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Several years ago, I was on a night drive when oine of the elephant bulls got funny with us. That particular guide did not move the vehicle, but simple sat there, revving his engine for all he was worth and pounding the side of the vehicle with his open hand to generate a great racket. It seemed to work because the elphant stopped and looked at us.

However, I wondered at the time if this could not have aggravated the elephant more if it was some other elephant! I still wonder about the tactics this guide used, as it is the first and only time I have seen a guide do this.

Anyone know whether this is a good tactic to use with naughty elephants? My intuition tells me not, but then who knows.

In 2001 or so on S50 Kanniedood dam road I took a turn off which is a loop around a tree leading to the river bank , there was a large breeding herd of elephants spread out as far as one could see , and more elephants were emerging from the vegetation around the road . I was by then joined by a VW microbus - the type of which the noisy cooling fan seems to be continually running - when a female elephant took exception to our presence and proceeded to do 3 mock charges on us , she actually was allmost out of sight between each charge and returned accross a gulley trumpeting continuously .
The VW microbus had stopped behind me in a position that there was no chance of making a getaway .

Driving with a fully loaded trailer attached, we came across 3 elephant
bulls feeding on the side of the road, deciding to stop and not try
and pass as they are so unpredictable, one of the bulls stepped onto
the road and started walking towards us, we decided not to reverse
because there was a car stopped a short distance behind us, and we
had the trailer attached. I was convinced the ellie would start moving off
to the side of the road and pass us, but it soon became clear he had no
intention of doing so. Switched off the engine as I had read
somewhere it was better to do so. He came and stood in front of the
car and started touching the bonnet with his trunk moving it along the
side mirror and onto the roof of the car, very gently I might add.

Needless to say I have only been that terrified one other time in my
life, but that's another story. It was in February and the
temperature must have been about 38 degrees, all the windows shut,
4 adults sitting there for approximately 10 minutes while he decided
what to do.

I honestly hadn't realised how long an ellies eyelashes were or how large
their skin pores are...but I do now. The fear was truly not knowing
what he was going to decide to do, lucky for us it was to walk off again.

Of course we were all adrenalin charged for the rest of the week and it
has done nothing to cure my fear of ellies.....it was really a great
experience though.

There is This thread that has quite a bit of advice, but really in mu opinion it varies from ellie to ellie and day to day.
We usually first try and judge the mood/body language of the animal and then make a decision but as has already been said it can change in an instant.
We were told on good authority that if one gets stuck in a breeding herd the best thing to do is to switch off the engine, close the windows and sit dead quiet, but not with Bulls.

These are some of the occasions that have made my hair stand up on end in KNP - all due to great pleasure - and not fear that I experienced .
The last picture of me bathing in the Olifants river has been suitably resized .

A few years ago we spotted a Vine snake on the B&D/CBridge road and hubby stopped so we could admire it. It IS a lovely snake, beautiful blueish green on the head, dark brown with black and pink spots. Biiiig mistake! Before you could say "Sesame", it disappeared under the car and that was the end of what should have been a most enjoyable drive.
I forgot about lions, leopards and all else inbetween. I was convinced that it would slither up my leg any minute! Read too many scary stories, I suppose .... and some of it very true!
SO slowly moved the car forward, but there was no sign of the darn thing Not long after hubby shouted "Snake!!"
I nearly fainted when the head of the snake appeared above the bonnet, red tongue flicking in and out.
"Stop!!" I was horrified - surely it'll find a way into the car ... "can it get in through the vents??"
"No, of course not".
"where is it?" I couldn't see it anymore and that was even worse !

To make a long story short - for about 10km the snake played hide and seek with us. SO would step on the brake every now and then to try and "shake" off the thing, but it held its grip (where I don't know). We flagged down the first oncoming car and asked them to check whether their was a snake hanging from the grill where we could not see it.
No, not! Thank you! thank you! Thank you!
My hair did stand on end ... for days

This is amazing stories.

I have one but it didn't happen in a national park.

I grew up on a small game farm and we had a orphan warthog (Simmie) living with us. He was not aloud in the house, but took his chances whenever he could. The couch and beds was his favourite spots to sleep on.

One evening my parents went to a school meeting in town and I was home alone. It was raining and thundering outside, so I switched off all the lights and electrical devises and went to bed early. But somehow I forgot to close the kitchen door.

As I was falling asleep I heard something falling in the kitchen. At that moment I couldn't remember if all the doors were locked yet, so I felt a bit scared. I quickly looked out my window but my parents car was not in the driveway yet.
So I stayed in bed, blankets pulled all the way up, watching my bedroom door.

After a few minutes the door opening slowly. By this time I was so nervous that I froze. And then, suddenly something jumped on my bed

I screamed and 'it' screamed even harder, jumping off and running outside, bumping against the hallway table. It was Simmie, who didn't want to be outside in that weather.

Not only did I get the fright of my life that night, poor Simmie got one too. I never saw him in my room again. My parents did give me a mouthful when I told them what happened.. ALWAYS LOCK THE DOORS WHEN YOUR HOME ALONE.

We were at the park, next to the Selatie train bridge and having a sundowner on the deck. CC went inside to freshen up the drinks and I decided to take a stroll down to the fence. It was a beautiful night and the sounds of the wild were echoing across the river.This was our first trip to Africa and everything was new to us. There are no poisonous anything in our part of Canada, and I was comfortable with the fact that the wild noises coming to me were on the OTHER side of that electric fence.
Then I realized that the fence could not stop snakes!!
The hair on the back of my neck did stand on end and It didn't take me two weeks to get back to the (relatively) safety of the deck. I Did not venture out at night after that without a flashlight (torch)

The other night we had to chase an elephant out of a girl's backyard in one of Kruger's staff villages. We went without any form of torch and the moon was nowhere to be seen! I was standing behind a rather thin tree with this behemoth standing a few feet away, towering over us!!!! All went well though, the ellie went crashing through the fence when the guide charged while yelling at him, the words that he used can't be repeated here, but it was quite funny. That ellie trampled about three fences that night. It left me a bit rattled for a few minutes, but a great experience!!!!! We had a few hyaenas come into the yard and sniff around while we were sitting outside, but they behaved themselves rather well!

I read Linda's meeting with the lion.

We were on our honeymoon in Kruger on the road between lower sabie CBridge.

I car stopped us and said that there is lions about 1km away.

Just a bit of background on my wife, she is in a wheelchair, a paraplegic but i love her to bits.

The ppl in the car said the lions were on the right, so there we are looking only at the right remember we were on honeymoon.

As i looked to my left, i was driving our low Toyota corolla i looked in the eyes of the lion he was standing right next to the car on the road. I knew that she was going to have the fright of her life if she must look, tried to convince her not to look but didn't listen.

I think if she was able to walk she will still be running today

I cannot remember the exact year but it was in the late eighties. We left satara when the gates opened and found 2 big male lions in the road and a huge lioness sitting under a tree. This lioness had been mauled by these two males so badly that she was unable to move. I think she might of tried to establish herself in their pride. We notified the ranger who then came out to evaluate the situation. He drove into the bush and up to the lioness and discovered that her legs were broken. With all of this commotion going on the two males lions left, or so we thought. The ranger then decided to shoot the lioness to put her out of her misery. When the ranger established that the lioness was dead, him and his assistant tried to load this lioness onto his bakkie. We could see that they were battling to lift the lioness and offered our assistance which he welcomed. When i ran to help him my pen fell out of my pocket. We them lifted this huge lioness onto his bakkie and he left. You cannot believe how heavy a lion actually is. All the people that observed this sad event then left. I am not exaggerating when i say i was at the most 1km away when i realised my pen was in the bush. I did a uturn and guess what i found within feet of my pen. One huge big male lion. Obviously i left my pen in the bush. I still shudder when i think of how quick four grown men would be able to jump into the canopy of a single cab bakkie should that lion of charged

While in Orpen Camp last week, I decided to have a Swim, as I do each time returning from a drive. It is always so refreshing to go into an air-conditioned room while still nice and cool from a swim. :

It was late afternoon/ early evening (6:40 or so), and I had a little dip in the pool. Loving the refreshing time SO said we better get the fire going otherwise we would eat to late .... I got out of the pool, and before I even manged to wrap my towel around me, look at what I found, following me around!!! A puff Adder!!!!
(A pic will follow)

So this has lead me to ask, what is your more pulse quickning moments in our parks?
Oh and by the way I haven't had a swim since!

Here is the swimming partner

Oh my gosh Inyati - that is like really really scary - and it looks like not such a small one either!!!! Phew - did you sleep at all that night??????

My worst doesn't come close, but unpacking our boot at Nkhulu pic psot - I was about 12 years old - and a huge baboon charged at the car obviously trying to get at the oranges and landed on my back instead!!! I locked myself in the car and refused to come out for breakfast!

Had the same experience somewhere in the 1970's when I was around 10 or so.
I can't remember wich picnick spot it was, but I had to get something out of the car and I made the mistake to run to it. A baboon came charging out of the bushes and landed on my back. To make a story short. I still have the scars of his teeth on my back and I can't stand the beggers now.