BSVRJVMK9FN4 Bull breathed Johan Klopper, stopping the vehicle. About 100 metres ahead, a lone elephant ambled out of the dense mopane woodland. In Kruger, you could've driven up to him - cautious in your approach, of course, but the odds are he'd let you get close enough to see the whites of his eyes. In Mozambique's Parque Nafional Do Limpopo (Limpopo National Park), there was no chance of that. And he let us know it, swaying his heavily-tusked head from side to side as he Considered the Landy before ghosting off into the trees.

'A local elephant' chuckled Johan. As chief 4x4 guide for Transfrontier Trails, he knows the bush east of the Kruger fence - the South African border - and its animals better than most. The Mozambican ellies, don't like people too much. And if you drive a diesel....'

Apparently they associate the sound of a diesel with pain and death. That's what the soldiers drove during the bush war of the 1970s and 80s. The brutal Renamo-Frelimo battles not only left maimed landmine victims and potholed roads, it led to a breakdown in the management of Mozambique's wildlife areas. This, in turn, meant the almost total wipe-out of large mammals, most notably elephants. The few that survived walk the bush with a deep-seated dislike of humans. Some even carry the physical scars - festering bullet wounds and disabled trunks. Fortunately, conditions have changed.

The Peace Parks Foundation was formed in 1997 to facilitate the establishment of transfrontier conservation areas in Africa and around the world. These parks are structured on three basic principles: cross-border co-operation and management; the sustainable economic development of communities; and the conservation of biodiversity. Peace Parks is working towards developing a viable Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Proclaimed in December 2002, the park is a joint initiative between Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. When fully functional, it will cover an area of over 35 000 square kilometres, including the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, Kruger in South Africa and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park, Manjinji Pan Sanctuary and Malipati Safari Area.

It's hoped this will not only aid in the reopening of original animal migration routes, but that visitors will be able to drive across the international borders within the boundaries of the park without cross-border formalities. Such projects aren't implemented overnight, but the August 2006 opening of the Giriyondo border post some 40 kilometres north of Letaba and the subsequent removal of nearly 50 kilometres of Kruger fence north of Shingwedzi were the first steps.

Besides game-viewing, visitors can also enjoy Mozambican food, music and dance, as well as tackle adventure activities such as fishing for tigerfish, lake cruises, kayaking trips and 4x4-overlanding trails.

Machampane, where the action is. At half the size of Kruger, most of Limpopo National Park is divided into concessions. They're responsible for marketing, maintenance and general improvement of their areas and, in keeping with the Peace Parks' spirit, must create jobs and make a profit for the park.

It was in Transfrontier Trails' 30000 hectare sector that Johan and I came across the grumpy jumbo patrolling his home range. And he doesn't live there alone. A large part of Transfrontiers' concession consists of what used to be a fenced sanctuary for game that's being restocked from Kruger. When their fences were dropped, most of the initial 4000 translocated animals remained in the area. Besides elephants, we saw lions, giraffes, kudus, waterbuck, zebras, impalas and a crocodile on our game drives.

But it was on walks from their base camp - the luxurious Machampane Wilderness Camp built under towering fever trees on the banks of the Machampane River - that I got a real feel for the place. Under the guidance of Janco Scott and Brenden Pienaar, we identified fresh rhino signs in the mopane shrubveld, tracked buffaloes along the river and got feather-recognisingly close to a green-backed heron.

Doing the Machampane Wilderness Trail, you return to the comforts of Machampane every night. But on their three-night, four-day Lebombo Hiking Trail, you camp in the bush. It's run on either a backpacking or a slackpacking basis, which allows you to carry only a daypack to the next campsite.For those who prefer a steering wheel to hiking boots, Transfrontier Trails runs two multi-day overland trails: the 10-day Big Five Rivers trail, which takes in Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou, and the Shingwedzi 4x4 Eco-Trail. Both are guided, self-drive trails offering the opportunity to explore exclusive, isolated tracks and camp wild in the park.

This is quite a drawcard, as you also camp wild on their Rio Elefantes three-night, four-day kayaking trip from the confluence of the Olifants and the Shingwedzi Rivers below Massingir Dam to the confluence of the Olifants and Limpopo Rivers. The trip epitomises what the Limpopo National Park is all about - freedom in a wilderness area. 'It's still wild here,' said Johan, finally starting the Landy again. He was still staring off in the direction of where the jumbo had disappeared. 'If you want to go to a zoo, go else-where. If you want a park, come to Limpopo.'