This is the moment a group of terrified remaining TV crew members trembled with fear as an angry elephant repeatedly charged their safari truck during a trip to South Africa.
What was supposed to be relaxing with ten British and Australians turned into an experience of a lifetime when they encountered a herd of 40 elephants.
The TV series holidaymakers booked into a safari lodge in South Africa for a holiday after filming the Australian version of I’m the Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! in Kruger National Park.
The huge herd had panicked when a pride of hungry lions was spotted by adult elephants stalking their wounded cubs.
The lions were looking for an easy k.il.l, but when the bulls att.ac.ked, the rest of the herd stampeded for safety, and the tourists found themselves stuck right in the middle.
TV producer Trent Holmes, 40, who filmed the incredible encounter, said: ‘Our guide Gert Kruger heard trumpeting as we were out in the bush and said nearby herd was moving very fast.
‘He took us down a dirt road to see what was going on and all of a sudden darted from our right, trumpeting and smashing through the trees and bushes was this huge herd of upset elephants.
‘They were moving really fast, and Gert turned off the engine to not scare them off and let them pass, but it turned out we were in the middle of this part of the herd and the rest of it.
‘One was in front of us with big tusks, and it was terrifying, but we thought after they all went into the bush.
‘Then, from our left, a large elephant that I thought was a female darted through the trees with her glaring ears and trumpeting, and I’ve never been so scared.
‘Ranger Gert was very calm and just yelled at the elephant: “Relax, come on, move.”
‘It stopped charging, and you see and hear us on the video laughing and seeing us smiling, but trust me, it was a nervous reaction as we were all so scared because the elephant was so big.
‘Then it turned around and approached us again through the trees with its trunk outstretched, and one of our group begged Gert to drive away, and he said: “Relax guys, We can’t go now, we have to wait for it out.”
‘Then we were charged the third time by the same elephant, and it got so close that its trunk was pointed towards us, and I can’t tell you how terrified we were, but Gert just said: “Hey, calm down.”
‘Then we saw more elephants coming in from our right and realized we were getting stuck in the middle of the herd, which was why Gert said the elephants on the left are upset with us.
‘In the end, we had two older children coming right up to us and were staring at us and putting their trunks up close to us, but Gert was calm and told us to just relax and keep quiet.
‘Once the herd had passed, he felt it was a safe time to start the engine, and we slowly left, followed by three or four elephants herding us.
‘Believe me, the relief of having this distance between us for everyone was amazing.
‘It was the most incredible experience, and not many people can say they were in the middle of a herd of trampling elephants, but Gert was amazing and very calmly arranged the situation.
‘He said: “It happens every day,” but none of us really believed him!
‘I asked him afterwards why he didn’t start the truck and get out, and he said they were agitated when there were lions around, and they could have attacked and overturned our car.
‘The lions were a threat, he said not us, he told us to relax because it was his experience and skill that we had to rely on, but when you are in that case, you will be extremely scared.
Mr. Holmes from Sydney, Australia said: ‘The sound of the trumpet and the ears flaring when they charge us is with me forever.’
Mr. Holmes said: ‘We had a great safari but the next morning when Gert woke us we went out again and asked what we wanted to go and saw we said ‘anything but elephants’ and he was laughing! “.
