Unforgettable Okavango Delta Safari: Thrilling Wildlife & Surviving an Elephant Charge in Botswana

Welcome back to the third and final installment of our incredible honeymoon adventure in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. If you’re just joining us, be sure to catch up on the previous parts: Part One, where we first arrived in this natural wonderland, and Part Two, detailing our initial breathtaking wildlife encounters. Today, we’re diving into our most exhilarating, and ultimately, harrowing day yet – an all-day game drive that took us deeper into the delta’s heart and tested our limits in ways we never imagined.

Our second full day at our secluded camp in the Okavango Delta dawned with the promise of unparalleled exploration. Our expert guide, Aubrey, had suggested an all-day game drive, an extended excursion designed to venture much farther from camp and into a distinct, less-traveled area of the delta. This would give us the best chance to witness even more of the region’s diverse wildlife, a prospect that filled us with eager anticipation.

After a hearty breakfast, and with a packed lunch for our journey, we set out. The morning began just as successfully as the previous days. Aubrey, with his keen eye for tracks, quickly spotted fresh lion prints. Barely fifteen minutes into our drive, our vehicle emerged onto an expansive open plain, where a truly heartwarming sight awaited us: four adorable lion cubs, expertly camouflaged within the tall grasses. They watched us with a mixture of curiosity and caution, clearly left alone by their mothers who were likely out hunting. Aubrey whispered that the rest of the pride couldn’t be far, a thrilling thought that kept our cameras poised.

True to his word, Aubrey’s tracking skills led us to the rest of the pride approximately twenty minutes later. We found two mothers and three younger adults, not hunting as we’d imagined, but comfortably resting under the shade of a tree. It seemed even the most formidable predators enjoy a mid-morning siesta!

This encounter marked our fourteenth unique lion sighting in less than two days. It was an astonishing number, and each sighting felt just as special and awe-inspiring as the last. The sheer abundance of these magnificent creatures in the Okavango Delta is something truly remarkable, offering an unparalleled experience for any safari enthusiast.

They certainly have a knack for looking cute and cuddly, don’t they? We joked that the mothers simply needed a little break from their energetic offspring. We lingered for a while, soaking in the peaceful scene of the dozing pride before resuming our journey. The vastness of the Okavango Delta makes it incredibly difficult to gauge distances, and many times Connor and I found ourselves in areas we swore we’d never seen before, only to realize we had passed through them on a previous day. By our best estimate, we drove at least an hour – perhaps six or seven miles – away from our camp that morning, venturing into truly wild territory.

Aubrey had mentioned that this particular area of the Okavango Delta was known for its giraffe population, an animal high on my safari bucket list! It wasn’t long before we spotted our first one, a majestic silhouette against the African sky. Looking back, giraffes easily became one of my absolute favorite animals we encountered throughout the entire trip. Their graceful movements, despite their seemingly awkward, lanky legs, are captivating. While we never saw any drinking from the water, we were fortunate enough to witness a few giraffes running later that day – a sight that appeared almost in slow motion, yet undeniably powerful.

The landscape in this new area was noticeably drier, characterized by more extensive vegetation. Whether this provided richer food sources or more secluded areas for shelter, we certainly noticed a difference in the wildlife distribution. We began to spot several larger groups of elephants, a stark contrast to the solitary bull elephants we had mostly encountered on our earlier game drives. Their sheer size and social structure in these herds were magnificent to observe, highlighting the diverse ecological zones within the delta.

Our journey continued to surprise and delight us as we spotted our first larger herds of zebra! Much like the baboons, zebras proved to be among the most skittish animals we observed. They would fix their gaze upon us, and the moment we edged too close, they’d become flustered, bolt away in a flash of black and white stripes, only to stop at a safer distance and resume their vigilant staring. Their unique patterns and social dynamics made them a captivating addition to our sightings.

Among the herds, we spotted several young zebras, including a clearly (and very!) pregnant mother accompanied by her weaning calf. These tender moments of wildlife interaction added a profound layer of appreciation to our safari experience.

At one particular watering hole, a vibrant tableau of animal life unfolded before our eyes. Not only did we see zebras and warthogs – the latter kneeling comically on their front two legs to eat from the ground – but also giraffes and wildebeest. Aubrey explained that it’s common for certain animals to travel together, forming symbiotic relationships where their different strengths and weaknesses contribute to the collective survival of the group. Some animals possess exceptional eyesight, others superior hearing, and by pooling these senses, they significantly enhance their chances against predators. For instance, baboons are known to issue distinct alarm calls when they detect the presence of big cats like leopards and lions, a warning system we had indeed heard a few times during our trip.

By this point, it was probably around 11:00 AM, and we had already witnessed an incredible array of wildlife. The surprises weren’t over yet! Soon after, we encountered our very first – and only – male and female ostriches. Honestly, I had never even expected to see a single ostrich during our entire Botswana safari, making this sighting a truly unexpected and delightful surprise.

The male ostrich immediately began walking away in the opposite direction, clearly attempting to distract us from his female counterpart. His protective instincts were on full display, a fascinating behavioral trait to witness firsthand.

As we soon realized, the female ostrich was fiercely protecting her nest, which remained cleverly hidden from our view. She allowed us to approach much closer than Aubrey had ever experienced. He explained that typically, ostriches will flee or vacate an area if approached too closely, but this one stood her ground, a testament to her maternal dedication.

After our memorable ostrich encounter, we stopped for lunch. The setting was nothing short of surreal. A neighboring sister camp had thoughtfully set up a picnic table and chairs near a sizable watering hole, approximately fifteen feet away. It was an experience that blurred the lines of reality. Not far off, we could spot impala and zebra, while a mere hundred feet away, several incredibly large crocodiles lounged in the sun. And there we were, casually enjoying pasta salad and grilled chicken, as if having a picnic amidst such magnificent and potentially dangerous wildlife was an everyday occurrence. It was a moment that made us question, “Is this real life?”

As we finished our meal and prepared to depart, we were treated to another fascinating display of nature: black herons using their wings like an umbrella to create shade, a clever technique to attract and catch fish in the water. It was an amusing and highly effective hunting strategy to observe.

It was now around 1:30 in the afternoon, and we began our journey back to camp, a drive estimated to take approximately two hours from our current location. As we headed back, we came across a small herd of elephants. A few of them were partially submerged in a mud hole about thirty feet away, and tucked within the thick brush, we spotted our first tiny baby elephant of the trip! While we had seen a few younger elephants earlier in the day, this was a true calf, a precious sight. The mother elephant, however, was clearly wary, sizing us up from a distance, deciding whether to venture closer to the mud hole with her young one.

Our guide, Aubrey, made the prudent decision to back away and reposition our vehicle on the other side of the brush, believing we might gain a better vantage point from there. At this point, we were off the main track, surrounded quite closely by small shrubs and trees, traversing very sandy ground. About thirty to thirty-five feet away, we could discern a few other elephants from the same herd, their immense forms partially obscured by the foliage.

We drove just a few more feet and stopped. One large elephant, likely the formidable female matriarch of the herd, looked directly in our direction. Our eyes met hers, and in an instant, without any warning, she charged us at full speed. There was a split second where my mind desperately hoped we could escape. Aubrey immediately slammed the jeep into reverse, attempting to drive away, and I thought perhaps the revving of the engine and the exhaust fumes would scare her off. However, within that same split second, a primal gut feeling told me that this elephant was going to hit us, head-on and at full force. To be completely honest, I truly believed we were going to die. Our safari jeep had no sides, offering no protection, and the elephant possessed large tusks – one was broken, but the other was still formidable. Our vehicle was perpendicular to her path, setting us up for a devastating t-bone collision. What happened next unfolded in a blur, a terrifying sequence of events lasting mere seconds.

Connor, remarkably, managed to capture a short video with a GoPro immediately following the charge. Later, after returning home, we made an astonishing discovery: one of our memory cards had actually recorded the audio of the entire terrifying elephant charge, preserving the sound of that harrowing moment forever.

There was a deafening crunch, and the safari jeep was violently flipped onto its side. For context, our guide and Connor were seated on the right side of the vehicle – the side of impact – while I was on the far left. Miraculously, our vehicle was equipped with a sturdy roll bar, which undoubtedly prevented us from flipping even further and potentially incurring more severe injuries. Incredibly, Connor and I somehow managed to slowly stand up as the elephant charged and, defying all odds, landed on our two feet once the vehicle had come to rest on its side. I still have no idea how we accomplished this feat, but against all reason, we were okay. Even more remarkably, my camera, which had been loose around my neck at the moment of impact, was also completely unharmed. In fact, neither Connor nor I sustained a single scratch on our bodies. Our guide, Aubrey, was also thankfully uninjured, even though the elephant’s massive head had actually rammed into his passenger door. His immediate priority was to ensure our safety; he quickly asked Connor to peer over the side of the overturned vehicle to confirm that all the elephants had retreated, as they are sometimes known to linger or even charge multiple times.

The elephants were nowhere to be seen.

Again, by some miracle, all three of us were physically unharmed. However, Cindy, the guest who had been accompanying us on all our game drives, was not as fortunate. The moment the jeep flipped, she cried out, “My arm is crushed.” We later learned the full extent of her injuries: a broken scapula, a broken radius bone in her arm, and six cracked ribs. She remained in her passenger seat, clearly in immense pain and barely able to move. At this critical juncture, Aubrey attempted to use the radio to contact our camp, but to our horror, we quickly discovered it wasn’t working.

In hindsight, it’s difficult to say what was more terrifying: the immediate shock of being charged by an elephant and having our vehicle overturned, or the chilling realization that we were miles from camp, deep in the middle of nowhere, with no working radio communication. It was approximately 2:30 in the afternoon, and my only thought was a chilling one: “The sun will set in three hours, and we have no radio signal.”

Thankfully, with a combined effort, all three of us were able to carefully carry Cindy away from the immediate vicinity of the overturned vehicle. It was incredibly fortunate that Connor has medical training (and Cindy herself was a nurse by profession), and both he and our guide, Aubrey, maintained remarkable calm throughout this harrowing ordeal. Without their composure, I honestly believe I would have been a complete mess. Our immediate priority became attempting to flip the jeep back onto its wheels, a monumental task in itself. We only had a high-lift jack and a cargo strap, and these safari vehicles are enormous and exceptionally heavy.

It took us over forty-five minutes and many, many strenuous attempts, but somehow, against all odds, we managed to flip the vehicle back upright. The sobering realization dawned on us that we were only able to accomplish this because all three of us were uninjured. Had any one of us been severely hurt, I have no idea how we would have managed. At this point, miraculously, our radio began to work again (though we couldn’t start the vehicle due to a leaking radiator). Aubrey was able to contact someone from a neighboring camp who was in the middle of a supply run and, incredibly, was only a fifteen-minute drive away.

We knew Cindy would require immediate medical attention, most likely surgery for her arm, and that getting her back to camp as soon as possible was paramount. The journey back to camp took almost two agonizing hours. Along the way, we were met by several camp staff members and the manager, all rushing to assist. Cindy endured an immense amount of pain with every bump and jolt on the uneven road, forcing us to stop several times. At one point, Connor ingeniously fashioned a rudimentary splint for her arm using sticks, a testament to his quick thinking. As we continued, we encountered several more elephants – a few of which were unsettlingly close to our vehicle – and it was then that the emotional dam broke for me, and I finally succumbed to tears.

Upon our arrival back at camp, a medivac helicopter was already waiting. It swiftly transported Cindy to Maun, Botswana, for basic medical stabilization, before she was transferred onto a private jet that very same night to Johannesburg, South Africa, where she underwent urgent surgery. Meanwhile, Connor and I returned to our tent to regroup, and there, no more than twenty feet away, a large bull elephant stood just outside our tent. The profound irony of the situation was not lost on us (though, honestly, at that moment, I had absolutely no desire to see any elephants whatsoever). For the first time, I was incredibly grateful for the electric fencing surrounding our tent, a silent guardian we had previously taken for granted.

Our camp managers, incredibly supportive, offered to arrange our transportation home the very next day and gently warned us that our next planned camp was situated in an area with an even larger elephant population. Despite the trauma, we made the conscious decision to stay, skip the morning game drive to recover, and continue to our next camp as originally planned. This Okavango Delta safari had been a journey of unparalleled beauty, thrilling encounters, and an unexpected test of courage – an adventure etched forever into the fabric of our honeymoon memories.