By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.
Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.
Shares
The sun hung heavy over the riverine forests that ran along the Great Ruaha River. The dirt resembled sawdust that exploded into clouds of dust as we drove along the two-spoor tracks. Rain had seemingly become a stranger to this landscape, making water a scarce resource for all that resided there. Rafiki, our Land Cruiser for the day belonged to friends of ours and was mid-safari, having driven from South Africa. As the afternoon temperatures soared upwards of thirty degrees celsius Rafiki wearily fought through the heat, needing a radiator top up every so often due to an inconvenient leak. In the back seat, my sweat glands were working overtime as I squinted out the open window anxiously looking for any movements in the bush. We ended up in this lesser-visited part of Tanzania after local travellers enthusiastically hand-drew our map, using back roads through small villages with cone-like mountains and spindly acacias as the backdrop. The safari to get to the park was a pleasant detour from the main road. Once at Ruaha, the park made you feel alone as if the bush swallowed you up whole upon crossing its threshold and but a few wildlife enthusiasts remained on the other side. All being avid birders, the fish eagles, bee eaters and bustards kept us occupied well into the afternoon. We passed a small track to my left, where a herd of ndovu were walking towards the river. The car swung leftward to approach the herd. Holding up the rear was a large bull, with tusks dreaded poachers would crave. His ashy grey body towered over the landscape. Mid stride he paused to glance over at us, him seemingly a safe distance away. Before we had time to enjoy the sighting, the bull swung his head in a figure of eight motion, ears flapping and head down he came at us in full charge. There is something called a mock charge where an elephant tries to scare away any unwelcome company. This was no such charge. This bull was agitated and ready to exterminate the intruder and that intruder was us. With nowhere to run I sat in the back seat helplessly looking forward at the elephant that was getting closer and closer. Just as his body had filled the entirety of our windscreen Rafiki lurched into reverse, our friend in the driver seat pushing the accelerator pedal hard against the floor. In the passenger seat, Robbie frantically began banging his hand against the car door hoping the noise would startle the bull out of his trance. Without success the bull continued to follow us as our friend frantically reversed, the blacked out rearview window adding insult to injury. I sat motionless with adrenaline coursing through my body, waiting for the moment the bull’s tusks would pierce the vehicle, leaving us upside down in the bush. We reached the point where we had turned off the main track and were able to tuck Rafiki’s backside into the trees to drive in a forward direction. I squeezed my eyes shut in fear as the bull stood less than a metre away from the vehicle. Now in forward gear, we were luckily able to put some distance between us and the aggressive ndovu. For what was at least three hundred metres the bull was hot on our tail until suddenly he decided we were no longer a threat. He stopped his charge and turned back to return to his family. Rafiki came to stop and we all sat silently in the vehicle trying to catch our breath. As I breathed, with every exhale a little more fear oozed its way out of my body. My extremities, tingling, were now slowly coming back to life. That was close Robbie uttered. We all chuckled awkwardly knowing how close we had all come to being on our last safari. Not knowing why this incredible creature chose us as a target, we drove away with both admiration and profound respect for Africa’s largest land mammal. Like they say an elephant never forgets, I too will not soon forget our ndovu encounter in the wilderness of Ruaha National Park.