Well, we’re back home in Pretoria after a wonderful two weeks exploring the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. Lots of stories to tell you in the coming weeks about our trip, and we’re going to start with a sequence of photo’s from yesterday’s drive through the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park to Memorial Gate on our way home.
By 07:30 we had made our way to within 3 kilometers of Hilltop Camp when we found our way blocked by a big male elephant in musth. “Musth is a periodic condition in bull elephants characterized by highly aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones” (wikipedia). To top it all this bull had a broken tusk and a sore on his face – even more reason for him to be agitated! Predictably this bull quickly showed us who rules in Hluhluwe – most of the following images were taken by Joubert as I had to concentrate on reversing downhill at speed for much of the half hour that followed.
A few minutes into the encounter a ranger arrived on the scene. Obviously he has much more experience in dealing with irate bull elephants and I would strongly advise against any visitors trying to play chicken with an elephant in such a mood like this ranger did…
With the ranger gone, the bull turned his attention to us again. Eventually he pushed us back about 1.5km to the start of the Mansiya Loop Road, offering us an opportunity to escape. Whether he chose to keep walking along the tar road, or exit onto the Loop road, we’d have an opportunity to pass.
The bull chose to stay on the tar road, so we used to Loop Road to get past him. As we rejoined the main road we could still see him slowly making his way up the hill.
Elephant bull in musth walking along the main road through Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
For most of the rest of the way to Hilltop Camp his path of destruction could be seen as parts of trees and bushes littered the roadway.
Big branch lying across the road in the elephant’s wake
Marilize got this shot of Joubert taking pictures of the irate elephant bull with her cellphone.
DeWetsWild 