The Lions

Several prides of lions roam the Inyati game reserve. The reserve being so large, and unfenced, and the bush so dense, makes finding leopards and lions challenging for the guides/trackers. For us, finding the animals is an interesting part of the safari experience. Tracking is not just looking for tracks, but the guide and tracker also listen for clues as to where the animals (especially the leopards and lions) are in the dense bush (for example, they listen for the leopard calling for her cubs or the birds squawking as the lion approaches) .

Before the pictures, a brief overview of our daily schedule:

• 5:00 a.m. Wake up knock at the door; 5:30 a.m. pre-game drive breakfast snack and coffee; 6:00 a.m. the game drive begins.
• 7:30 a.m. Morning coffee stop in the bush – unless we decided to continue tracking or viewing.
• 9:30 a.m. Post-game drive brunch back at the lodge.
• 10:30 a.m – 4:00 p.m. Work on our pictures or just relax by the pool or on the outside lounge deck. Usually we would see elephants or impala grazing on the banks of the Sand River so we were never bored.
• 4:00 p.m. Afternoon pre-game drive buffet; 4:30 off for our evening game drive.
• 6:30 p.m. Sundowner drinks and snacks in the bush, unless we decided to continue viewing.
• 7:30 p.m. Back to the lodge for a candlelight dinner at 8:00; 9:30 p.m. bedtime as we need a good sleep so we are wide-eyed for our morning drives.
• As it is dark when we arrive back at the game lodge, a “security guard” would walk us to/from our room to the dining room as the animals traverse through Inyati property at night. One night the guard shone his flashlight on two hippos who were grazing just at the back of our chalet. Next morning the security guard said there was an elephant at our front door around midnight. They call them security guards for good reason!

The lions are the great hunters. Even the leopard stays away from the lion.

The drive back to the lodge in the dark was full of surprises – the guides drive without lights. The tracker used a spotlight to scan the road and bushes as this was less intrusive. We came across this lion sleeping just off to the side of the road. We stopped to watch him for a few minutes and suddenly, while laying down, he let out a roar that shook the vehicle – hearing that piercing sound was incredible.