While on location filming African animals for the World encyclopedia, I had an experience only found in old safari books. The story as follows:

With my excellent guide "James" driving our small four wheel drive open truck,. we slowly travelled along the narrow track that bordered the Sand River. This river literally teams with life in the dry season as numerous animals come to drink and hunt from its banks. We had just successfully filmed the kudu and giraffe drinking when we noticed a large herd of approximately 50 or more elephants feeding through the reeds towards the river. James said "they will work their way down to the river flats for their daily bath.. If we are careful we can get some great footage ".

I asked James could we position the truck in their path so I can get a head on shot of their approach. James said "We will have to take the truck onto the sand flats, we can do it, but we will have to be quick to get out of their way when they get too close as they have young with them and will not like our company"

A year before my expedition, a woman and guide had been trapped on a road leading to the river when elephant crossed the track both in front and behind their truck. They could not move away. The elephants took the fact that the truck refused to get out of their path as a direct threat. One large female attacked the truck by smashing the bonnet with her trunk. The guide and woman panicked and ran from the truck. The elephants ran after them and caught the woman. The guide got away. The woman was found later, almost all the major bones in her body were broken.

We drove our truck down onto the sandy bank directly in front of the advancing elephant herd. I began filming and was more than pleased with the footage I was getting. Young elephants mock fighting and one extremely large bull elephant feeding on the reeds were recorded for my encyclopedia clients.

After some 10 minutes the elephants were within 50 yards of the truck and began to group around their young. The larger females and a few very large bulls began to face us and demonstrate their displeasure at us being between them and the river they so loved..

James said " We better move away now" I agreed as now the elephants were but 40 yards from our truck. Then came the worst sound one could ever hear, as the wheels of the truck spun and refused to take hold of the wet sand below . Within seconds we were firmly bogged.

The elephants kept coming with one bull getting more and more angry. He began to shake his head from side to side and flap his giant grey ears. Another large female duplicated his behaviour. Elephants were now all around our truck, some began crashing through the reeds showing their feelings and warning us in no uncertain terms to get away. Then the largest elephant of the herd approached our truck to stand only 12 feet from us and display his anger. I filmed and tried to stay calm without shaking the camera. I deliberately framed James head in the scene, so it could be shown clearly how close the elephants were from us. See pic.

Then the very angry bull trumpeted his anger, at such close range I felt incredibly vulnerable but there was absolutely nothing we could do, jumping out of the truck with 50 or 60 angry elephants around was not an option. So I tried to concentrate my thoughts to filming the action. I adjusted the lens to fully wide so I could fit the huge animals in the frame. A few seconds later the bull charged, stopping feet from my side of the truck.

We were literally looking up the tusks of the earths largest beast and he was not happy. The situation was now very serious, at any moment the elephants could change their bluff tactics to an actual attack. The animals were becoming furious because we refused to leave. James again tried to get us out of the wet sand, this time reversing. The tires at first just slipped and the noise only made the situation worse as now five elephants were all demonstrating their anger at our presence. Then one wheel gripped then another and off we went away from the angry elephants.

"That day I gained great footage and also gained more grey hair, that night James and I had a few beers too many."

see publicity page.