It’s a beautiful morning with a gorgeous sunrise. We soon find the tracks of a lioness and cubs. We follow them and soon also find adult male lion tracks and scent marking scrapes. We proceed to follow the spoor and see if we can locate the lions. I am not optimistic as the grass is tall and the bushes thick with leaves but my guide and tracker are good so we shall see. We had probably only been driving for half an hour when, as we rounded the corner, two beautiful male lions lay across the road. The sun was shining on them perfectly and I prepared to take photos. I was rather surprised therefore when we started to reverse back around the corner away from them. It seems crazy to waste such a great photo opportunity, but then I realised the reason. KB was sitting on the tracker seat and clearly felt rather vulnerable and wanted to get inside the vehicle before we re-approached the lions.

We watched them for a while and then noticed a third male lion coming out from the bushes. He walked across the track and scent marked a nearby bush. We relocated the vehicle to take advantage of the best light. The lions had full bellies and looked very relaxed. Nevertheless when they look at you they still see completely into your soul and it always sends a shiver up your spine. Eventually he was joined by the first two lions and they settled down for a sleep in the shade.


We thought the lioness and cubs must be in the vicinity so instead of going on the walk we carried on tracking them but in the end had to abandon our efforts as the bush was thick and clearly she felt vulnerable with the cubs and was keeping a very low profile. We will go back tonight and may be lucky. You never know!

We continued our game drive and were very fortunate as we did not have to wait very long before a young elephant appeared from the nearby bushes. We stopped and then noticed that there were a whole family grazing behind her.

They gradually emerged from the shrubbery and, munching as they went, proceeded towards us. In the end, they literally were feet away and I could no longer use my powerful zoom lens and had to swap to the bridge camera.

It is such a privilege to be so close to such magnificent animals. To be accepted into their world is a very humbling experience and my heart always beats a little faster, as at the end of the day, I am entirely at their mercy. Eventually they move on and so do we; down to a pool where we stop for coffee.

We set off again and then spot a family of giraffes heading down to drink so we position the vehicle down by the water and sit and wait. We are not disappointed – there are mothers, a large bull and 2 young giraffes. They all drink at the water and we watch them for quite a while. There is also fantastic bird life down by the lake. Its a beautiful spot.

We then set off back to Camp. I am surprised as we approach the river to see brunch laid out in the bush. I am offered a very welcome gin and tonic and delicious meal of chicken with noodles, various salads and cheese and biscuits. There is something so great about eating in the bush. What a brilliant morning!

As we set off for our afternoon game drive, the weather is beginning to look very ominous and the wind is getting up. I’m sure it is going to rain very heavily later. We go back to the site where we saw the lions this morning to find that they are still there in a very relaxed and sleepy state.

We look for the lioness and cubs but I still unable to locate them. We then head off to stake out the brown hyena dens.

We took up position and waited. The sky became increasingly threatening and lightning flashed all around us. The wind increased and it was clear that we were going to get very wet so we put our camera gear into plastic bags, donned ponchos and battened down the hatches. We waited until it grew dark but there was no sign of the hyenas so we made our way back to camp.

It was then that the torrential rain commenced. I was fine as I was in the middle row of seats and not too exposed to the elements. The same cannot be said for my poor guide and tracker. The front of the vehicle was open and bucket loads of water poured off the roof directly onto them every time we hit a bump in the road, which of course was very frequently!

On arrival in camp hurricane lamps lay shattered on the floor. The storm here was horrendous with very strong winds and horizontal driving rain. Everywhere the floors were wet, including the inside of my room. My boots which I’d left just inside the door were soaking wet inside. The evening meal of Mexican soup, roast pork and apple crumble was most welcome.