BEFORE embarking on a 1,000-kilometre trek through some of Africas wildest countryside David Lemon was told by friends he would not return alive - and at times on his trip he thought they might be right.

As he walked around half of the total shoreline of the vast Lake Kariba on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, the France Lynch-based journalist and author twice literally walked into a lion's den.

"The first time I was going through some very thick bush, my legs streaming with blood," said David, 62, who was born in India but grew up in Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia.

"I heard lions the night before but this time I was not really concentrating.

"The lioness got up basically from under my feet. Four others ran off but she stayed and watched. I had to reverse, ripping myself to shreds."

During the trip, David lost 43 pounds in weight and in one gruelling week he walked with barely any water as the sun beat down at 45C.

While stranded in the wild, 100-kilometres from the nearest village, he had to stitch his own leg back together after falling on a sharp branch.

And when storms lashed non-stop for 10 days David, who amazingly travelled without a tent, now admits he would have jumped at the chance to take a taxi out of there.

His three-month adventure, which was largely motivated by a lifelong love of elephants, was also the source of a devastating experience that once reported, sent shock waves around the international conservation community.

In a clearing David came across two abandoned elephant calves, one of which was dead.

"It really upset me to see but my biggest worry was why there were two babies alone," said David, who has previously completed several cross-country adventures including a 7,500-kilometre cycling trip from Nairobi to Cape Town.

Two days later at a fishing camp he heard that a hunter had killed two lactating female elephants, known as cows.

"I took photos and sent them to the Zimbabwean conservation taskforce," he said.

"I actually named the hunter in a newsletter that goes to all people who support the taskforce.

"I've had emails from all over the world. Most were supportive but a few people called me names and told to keep my nose out.

"The experience left me really disturbed for a long time."

David's trip of mixed emotions also brought many highs.

"I had nothing but hospitality from the local people," said David, who thinks he will most miss the feeling of space and animals.

"There were crocs everywhere which did make it a bit nerve racking taking a bath."

During his time away David, who runs a gardening business with wife Lace, walked many a mile along golden, sandy beaches, over rocks as well as through thick bush.

"Sometimes I just sat on a rock, no-one within 80 km, and think I was the luckiest man in world," he said.

"It is almost entirely uninhabited - like Africa 1,000 years ago.

"I loved the sheer peace of it all, being away from everyday sounds.

"I didn't hear a car's engine for weeks."