This elephant mock charged so close I got this shot with my iPhone 6
While I enjoyed all the wildlife sightings I had on safari at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, I have a soft spot for the elephants. Other than dogs, elephants are my favorite animals. They have very distinct and often charming personalities. One male in the local herd, Papa G, is so much of ham he even wound up on the December 2014 cover of Conde Nast Traveler. He’s the Derek Zoolander of the Hoanib River Valley.
The local elephants are all named after guides and staffers at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp
African elephants are HUGE– which means I could easily photograph them with my iPhones. All the images in this post are mobile photography images.
This video of a juvenile elephant mock charging
I could have watched this herd of elephants all day long, especially against the stunning desert backdrop and ever-changing Namibian clouds. Here’s some video of the action at the watering hole:
Elephants at the watering hole in the Hoanib River Valley, Namibia
Elephants at the watering hole in the Hoanib River Valley
I loved how playful the juveniles are, and how they only get serious about drinking the water (instead of playing in it) when the older ones tell them it’s time to get going. They also take dirt baths to cool off from the desert sun.
I hope you enjoy this time lapse video I shot on my iPhone 5s of the elephants at the watering hole:
Elephants at the watering hole time lapse video (shot on my iPhone 5s)
Elephants leaving the watering hole in the Hoanib River Valley