RockFig - on the hunt for lions

Too tired to upload yesterday after a full day, and wanted to do the blog justice, so here it is now!

Up and ready to go by 430am, some more ready than others. Frank had to pound on Liv and Ted’s door as they were in a deep sleep. He said it was the hardest he’s had to knock to wake guests up in the years he’s been here. After a quick coffee, smoothie and snack we hopped in the jeep for a longer drive to the north in search of a new coalition of lions that were moving in to the area. On the way we spotted wildebeest, giraffes, zebras and 5 white rhinos waking up in the sunrise. Much to our delight the longer drive paid off and we found 3 male lions, one snuggled up with a lioness. We eagerly watched for some activity as lions sleep for 18hours a day. We were in luck, as one of the males sat up, shaking its head, grooming itself and even giving us a big yawn. Then it stood up and started walking towards the vehicle. Jess was in the best position at the back, and was filming him walking towards us but then stopped as she got scared it was going to jump up on the vehicle as it almost touched the vehicle. Though it was very calm and simply finding another spot to sleep; the scrub behind us. Such an amazing close encounter. We stayed and watched them for a long time as they are so special to find and observe. We then stopped for a coffee break enjoying our lion stories, and then made our way back for our bush breaky. Such an amazing set up in the bush. Delicious selection of fruits, scones, cold meats and cheeses. Then a hot breakfast is cooked over a wood fire. A feast of scrambled or fried eggs, beans, sausages, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms - a feast fit for a king. There’s a drinks table that has all juices with mimosas, vodka, pimms and blood Mary all on offer. We had a nice chat to Frank, mostly consisting of our family asking him lots of questions about the animals of Africa.

We are always greeted back at the lodge with cool face washers and a host. We all took off to our chalets and we all napped and felt much better for it. We then lazed by pool, played backgammon and read. Ted had a sleep and was busy watching the Hawaii surf cam. New guests arrived, an English family who had just flown in. Another delicious lunch, this time a salmon salad (Jessica and Ted requested for a chicken substitute), and we spotted a vervet monkey in the tree. Ted was fascinated and despite knowing that it was a sign of aggression, smiled at it (they take this as you baring your teeth at them). It went further up the tree, wary of us (Ted). It continued to watch us as we lounged by the pool. They are apparently quite smart, and Frank told us they’ll distract us with their babies and then steal food when we’re not looking.

We set off on the afternoon drive and went straight to a spot where African wild dogs had been seen earlier in the day. It was a highlight for Ted as he’s fascinated by them. They are endangered and only about 5,000 left in South Africa. There were four and they weren’t overly active, however their big ears were constantly flapping and tails twitching, on high alert for anything that may come their way. One eventually got up and stretched his legs and wandered over to a different scrub area. We decided they look a bit like German shepherds. We got news that there was a pride of lions spotted, the guides share news via their radios when something of interest is spotted or seen. So Frank said it would be a Ferrari safari to get us over to the other end of the reserve. On the way we saw plenty of impala, kudu, giraffes and zebra. As we were approaching a waterhole we spotted two hippos, one did a great big “yawn” at us, letting us know they were there. Fascinating watching them and incredible to see how wide their mouth opens. We heard some noises and we initially thought they were coming from the hippos. However, Frank told us it was actually a lioness roaring to call for her pride. They have a shorter and not as deep roar as the males. As we watched the hippos and listened to the roar, Liv spotted a lioness in the distance on the other side of the waterhole. Amazing to see these two huge creatures not that far apart. Eventually the lioness got up and made her way to the lion that was calling her. We then saw a stunning sunset on our way to find the lions.

Driving into the open field where the huge pride of lions lay was surreal. It was incredible, and we counted 22 lions, including 2 males and some very cute cubs. The largest amount of lions I’ve ever seen in the one spot. We sat and watched them for half an hour. We saw two gorgeous cubs, movement within the pride as they played and towards the end of our watch the 2 males made an appearance. They are such affectionate animals, rubbing against one another and lying on top of each other. When the of the male lions arrived, its male cub came up to greet it with lots of head rubs, a reminder of Mufasa and Simba.

With such a full on drive there was no time for a sundowner. We arrived back and had time to freshen up before dinner and Pete and I enjoyed our own sundowner on our deck. We were joined at dinner with our guide Frank, Katie (who is a front of house operator, Frank’s girlfriend and also a guide) and the English family who were really nice. A relaxed, delicious and enjoyable dinner. We discussed at dinner whether to start our safari an hour later, however the kids were all keen to stick to the 430am wake up time. We were off to bed by 10ish, to be up and ready for our wake up knock.Read more