Lions in the night

Well, that was a first!  I've never been kept awake by lions roaring before!  They sounded very close but Ronney told me that their roars carry and they were probably at least a couple of kilometres away. We have coffee and a piece of toast early so that we can get out on safari by 7am. The roof of our truck lifts up so that we can stand on the seats and view the game from the roof.  This gives us an intimacy with the wild life and is ideal for those special photo opportunities.  We travel down a number of tracks in the park and visit  various water holes to view the animals in their natural habitat. 



We see large herds of zebra, springbok, giraffe, steenbock, kudu, and a red hartebeest, all up close, also jackals and occasionally comical little warthogs running about.  It is all marvellous but, for me, the greatest thrill is seeing lions up close, in the wild, for the first time.  We see 3 females, lounging in the grass.  They yawn, look at us disdainfully and one saunters up very close to our truck.  They seem to be well aware of their position as jungle royalty. Ronney tells us that the animals see the truck as a single entity and not the individual people within it.  They  are used to the trucks and don't fear them however, if any of us should get out of the truck the lions would certainly attack.



The bird life within the park is rich and varied and we see a number of different birds including the hideous and chilling vulture and the colourful little bee eater.  Ronney has eagle eyes and is able to spot birds and animals long before any of us. A mere twitch in the long grass and he knows exactly what animal it is, and he is always right. This is a fantastic first morning in the game park and we arrive back at camp buzzing with excitement.  Jonas has prepared an excellent brunch for us of bacon, scrambled eggs and baked beans and  we now have 3 hours to relax in the heat of the day...bliss! We do our laundry, write our diaries, and go for a swim. At 3.30pm we head out on safari again spotting a number of different birds, zebra, giraffe, and springbok. 



We come to a water hole surrounded by elephants.  What a wonderful sight!  36 elephants of various ages drinking, bathing and playing.  The older female elephants surround a tiny baby and bathe it tenderly.  It is a touching scene.  They are only about 30 metres from us and we sit watching for at least half an hour.  Ronney is keen to see if the lions we spotted this morning are still there so we head back to the spot. It is getting late in the day and we are not hopeful but we are lucky...they are still there lounging under a tree.  We watch them for a while when suddenly 2 young cubs come scampering through the grass mewling and playing.  The cubs are unfazed by us, sweet, innocent and adorable, they come right up to our truck.  They look straight at us and then lie down on the road beside the truck.  We are all beside ourselves with delight.  Soon the adult females follow and before long there are 11 lions lying on the road around the truck.  We watch them for an hour but eventually they get up and stroll off into the grass.  We race back to camp, towards the brilliant setting sun, arriving just before the gates are locked, and excitedly relive our day over chicken, chips and vegetables.  Another early night, but we go to bed grinning...what a great result for our first day's safari!



Photos: (1-4) Animals of Etosha (5-9) The thrilling lion viewing