The best time to see wildlife is dawn and dusk when it's not too hot for the animals to graze. So we started our morning at six and got some breakfast before getting back in the jeep for another day. Since we had seen cheetahs and leopards the day before we decided to go looking for lions on the open plains.
The morning was slow as we checked the usual lion spots and some of the places people had seen them the day before. We didn't have much luck and by 11 we still hadn't seen any lions. However, we did see a bunch of giraffes right by the edge our path and stopped by to get a closer look. There were eight in total and two were calves. At one point three of the tallest giraffes walked right behind the jeep and to the other side of the trail.
After watching the giraffes feed we continued on in search of the lions when we got our first glance at the deadliest animals in Africa, hippos. You would never guess hippos - these big friendly looking animals, would be the most deadly animal in Africa especially with lions and leopards roaming about. But hippos cause more deaths every year than lions, leopards, and crocodiles. Usually people underestimate hippos to be lazy, slow animals that float in rivers but they can get up to 30 mph on land and with their huge jaws and tusks they are really dangerous. We made sure to keep our distance and since we were on a hill on the rivers edge we were able to leave the jeep to get a better angle at the hippos below.
Hippos graze at night because their skin isn't very resistant to the sun. Their sweat is mixed with blood which helps keep their skin from burning and also makes their sweat pink. We left the hippos and saw a jeep on a hill in the horizon. There was a cheetah sitting on a mound of dirt and once we arrived it started to walk parallel to the trail.
We followed the cheetah for a while before continuing our search for lions. We kept going up the paths and we saw a jeep on the other side of the river and big ravine waving and flashing their lights. We didn't have a way across the river but we drove closer to see what was wrong. As we were getting closer out of the corner of my eye I saw a lioness lying in the bushes on the other side of the path. The other jeep didn't seem to be in any kind of danger so we went over to see the lions. There was a mother and two older cubs.
The two cubs were lounging out underneath a large bush and the mother was lying on her back like a dog that wanted a belly rub.
Joe noticed that they had quite full bellies and must have made a kill the night before. We watched the cubs licking themselves clean and the mom rolling on her back and soon a few more jeeps came to see them after Joe called it in on the radio. After a while we had to leave to help lead a jeep back to the lions after they got lost trying to find them. There's no way to mark exactly where they are so the drivers always have to describe the landscape but it all looks the same to me. After leading the jeep back we started back to camp for lunch. On the way back we spotted a herd of elephants travelling across the open fields.
We caught up to them and drove parallel with the herd as they marched to an unknown destination. There were two elephant calves walking among the gentle giants playing waving their trunks.
Over the radio we heard that the other jeeps had found the rest of the pride and the male by the river. We were 15 minutes away now and going back would mean adding an hour or so to the trip. Joe decided it was worth it to go back to see the male so we back tracked and met up with the rest of the jeeps. Down by the river hidden in the brush were three more lionesses and a young male with a half mane. We watched them for a few minutes before we turned back to camp for lunch.
We followed the cheetah for a while before continuing our search for lions. We kept going up the paths and we saw a jeep on the other side of the river and big ravine waving and flashing their lights. We didn't have a way across the river but we drove closer to see what was wrong. As we were getting closer out of the corner of my eye I saw a lioness lying in the bushes on the other side of the path. The other jeep didn't seem to be in any kind of danger so we went over to see the lions. There was a mother and two older cubs.
Joe noticed that they had quite full bellies and must have made a kill the night before. We watched the cubs licking themselves clean and the mom rolling on her back and soon a few more jeeps came to see them after Joe called it in on the radio. After a while we had to leave to help lead a jeep back to the lions after they got lost trying to find them. There's no way to mark exactly where they are so the drivers always have to describe the landscape but it all looks the same to me. After leading the jeep back we started back to camp for lunch. On the way back we spotted a herd of elephants travelling across the open fields.
Over the radio we heard that the other jeeps had found the rest of the pride and the male by the river. We were 15 minutes away now and going back would mean adding an hour or so to the trip. Joe decided it was worth it to go back to see the male so we back tracked and met up with the rest of the jeeps. Down by the river hidden in the brush were three more lionesses and a young male with a half mane. We watched them for a few minutes before we turned back to camp for lunch.
We had a late lunch and some time to relax at the lodge before we headed back out for our afternoon game drive. After a half hour of driving we spotted a bunch of jeeps surrounding undergrowth and bushes creating an almost oasis in the middle of the grasslands. We found a spot between all the jeeps and spotted another leopard eating a kill in the largest bush. Our angle wasn't great and after a few jeeps left Joe was able to drive in for a better view so we got to see that there was also a young cub hidden behind the big bush.
It turns out the mom was the same one we had seen last night and the 5 month old cub must have been hidden away by the river's edge. We left the jungle of jeeps and did a loop around to wait for a spot to open up. Around the back of the bushes we saw a jeep moving a bit to get a new angle on the leopards. We followed the path through the grass and got a perfect view of the leopards. Just as we got there the mother picked up the kill and dragged it over to the little cub. The cub rolled onto his back and raised its paws like it was trying to play with the mother.
The mom dropped the kill at his feet before returning to her spot in the bush. Soon after the cub had eaten his fill of the impala he joined his mother.
We left our spot and let the jeeps behind us get a chance to get a better view. We continued on past the leopards and saw a jeep stopped way in the distance. Once we got there it was a cheetah with a fresh kill - a young Thomson Gazelle.
It turns out the mom was the same one we had seen last night and the 5 month old cub must have been hidden away by the river's edge. We left the jungle of jeeps and did a loop around to wait for a spot to open up. Around the back of the bushes we saw a jeep moving a bit to get a new angle on the leopards. We followed the path through the grass and got a perfect view of the leopards. Just as we got there the mother picked up the kill and dragged it over to the little cub. The cub rolled onto his back and raised its paws like it was trying to play with the mother.
The mom dropped the kill at his feet before returning to her spot in the bush. Soon after the cub had eaten his fill of the impala he joined his mother.
We watched as he ate for a long time. Soon his entire face was covered in blood and the sun was setting so we had to get back to camp before dark. On the way back the last rays of sun shined through the clouds making for some great photos.
We thanked Joe for an amazing day before having a great dinner and settling in for the rest of the night.
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