This time it was a young bull. And he didn’t like us at all. You have to know what you’re doing when you’re dealing with an elephant who doesn’t like you.

We were driving out from Takwela Camp in the Luangwa Valley in Zambia. It opened in 2019 and then came the pandemic. Now it’s open again and the elephants still aren’t sure what to make of us. Takwela is in North Luangwa National Park, and there aren’t many visitors who get this far.

In South Luangwa the elephants that hang out near the safari trails are so cool about vehicles that they will sometimes pass almost within patting distance. It is Alex Phiri’s ambition to bring Takwela’s local elephants into the same condition. He’s not there yet.

As we came round the bend the elephant saw us and at once he was in a state in which confusion and anger fought for the dominance. He turned as sharply as an elephant can turn and faced us with ears spread wide as a barn-door. Alex acted without hesitation. He switched off the engine.

This calmed the elephant at once. It’s the engine-noise they really hate, or perhaps the unfamiliar combination of sound and movement. As we sat becalmed he merely gave us the blowtorch stare. Slowly, we watched him relax. He even shifted his gaze a little. So let’s start the engine again.

Full alert. Ears out again. Am I going to charge? He didn’t know. Neither did we.

Alex held his nerve. Switched off again. Rather than getting the hell out with roaring engine and bouncing vehicle. For a while we stayed looking at him looking at us looking at him. And then, after several minutes – the elephant started eating again. Good sign. So let him eat. We’ve got all the time in the world. What us? Dangerous? Clearly not.

The tension ran out like water down the plughole. And then Alex started again. The elephant looked up sharply, but did no more than that. We drove away without hurry, engine at the merest mutter. As soon as we were safely out of distance he gave a wild trumpeting call and a mad head-shake: brave as a lion as soon as we weren’t actually there. And don’t come back!

But we will. And next time it’ll be ever so slightly easier. Little by little. I congratulated Alex on a beautifully managed encounter, one governed by tact and courtesy to elephants. “You’re getting there.”

“Slowly!” he said.

• I was co-leading a trip with Wildlife Worldwide https://www.wildlifeworldwide.com/discover/zambia