Mud, glorious mud!

Mud, glorious mud!, originally uploaded by tripowski.

Elephants use mud to keep cool, as it dries more slowly than water. This is really important during October, as it's 40C - we only discovered when we arrived that the locals call it 'suicide month'. Doh! So much for a super-romantic honeymoon!

This large male was the only animal that came close to being dangerous while we were in Africa. He got rather close and agitated, and we had to withdraw behind some bushes under the cover of the ranger (we were on foot).

He then wandered off and started eating a tree. Obviously.