Back in my element

I have just returned from another extraordinary safari. Whenever I first arrive in the bush after an absence, I experience a wave of tremendous emotion – perhaps a sense of home-coming.

We had great sightings of Painted Dogs hunting as well as of Lionesses with playful young cubs but I think that this handsome gentleman won the hearts of many.

However it always the elephants that seduce me. Most of the time they leave me feeling very calm.

And I love the artwork that they create and leave everywhere. Here is just one example. It is a patina formed by generations of elephants rubbing and polishing my favourite tree, a motswiri (Combretum imberbe).