One of the most sought-after animals in Africa is the King of beasts. Brenda and I, by this point had made several game drives. We had seen lots and lots of elephants, thousands of impala, hundreds of zebra, a passel of rhino, lots of ostrich, many springbok, many buffalo, but NO lions or leopards.
Our best chance lay in this afternoon game drive in Chobe Park, a great lion sanctuary. We had come to believe that afternoon game drives were more productive than early morning ones. With afternoon drives, the later in the drive, the better the viewing odds due to the declining sunlight.
A lot of game drive quality hinges on the guide. Our guide seemed knowledgeable, but we were a bit worried. He was spending a lot of time telling us about things we already knew. We were seeing a lot, but time was fleeing and we wanted lions.
We hadn't driven far when I saw a sign marking the private drive to the Chobe Lodge. Almost directly across the sand road were 3 lions lounging in the shade waiting nightfall. They were only about 100m away, but they were lying in the sand, and difficult to spot at first. We could clearly see only two lying there. A while later they stood up to start the evening prowl, and then we saw there weren't two lions, but three.
They were something to see, these 3 female lions. Though they were female, you had to think of CS Lewis's hero, Aslan.
These were the real deal. These were liions, not second hand ones. Theses weren't caged zoo lions, these were the real thing. As Lewis said of Aslan, "He's not a tame Lion.". That's good to remember.
Seeing these real lions, wild, free, and not tame, will be a good reminder.
Our best chance lay in this afternoon game drive in Chobe Park, a great lion sanctuary. We had come to believe that afternoon game drives were more productive than early morning ones. With afternoon drives, the later in the drive, the better the viewing odds due to the declining sunlight.
A lot of game drive quality hinges on the guide. Our guide seemed knowledgeable, but we were a bit worried. He was spending a lot of time telling us about things we already knew. We were seeing a lot, but time was fleeing and we wanted lions.
We hadn't driven far when I saw a sign marking the private drive to the Chobe Lodge. Almost directly across the sand road were 3 lions lounging in the shade waiting nightfall. They were only about 100m away, but they were lying in the sand, and difficult to spot at first. We could clearly see only two lying there. A while later they stood up to start the evening prowl, and then we saw there weren't two lions, but three.
They were something to see, these 3 female lions. Though they were female, you had to think of CS Lewis's hero, Aslan.
These were the real deal. These were liions, not second hand ones. Theses weren't caged zoo lions, these were the real thing. As Lewis said of Aslan, "He's not a tame Lion.". That's good to remember.
Seeing these real lions, wild, free, and not tame, will be a good reminder.
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