Lion Hunt

I am obsessed with lions. They are beautiful and I find them fascinating, being the only cat in the world that lives socially. So when we were finally driving through the world famous Kruger National Park, I was excited. Today we were going to see lions. Through the day we saw many amazing things. I had learnt my lesson in Masebe, that each animal was a lucky sighting, including the birds and that Africa didn't owe me anything. But I also had to deal with a quiet desperation that said, no matter how much I resisted, that I wanted to see a lion. After 4 hours of seeing giraffe and zebra, I was getting bored with them. Normally I would have been happy to sit and watch them, but that desperate part of me wanted to move, and see what I came for. It also started ticking off animals, checking ones I'd seen and listing the ones I hadn't that I wanted to. This is a bad way to be during a game drive, as the animals are the ones who decide when to come out, and it is a very mercenary attitude towards wildlife. But I couldn't help it. This was my last chance.

When the guide said there were fresh lion prints on the road I was excited. But excited quickly became annoyed as the guide made no move to follow them, or even slow down so we could see them. This was typical of the place. I had two voices warring in my head for most of that day. The conservationist was glad to see the park. It has set, regular roads to drive along, and you only see what is near the road. This is good for the animals and the environment, as crazy tourists aren't making tracks and driving cars all over the place. Unfortunately, it means you are limited to seeing what is on the road. So unless a lion is casually walking along it, you have little chance of seeing one.

When we arrived at the gate to drive back, I was crushed. Once again, Africa had taken one look at my little dream and laughed it to peices. The day had been cold, wet and I had spent most of it shivering, desperately looking out for animals. But I hadn't seen a lion. The next day we were flying to the coast and this was our last chance for game spotting. I had come all the way to Africa and hadn't seen a lion.

My first thought when I got back to our accommodation was to ask to go on a night drive again. This is what we had done the night before, when we had spotted the leopard. Our tour leader organised it while I was sitting in the lobby and I immediately jumped in, being first on the list. This was my second chance and I was hoping it wasn't going to disappoint.

The kind of drive they did in this park was very different to Kruger. And while my inner conservationist hates it, my inner tourist/wildlife freak loves it. The lodge we stayed at had its own park and drivers. This is where we went for the night game drives. And this is where we got very, very lucky. The big difference is that instead of having one straight road through the park, you follow 4x4 trails that criss cross all over. This means better chance of running into animals. Secondly, they have  a tracker at the front whose entire job is to look for tracks and animals and find them. Thirdly, they are not adverse to some bush bashing.

When we jumped in the truck, the guide had already been told about our situation. He knew we wanted to see lions, and he knew this was our last chance. So he delivered. During the day I had learned the the Shono word for lion is Ngala. And this is what we kept hearing over the radio when we set out. I was up the front with two other girls and we were very excited. As we got closer our excitement grew. When we turned off the track, they squealed. And when I pointed out the first flashes of gold in the grass, I lost circulation in my arms. We finally found them. The king of the jungle and his three companions, snoozing in the tall grass. I had finally seen lions in Africa. And they were magnificent. I can't describe what it meant to me, so I won't try.  I could have stayed there all night. But I'm glad we didn't.

After about 15 mins, we had to move. We had to make room for another car, and some of the people were getting bored. It is true that the lions were sleeping and therefore not moving. So we moved out. And just as we were finally calming down, we turned a corner and saw a cheetah. Now this was totally unexpected. I didn't even know there were cheetah in the park. earlier in the day when the desperate half of my brain was compiling lists it didn't even mention cheetah. Or if it did, it was quickly discarded as too fanciful. Like the leopard, I hadn't even dreamed of seeing one, as they are both rare and scarce. But she was out and about, and even more, she was hunting. You could see it in her pose, she was out looking for food. We followed her for a bit, and then she did the most amazing thing. She walked up to the top of a small hill and sat on top. We sat in the car in awe, while she sat atop her termite throne with the evening sky behind her, posing like she was on the cover of National Geographic.

This for me would have been enough for the evening. I was already glad just to have seen the lions with the cheetah an added bonus. But Africa was putting on a show. So just as we thought we were heading back, we turned another corner and there were three lionesses, resting right beside the track. These girls were magnificent. And before where there had been grass and distance between us, now there were only a few short feet of air. After several minutes of yawning, the lead female got up. Her daughter followed. Her second daughter was not so eager, rolling on the ground, for all the world saying '5 more minutes mum'. But she didn't wait and eventually the three of them walked off along the road. We followed them a short way, but they walked off into the dark, and we had to return home.

From crushing disappointment of a simple wish denied, to the overwhelming sense of your dreams surpassed a few short hours. Africa could be cruel but she could also be kind.