Jessica and the Grumpy Elephant

Behind the story

Some travel stories live quietly in your memory, others come charging down a dusty road, ears flapping, and leave muddy footprints across your brain forever.

Jessica and the Grumpy Elephant is based on one of those unforgettable moments. It’s not fiction. It happened. And yes…i really did try to sneak past an elephant’s bottom.

Years ago, while backpacking in Zimbabwe, I found myself on the receiving end of an elephant charge. I had been roughing it across Africa for weeks, dusty, sweaty, and more than a little grubby. When I finally got access to a real bath, it revealed just how dirty I had become. (Let’s just say the bathwater turned into something between soup and swamp, and it moved.)

A few days later, still obsessed with staying clean, I heard there was a swimming pool nearby. And so began a walk down a narrow bush path, through tall grass… and straight into the backside of a very large, very uninterested elephant.

I thought we could sneak by. Firstly, what was I thinking, you can’t just ‘sneak’ past an elephant!

The elephant noticed. Paused. Fanned its ears (bad sign). Then charged.

What followed was a ridiculous sprint, a panicked leap over a hurricane fence, and the kind of adrenaline rush that stays with you for life.

In Jessica’s world, the stories are a little sillier, the danger a bit more playful, and
the elephant? Well, still very grumpy.

This version keeps all the thrill of the real event—but with laughter, learning,
and a reminder that respecting wildlife is just as important as staying clean.

What’s Real?

The elephant charge? 💯 Real.

The dirty bathwater? Unfortunately, very real.

The sprint to the fence? Full speed.

The fence doing absolutely nothing to stop an elephant if it really wanted
to? Also true.

Patting its bottom? Okay, that part was a joke. (But we did think about it.)