Nazinga’s 94,000ha contain more than 20,000 animals, with 10,000 primates, 800 elephants and 275 species of bird.
With 800 elephants in this smallish park, an encounter is basically assured. During the height of the dry season, when water elsewhere is hard to come by, you simply need to turn up at the lakeside camp at around noon for a spectacular bathing show.
The observation area on the lake’s edge puts you right at the heart of the action. Young bulls, absorbed in the minutiae of their daily routine, stop and slowly look up, within touching distance. You can see the crevices and cracks of the caked mud on heffalump sides, the layer of stubbly hair covering trunks, and feel their elephantine breath on you. Elephants regularly wander through the camp to chow down on the well-watered shoots and leaves. If staying the night, take a torch if you’re prowling the campsite, to avoid bumping into one of the hairy monsters.