i was charged by an elephant
DEEP IN THE ZAMBEZI VALLEY I was charged by a very large elephant
by Ian Proctor
In the early 1990s I was living in Harare, Zimbabwe. As part of my job as an eco-tourism consultant I spent a lot of time traveling throughout southern Africa. I would visit lodges, camps, and hotels and educate them on how to save water, reduce waste, and so on… teach them how to be “green”.
The Zambezi Valley, an extension of Africa's Great Rift which runs between Zambia and Zimbabwe is wild... endless miles and miles of raw untamed africa. Small villages with dung and straw huts can be found but this is really a remote wilderness filled with wild things; and it gets hot... in October it can exceed 50 Celcius (120 Fahrenheit) and there is nowhere to hide from the heat.
The Zambezi River flows through this rugged landscape and this is where this story begins.
I found myself on a boat... fishing.
The midday sun shone straight down and I had no shadow. It was close to 110 degrees and it was quiet as nothing wanted to move. All living creatures simply existed in a torpid state... even my friend Dave Christiansen, a professional Zimbabwean safari guide was silent (and guides love to talk).
The waters of the Zambezi lapped quietly on the hull of our small boat as we floated along with the river's current. An enormous elephant bull stood like a sentinel amongst the tall grass of an island and Dave decided to have an idea. He smiled... a knowing smile that concerned me... but hey if you can't trust your friends who can you trust?
Dave ran the boat up next to the island and grabbed onto some reeds to keep us from floating off in the current. He said “Ian – give me your camera and I will get a photo of you with the elephant in the background. Hop onto the island!” I said “Yeah right Dave! As soon as I jump out you are going to float off leaving me stuck with this beast.”
Giving him a “don’t you dare leave me here look” I jumped onto the island and squatted down for the photo. The elephant stood silent 30 feet away. Dave spent a considerable amount of time adjusting the camera… he quietly noted “Hang on Ian… almost there… just wait… I want to get the elephant in just right."
Meanwhile I could feel the island moving under my feet. I glanced over my shoulder and the aforementioned elephant was charging. It was 15 feet away and closing fast. Dave said calmly “Ian look this way… that’s it… Got it!” (Writing this I am I getting goosebumps remembering the goosebumps I had!)
Several things happened instantaneaously. Dave's left hand unwound itself from the reeds while his right dropped the camera which I watched in slow motion as it swung by the strap around his neck. Dave grabbed my right arm and yanked me into the boat. With his left foot he pushed us off the island into the river current.
I collected myself off the floor of the boat and looked back to see the elephant chestdeep in the river trumpeting. Dave had a big smile on his face noting “that was close." I uttered a few choice words about Dave’s mother.
As this was before digital cameras we had no idea how the photos would turn out… and as you can see they turned out pretty well!
I was to learn at a later time that Dave had won several photography awards prior to this including “Best wildlife action photo”.
Thanks china* for the great memory!
*In Zimbabwe “China” is slang for a good friend
Ruckomechi Camp - Mana Pools, Zimbabwe
If you want to experience the remote wilderness and prolific wildlife of the Zambezi valley I have had more close encounters of the wild kind at Ruckomechi Camp than any other Mana Pools property.
I have woken to elephant herds an arm's reach from my room and watched as elephants come to drink from the camp pool. I have been cornered at the bar by a herd of buffalo (I contemplated crawling quietly into the chest freezer to avoid them but fortunately they moved on), and have had to be driven from my room to the main area for dinner to avoid hippo and lion.
In addition to canoeing, professionally guided walks, wildlife viewing drives in open 4x4 vehicles and sleepouts Ruckomechi Camp offers boating (which most camps in the area do not). In my opinion boating is essential to a Lower Zambezi River experience and an important reason why I recommend this camp as often as I do!
As to when to travel keep in mind Zimbabwe has a short safari season and is at its best July through October (although October is brutally hot). I would not suggest traveling off season to save monies.
For 2026 Ruckomechi Camp starts at US $1,035 per person per night on an all inclusive basis.
