The mud bath became so filthy that an entire elephant vanished into the sludge.
A young bull was delighted to play and cool off in the scorching sun, so he completely covered himself from trunk to toe.
He was having such a good time and rolled about so much that he nearly vanished, with just the whites of his eyes peering out from the sludge.
A group of perplexed impala watched on as the bull enjoyed himself at the Kumana Dam in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.
The pictures were taken by safari company founder Cara Pring from Sydney, Australia.
Cara, 32, said: “The dam was becoming very popular with elephants, impala, giraffes, and baboons coming to drink as a result of the severe drought.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much water left, but that didn’t bother this one young elephant who was having a great time wallowing in the mud.
“While some impala watched from the water’s edge, he completely covered himself in mud while laying on his side.”
“After amusing us for a while, he finally managed to get himself up, with some difficulty, and headed off with a friend.
“My favorite photo is when he’s lying down, completely coated in the mud with impala in the background.
“He’s just so completely soaked in the mud, and he does seem to be in heaven.
“I found it amusing because you don’t see elephants lying down in mud very often. It’s almost as though he’s having an African spa session on his own.”
Cara is the founder of Ready Set Safari and runs tailor-made tours in southern Africa with her husband.
She spends a lot of time traveling in Africa and claims she has previously been to every spot she organizes a safari.
Cara said: “We try to visit Kruger National Park every year as it’s our favorite place in the world.
“This was actually our third trip that year. We had visited a few months earlier as part of our honeymoon after getting married in South Africa.”
