A herd of elephants amble past in single file; the calves, some holding onto their mother’s tails with their trunks, shielded by the protective adults. Reaching the waterhole, a bull elephant indulges in a mud bath while the others get down to some serious bathing as they spurt the water sky-high, joyfully showering their huge bodies. The matriarch, flapping her ears to cool off, watches the antics with a benign eye whilst happily nibbling on a spekboom. At a respectful distance behind her, a dung beetle busily gets to work.
Tucked away in the dense valley-bushveld of the Eastern Cape, lies the Addo Elephant National Park. Proclaimed in 1931, when the number of elephants had dwindled to only 11, the park now provides sanctuary to some 300 elephants as well as buffalo, black rhino, plenty of birds and several species of antelope.