Overland with Wildlife Night. We were sleeping in our RTT on the bank of the Luangwa River in Zambia when something awoke us. Leaves and sticks were falling on our roof, while all around us was the noise of broken branches. I opened one of the tent windows, and a big long-leashed eye of an elephant looked at me in the moonlight. We looked at each other, then he kept going, eating the tree branches above us. “What can we do?” I thought. Nothing. Just wait. After a couple of hours or so, the noise moved away, and we heard the splashing of the elephant herd crossing the river.
What did we learn from this amazing experience? Never be an obstacle along an elephant path. We knew this safari rule.
20
The area around us was wide, and our camp wasn’t an obstacle for them to reach the river. So we’ve never been in danger. However, we forgot the passion of elephants for the leaves and the juicy fruits of the tree we chose for shading our camp. Overlanding with wildlife, a lot of wildlife, is pretty common in Southern and Eastern Africa. And it’s a breathtaking experience. In traditional safaris, an experienced guide drives you through the wildlife. While overlanding, you have to know and respect some rules, for your safety and the protection of wildlife and the local communities. There are rules when you’re driving, when you camp, when you look for firewood, and when you use your openair restroom. While driving, first of all, never speed up. Roads are poorly maintained, and it’s extremely dangerous. At the same time, never drive in the dark. People walk along roads with no light, and cattle and wildlife cross and share
the trail at any time. Elephants, hippos and rhinos have always the right of passage. There is a sort of safety distance, where they are very comfortable and relaxed. These are the moments when you really enjoy driving close to these majestic creatures. At the same time, if the trail is narrow, and you can’t share the path, leaving them at the correct distance, they usually become very aggressive, and dangerous. We often had to reverse in the thick bush to leave space for elephants walking on “our” trail. Once, I was cooking dinner and a curious hippo approached our camp. We had to stay in the car until dark, waiting for him to proceed on his way. That evening we just had a quick cold meal. Plain game, like impalas, zebras, wildebeests and zebras, often congregate in herds. It’s lovely slowly driving among them. Even more, switch off your engine and let them flow, walking around your vehicle. Cape buffaloes are another story. They are
