Rain in the morning, lions at night

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After a 5:00 am wake-up call, Torrance rings the gong on our front wall before placing a pot of coffee through the dumb waiter door in the living room. By 5:30 am, Alan and I have donned raincoats for a wet walk to the reception area where Enoch, our ranger, and his tracker, Sam, are preparing the Land Rover for this morning’s 3-hour excursion .

As the rain pours, Alan, Gail (another guest) and I peer from underneath green poncho hoods at an African fish eagle, impala, kudu, cape buffalo and giraffe.

The rain is pounding when Enoch asks, “Would you like to return to the lodge?”
As the ladies hesitate, Alan says, “No, let’s keep going.”

By the time we stop at a concrete building near a watering hole, my shirt is completely wet from water leaking through the poncho. I’ve definitely earned the amarula (a liqueur similar to Bailey’s) that Sam pours into my coffee as we take shelter in the building.

Later, we spot two white rhino and a lioness in the distance before returning to an omelet breakfast at Ivory Lodge. We spend the morning napping then it’s time for lunch and a glass of Foresters sauvignon blanc.

The weather clears for the afternoon game drive and all the animals come out to play - warthog, spotted hyena, jackal and the usual cape buffalo, kudu, bushbuck and impala. A very sleepy and lonely lion rests under the shade of a large tree. We hold our noses as the Land Rover passes the carcass of a young elephant that died beside a watering hole. Vultures crowd the branches of surrounding trees, waiting for their turn to eat.

But, the best is yet to come. We discover a pride of 5 lions resting right beside the road. In fact, a female lion is asleep in the road. Our Land Rover is the only one there for 15 minutes as we watch them (from about 10 to 15 feet away) slowly wake up in the fading light. They stretch, yawn and roll over. Then, the lioness in the road walks beside the vehicle and on to the road behind us. One by one, each lion follows her. The last, a male, comes so close to the Land Rover that Alan (who is sitting on that side) contemplates what to do if the lion pops in for a look, or perhaps a lick. It seems the lion doesn’t really care about Alan, continuing to follow his pride. We turn around to follow them. As a group, they walk into the tall grass, take care of business then melt into the bush for the night's hunt.

By the time we stop for sundowners, it’s almost dark. We stand in the road, sipping champagne as a lion roars. It’s the lonely lion we spotted sleeping near the tree.

“He is roaring for his brother,” Enoch tells us.

When the Land Rover pulls up at Ivory Lodge, we’re served another signature cocktail. Then, it’s time to clean up before our escort to dinner. Life is hard in the bush.

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Comments

[Al]

the big cats
Fantastic photos of the lions. They make you feel like they're ready to get up and step out of the frame. Al