After the lion feast we witnessed the previous night, we were wondering how this drive could possible compete. By showing us 11 lions and cubs plus a close up encounter with a leopard, this drive was certainly delivering. When we first left the lodge there was a big male elephant crossing the road in front of us. First he raised his trunk and then he turned towards at the truck. With his ears flapping in a display of dominance he said good morning and then was on his way. An auspicious start to be sure. We motored along seeing the birds still roosting in the trees and the other animals getting a start to their day. I saw a pile of bones and asked if it was an elephant but Isaac said no. He stopped and put some of the vertebra together to show us that it was a giraffe. While he was giving us the demo a safari vehicle drove up pretty fast. We did not know what was up as the driver got out and talked to Isaac. It was a guide for another lodge telling Isaac that a large pride of lions had been spotted. So off we went to see them. What a treat! There were a total of 11 lions and cubs in this pride. Three adult lioness and eight cubs made up the group. We got in front of them and they walked past us. Some of the cubs were pretty skinny and they needed to eat meat. The milk they were getting was no longer enough to sustain them. They made a beeline for some thick cover to take a nap within, so we moved on. Isaac took us through some beautiful tall grass to have a leopard encounter. This leopard was sleek and beautiful. It was great to see it slip in and out of vies through the tall grass. Then it jumped into the tree and sat with us for 10 minutes till we were too boring and it took a nap. We left but soon saw a bird after bird landing in a pool. Apparently it was filled with fish and since the pool was drying up they were easy pickings. A surprise bush breakfast was waiting for us. It was kind of an open secret since we left camp early and did not have any breakfast yet.
Our first sighting
The light is just breaking so it is hard to identify these birds
This tree had a large group of white pelicans and a single sacred ibis
More pelicans
It is safer in the trees if you are a tasty bird
The maribou stors is not a pretty bird
The bones of a giraffe
A close up of the skull
A very pretty Little Bee-eater
The driver with the tip about the lions
Off we go throwing a long shadow!
Crossing hippo highways
The hippo highways were also in various stages of drying out
We could hear the bark of the baboons so we knew we were getting close to the lions
Here they come only eight so far
Nine total in this shot
The cub needs more meat
They kept up the pace with the adults
Off they go to the low bushes in the background
Mr. Warthog off at a good pace
The warthogs always seemed to be in a hurry
The Impala would dart off at a moments notice
The elephants were having a dust bath
News of a leopard
Out in the tall grass we go to find the leopard
There it is
Nice place to blend in
We watched as the leopard walked through the grasses. Isaac said that we should be patient as it is sure to jump into a tree to get a better vantage to survey the surroundings
Up the tree it goes with a graceful bound
Getting comfortable
Looking for something to eat
It was a funny position with the back legs straddling a big branch
This is one clean cat, lots of grooming went into this look
Hanging out with the tourists
I got to see into the eyes as it looked in each direction
The eyes seemed half closed as if it were a bit sleepy
No time to sleep just yet
The leopard is in the lower branch next to the trunk
Is he evaluating us for food?
giving us a sniff
We are safe as I an not smelling my best
OK that is enough looking
Time to nap
The tail of the sleepy leopard
This leg is more comfortable to rest a head on
Purrrrr-fect
Snooze time
Out light a light we take this cue and head out ourselves
We see a large number of birds landing at the same waterhole
Isaac counted 7 different species, I see a scared Ibis, marabou storks, white pelicans and pink backed pelican
They are gorging themselves on fish trapped in a evaporating pool
The Zebra and wildebeests like to hang out together
King of the mole hill
Buddies
A pair of ground hornbills
Wrapping up our drive
