Day Three on Safari: Day of the Olifant
It was apparent early on that Day Three was going to be the Day of the Olifant. We stayed at Olifants camp the night before, and the camp doesn’t get its name for nothing. Olifant is Afrikaans for elephant. We saw an absurd amount of elephants our third day.
Here are two of the coolest spottings from Day Three:
Thirsty Elephants
In the late morning, we pulled over to a lookout over a valley close to Olifants Camp. We saw movement off in the distance and watched as a herd of elephants made their way, single file, down to the river for a drink and bath. We watched the elephants for a good half an hour. It was really spectacular to see the elephants carry on their normal business in full view, without them having any idea they had spectators.
Elephants marching
A big elephant led the way, and tested the waters first.
He must have determined it was safe for the little guys.
The elephants waited patiently, but lined up along the water once they got the okay.
There were some really teeny baby elephants!
Another herd (or maybe another subset of this herd, who knows) had been waiting patiently but demanded their turn. The first group moved out and let the second herd come to the water.
Group two takes over.
Elephant Crossing
In the afternoon, we came across a roadblock: an elephant crossing. We noticed elephants always travel in the same way: flanked on either side by the biggest elephants, with the tiniest elephants snug in the middle.
WOW!!!! What amazing, magnificent beasts. How freakin cool is that?! I love the teeny baby elephants! These safari posts are awesome! Thanks for sharing….they’re so beautiful. I’m going to the Pgh Zoo tomorrow….it won’t be quite the same, but I’ll be thinking about you guys seeing them up close and personal.