Hluhluwe Park: 7-8 October

Our first safari!! In to the Hluhluwe Park (pronounced shoo-shloo-wee) which was fantastic. Driving around in an open-topped converted toyota, we & tour group (7 of us) had our eyes glued to the bush to spot any movement or animals. Many rocks & stumps were erroneously spotted, all part of the fun, and quickly dubbed "Rocko-" & "Stumposaurus."

We were very lucky & within 3 hours of entrance our guide had raced us up to the known elephant quarter & we found a herd of 50+ elephants! It was just sublime: watching the babies play, and the cows & bulls move to effortlessly & almost silently through the bush/scrub given their bulk. They're called the 'grey ghosts' by guides as despite their size, they are notoriously difficult to spot as their hides make great camouflage in shadowed woods.

We had watched them four an hour or more (though seemed only 10 short minutes!) when a curious baby wandered a little close to the vehicle: well Mama elephant went right off!! And this photo is her. She flared her ears, trumpeted & came at speed towards us from 15-20m away. But the guide was onto it, truck in gear & we pulled away gently. Just an awesome sighting.