Finding 400? I’m good at titles and captions – it’s one of the things that seem to come without effort and, more often than not, the first idea is a good one that works – but is it a good title? Who knows!

What is does say, in just the first ten characters, is what this book is all about. I’ve been fascinated by wildlife since an early age, documentaries on the television were always my favourites – watching Sir David Attenborough on the BBC as he travelled the world explaining natural history was the highlight of the week. 

So, this book is indeed about Finding 400 elephants, not searching for 400, but finding them when least expected. It’s an affirmation of the joy of wildlife and the unbelievable emotions that it can engender. It is the story of the search – I didn’t know what the search was actually for until I found it - that leads me to the 400. Over the course of eight trips, I’ve travelled far and seen much – not all of it endless Elephants. With this book I hope to share some of the pleasure I have had, show some of the sights I’ve seen and give a little insight into the places I’ve visited and the animals I’ve encountered. I’ve really got into the book thing – I’ve made a personal book in large coffee-table size about each of the eight trips and also written quite a detailed travelogue about the first four trips. This, however, is my first attempt at trying to bring it all together and put my thoughts down on paper.

There should be an adage about wildlife – it should state: “If you’re going to search for something, make it easy to know when you’ve found it”. That, of course, is one of the reasons for my quest being one in search of elephants. They’re big, easy to spot and photograph and found in many parks and reserves throughout East Africa and indeed much of the rest of the continent. Naturally, there’s more to it than that. They are supremely intelligent, full of character, unpredictable and can always be relied on for a great photo opportunity.

I also have to admit to having a bit of an advantage that some would consider unfair. The friends that I travel with, Fred and Elizabeth, have been long-time sponsors of adopted elephants through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) in Nairobi. They saw Lualeni on the first series of Elephant Diaries on the BBC in the early 2000’s and couldn’t resist sponsoring her – something that they still do even though she is now an adult wild elephant in Tsavo East National Park with a family of her own. As a consequence of this sponsorship, three of the visits have been in part to see Lualeni together with her orphan and truly wild friends in Tsavo. Of course, this can also be a bit of a disadvantage. I started off with unbelievable access to these human-friendly orphans and their friends – my first trip to East Africa was to Tsavo specially to see them – and as a consequence I have always expected a lot from any wild elephants that we meet. To be fair, I’ve never been disappointed!

The DSWT are now a large and dedicated organisation, fighting to save the wild elephants of Kenya and beyond from the sad failings of mankind. Whether poachers seeking ivory for the Far East or farmers protecting their precious crops, elephants are always the real victims and the decline in numbers in the last few years is frightening. This makes the finding of 400 all the more special and probably – at least for me – unique.

TEN JOURNEYS

This was the story of Eight trips to East Africa, three to Kenya and one each to Tanzania and Uganda. Some of the journeys were taken with the express desire of seeing elephants, but some of them were more for the travel experience, general wildlife safaris or the quest to fill out the bird list. This change of focus from trip to trip has great advantages for the keen traveller. You are always looking for something different and there’s always something new to see. It has eventually expanded into a ten-journey history of my time spent in Africa up to 2024.

Something I found out quite quickly – apart from the obvious size of the area you are travelling in – is the great variety of terrain and vegetation. East Africa is not all savannah. Even on our first short trip into Kenya – ostensibly just to travel down to Ithumba and see the orphaned elephants – we passed through a wide variety of terrain, including fertile farmland and steep mountain valleys.

It’s also a good idea to travel at different times of the year – the seasonality of the equatorial regions is not one driven by the sunlight or the heat, but more by the seasonal rains that change the character of the countryside completely in just a few short weeks. These rainy and dry seasons occur at different times in different locations and you have to be aware of them. Travelling in Uganda during the rains can be a bit of a wretched experience, especially if you’re going to any of the higher areas – bad roads are much worse when they’re sticky mud 20 or 30cm thick! Zambia, Botswana and Namibia in the rain can be simply impossible.

Let’s start with a brief look at the ten journeys, the times and the destinations for each of them and my initial hopes for the outcome of each trip.

KENYA – DECEMBER 2008

This was my first trip with just Fred and Elizabeth. They were going on their usual Christmas and New Year trip to East Africa and wanted to visit their adopted elephant Lualeni in Kenya before going on to Uganda for several weeks. I was lucky enough to be asked to join them for the Kenya bit of the trip and spend 5 nights at the Ithumba Camp with them.

So, three nights in relative luxury in Nairobi and a five-night excursion by road down to the town of Kibwezi and then into Tsavo east and the mountain of Ithumba.

TANZANIA – JANUARY 2010

After having such fun in Kenya, I was looking forward to a return to any part of East Africa, hoping to see more of the real big game that I’d had only a taste of in Kenya. Fred and Elizabeth suggested I come for the last three weeks of the trip they were making into Tanzania with another friend, Chris. I could share with him – keeping the cost down – and we would be able to see the Great Migration and Ngorongoro crater. We would take our time and I’d be away for about three weeks.

Visits to Tarangire National Park, The Crater Highlands, Ndutu and the Serengeti, Lake Manyara National Park and home. Flights from the UK would be to Kilimanjaro International Airport with a chance to see the mountain if the weather was clear.

KENYA – SEPTEMBER 2011

Just the three of us returning to Kenya, this time for three and a half weeks, taking in a bit more of the typical safari circuit but also visiting our orphan friends at Ithumba once more.

This was a chance to visit Lake Baringo, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli and of course Tsavo East. A great opportunity to see all sorts of wildlife and as many birds as we could manage in the time. Returning to Tsavo in September – the very end of the dry season would also give us a different perspective on the area, very much changed from the greenery of post-rain December.

UGANDA – DECEMBER 2012

Fred and Elizabeth have been regular visitors to Uganda for many years, but Chris and I had never been there. In a long trip of a whole month over Christmas and New Year we would cover the major national parks and tourist spots of the country primarily looking for rare birds and any wildlife that we came across.

Places visited would include Mabamba Swamp, Lake Mburo, Bwindi Forest, Ishasha, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls and Ziwa.

KENYA – DECEMBER 2014

Another month-long epic trip for the four of us, a chance for Chris to finally meet our orphan elephant friends at Ithumba and also to hunt for rare birds in forest reserves across the country.

We would travel to the far-west of the country then slowly back eastwards to the coast. We’d visit Kakamega Forest, The Mau Highlands, Lake Baringo, Castle Forest, Kibwezi Forest, Ithumba and the Sokoke Forest.

NAMIBIA & BOTSWANA – DECEMBER 2016

This trip was going to be an epic – almost five weeks driving ourselves around the Namibian desert then on through Botswana to Chobe National Park and back down through the Caprivi Strip before leaving Namibia in the New Year.

Highlights include meeting elephants deep in Huanib Gorge, visiting the giant sand dunes of Sossusvlei and having an incredible encounter there, chasing lions across Etosha, surprises in Chobe and a visit into Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls.

UGANDA – DECEMBER 2018

Having enjoyed our first group visit to Uganda, it was inevitable that we would return to the mountains and the birds with Emmy as our guide once again. A chance to revisit locations around the south-west of the country, with plenty of time to hunt for rare birds around Bwindi forest, with visits to Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Mburo and Semliki forest back on the agenda.

ZAMBIA – DECEMBER 2019

Fred, Elizabeth and Chris had all been to Zambia several times in the past, often spending Christmas in South Luangwa National Park. They told many stories of the wildlife to be seen and the fun to be had, so when a trip was suggested, I had to go along.

A different trip – just three locations – but Kafue National Park at McBride’s Camp brought us together with some new friends, The Lower Zambezi offered many birds and much more from our time on the boat and then South Luangwa itself brought wildlife sightings to equal – or even exceed – any that had gone before.