Driving in South Africa's Most Underrated Big 5 Park: Tembe Elephant

Join us as we drive our Land Rover Defender deep into Tembe Elephant Park, one of South Africa’s most remote and untamed wildlife reserves — home to some of the last remaining big tuskers on Earth. This less commercial (Big 5!) park is run by the Tembe tribe in partnership with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

We take you behind the scenes of our week volunteering with the Land Rover Owners Club of Southern Africa. From repairing fences in the bush to exploring restricted no entry-roads, this was an experience few ever get to have.

But things got real when a massive elephant blocked our path — and charged. What started as a peaceful drive turned into one of the most intense moments of our journey, ending in a loud clang and a Defender that just wouldn’t move…

💚 PANGO = short for pangolin, the most trafficked mammal on earth, which we want to raise awareness for.

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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:45 Setting up camp & Lida's experiment
3:19 Diverse nature in Baviaanskloof
5:45 What's next?! Caught in the storm
8:26 We made it to Vryheid
10:08 Cruising potholes through KwaZulu-Natal & camp in Pongolapoort Dam
11:34 What are we doing in Tembe Elephant Park?
13:32 The work of the Honorary Officers
17:07 Hammers and nails all again!
19:45 Beautiful wildlife
22:02 The 50 y/o travel story of Edward Allen
24:54 On a safari on the no-entry roads. Just the two of us... Or, well...

#Overlanding #LandRoverDefender #TravelAfrica #WildlifeConservation #WomenOverlanding #TembeElephantPark #4x4life #VanLife #Offroading

Episode 13 | Shot in South Africa, April 2025.
©️ Credits: Music from Epidemic Sound.
We were issued a permit for our drone footage by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.