known as ‘logpile hides’, which can provide guests with a very intimate and exciting interaction experience. A nearby place appropriately called The Hide Safari Camp provides an eye-level view from a subterranean viewpoint.

In Botswana there is an even better sunken hide at Duma Tau Camp in the Linyanti Waterfront area, which provides a more secure eye-level view of a popular pachyderm waterhole. A similar facility was installed at the nearby Hyena Pan Camp in 2019.

In Zambia there is another excellent elephant hide at Kaingo Camp in the South Luangwa area, although this is more of a tree-house, so is not nearly so up-close-and-personal.

getting intimate with elephants

There are a number of locations in Africa where there are elephants which are habituated to human presence, meaning that you can really get up close and even touch them.

We have to be very careful here to avoid locations where elephants are being abused or simply being as lures for tourists.

There are presently three elephant projects that we support, all of which rescue orphaned baby elephants, raise them and, eventually, return them to the wild.

The Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi is by far the best known project. The real highlight is their release project in Tsavo, where you can stay and hang out with the youngsters as they get to know their new herd.

In the north of Kenya, the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary does a similar job, also with a lovely small lodge attached to provide intimate interaction with the youngsters.

In Botswana, Elephant Havens is a similar project, which also has accommodation for donors, but which is more commonly visited by helicopter when transferring between a lodge in the Okavango Delta and the main airport in Maun.

face to face with baby elephants

In Africa, elephants have never been widely domesticated or exploited for commercial purposes such as forestry.

African elephants are considerably larger than their more commonly domesticated Indian cousins and have generally been considered too wild to be trusted at close quarters.

However during the 1990s and 2000s several places popped up offering elephant riding, usually using animals which had been rescued from various abusive forms of captivity.

This was an activity that we never supported. Eventually public opinion shifted to join us.

Almost all of the operations which previously offered elephant riding have now either closed down or converted into a more gentle and less abusive elephant interaction experience.

Any places which continue to offer elephant riding are to be avoided.

not recommended