This is the adorable moment two elephant calves tried out their tusker skills to confront a tourist safari at a South African game reserve.

Delighted holidaymakers at the Kapama Private Game Reserve in Limpopo Province watched from their jeeps as the pair confronted them in the bush.

The first one ran up with its trunk raised and its ears spread wide, a classic elephant warning sign for a charge. Then a second came running onto the track ears flapping and trunk tooting to support its herd member.

But after a few moments, the playful pair's nerve seemed to fade and they turned tail and ran back to mum. The adorable encounter was filmed by a field guide named Ebenezer Rhode, 29, on June 18.

Ebenezer - who comes from Mossel Bay in the South African province of Western Cape - is a ‘field guide at Kapama Private Game Reserve.'

He describes himself as a ‘very passionate wildlife videographer who likes to capture wildlife videos'.

He said: ‘Very curious young elephants gave us a lot of fun on a recent safari for first-time safari-goers.'

‘I've been actively guiding for about seven years, but I've been on a game reserve since October 2012.'

He explained that no tourists were at risk of being hurt by the elephant herd in his video.

He said: ‘At no stage were we in any danger because we were observing the young ones, but we also remained focused on the adults in the group.

‘There was enough space for us so we were not cornered in by the elephants at all. With elephants, the young ones are often playful and mock charge the vehicles to build confidence.

‘Also, they are not that used to cars so it takes them a little time to get use to the vehicles, but the animals' behaviour often shows you what they want to do.'