Day 3 - Pt 2 : The Circle of Life

The roads towards the part of the park where the lions were sighted earlier today are pretty basic - very bumpy and rocky. The jeep makes short work of them, but in the back, we feel a little like we’re being thrown around at times. It’s still very hot, with hardly any breeze. Driving across the African plains is one of my very happiest places. En route to the North of the park, we meet some kudu - easy to spot from the white stripes across their back, and the amazing spiralled antlers the males have. Whisper it, but they’re also incredibly tasty… We see a herd of wildebeest (or gnu) alongside some mighty water buffalo and some zebra. In the distance, we can see some Waterbok. I’ve only brought my iPhone for photography, as:

a) we’re only here for 1 night, and I typically only use my SLR for wildlife, so it felt a bit of a faff, and
b) when I took my SLR out to charge its battery, it was covered in an as yet unidentified sticky substance, and I didn’t have time to figure out what it was, much less clean it ready for use.

As a result, I’m conscious that my photos won’t do justice to the majesty of these amazing creatures, but we’re maybe a little less worried about that than we used to be…

The two male lions we’re tracking have been spotted near Nambiti plains, having taken down a young giraffe. It sounds like they’re in a food coma, and readying themselves for a deep sleep. They may not move until tomorrow. We spend some time trying to locate them, but it’s ultimately fruitless. We elect to stop for our sundowners. Jeez - it’s the smartest bush bar I’ve ever been to. Previous safaris have been more of a toss a beer from the cooler / open it with your teeth type scenario. Here, Lymon sets up a small table for us (part of the jeep’s optional equipment apparently), and lays out some snacks for us - dried mango, chilli corn kernels, some drowoers (a kind of dried boerewors sausage), and some nuts. Vicki’s gin and tonic is poured in front of her and she’s given the choice of lemon or lime. Lymon says we can use the bush bathroom (behind the truck), which we do. It’s incredibly civilised for the middle of the African bush.

Lymon suggests we take another look for the lions, as he’s had some intel in from the network of rangers across the park. We head back to the spot we were looking earlier, and find another truck parked up, who have figured out where the boys are, but they’re not visible in the long grass. We can see long stems of grass moving as the lions roll around in their slumber, but it’s not exactly a Kodak moment. Tracking them down has taken quite a chunk of time, and trucks are supposed to be out of the reserve by (around..) 19:00. We head back towards Umzolozolo at a brisk pace. We quickly see a large, female giraffe. Lymon is all but certain that this is the mother of the youngster killed by the lions, desperately looking for her child - it’s a reminder of the brutality of the circle of life…. In the distance, a thunder and lightning storm is kicking off. Huge forks of lightning around 20km to the West of us. As we drive back to the lodge, it feels like we might just be aiming for the eye of the storm. Happily we’re not, but it provides us with some entertainment as we bundle across the rocky terrain.

Arriving back at the lodge, we freshen up, and have dinner. The food is amazing. I have venison for my main course, which changes daily depending on what local antelope are available. Tonight it’s Eland, which is the largest antelope in Africa, and compares with the Canadian Moose in size. It’s delicious eating though, with a much finer flavour than the Kudu I ate in Johannesburg. Vicki’s Kingclip fillet is delicious as well. We’re eating outside in a boma - a generic Swahili word for an enclosure. There’s a raging fire in the centre of the boma, and our fellow guests and we are seated around it. It’s a spectacular little piece of Africa. It’s trying to rain, but we never get the sound and light show of the thunderstorm that we feared. We manage one more glass of wine in the bar after dinner, but we’re both tuckered after a long and busy day. We’re back in our cottage before 22:00, and asleep before 23:00. We’ve an even earlier alarm call in the morning…Read more