The Time I…

At the end of my time in Rwanda, I spent three weeks in Arusha, Tanzania, to visit my boyfriend who worked for the UN’s Rwanda War Crimes Tribunal. The wife of one of his colleagues came to visit from Canada with her friend, and the three of us went on safari together in Lake Manyara National Park, a smaller park near the Serengeti.

At one point we were driving through a forested area when we were confronted by a mother forest elephant. Forest elephants are a little smaller than their savanna cousins, but still massive by human standards.

Anyway, this elephant faced off with our Land Rover, trumpeted, and started walking towards us. Our driver said this was probably a mother elephant with a baby nearby, who saw us as a threat. He drove slowly in reverse, but the elephant kept coming.

It was amazing to be so close to my favorite animal, but scary and thrilling, too.

We continued to move backward through the forest, and eventually, we moved far enough away from her baby to satisfy the mother. She came to a stop and watched us back up a little farther, then turn around and drive away.

Have you ever had a close call with Mother Nature? Tell me about it in the comments!