| We woke early, just before dawn, it was a clear cool | | | | safe for another day. To taunt the zebras the lioness |
| crisp morning; perfect conditions for a day of game | | | | found a quiet spot in the warm sun, lay down and |
| driving through the Park. We munched on a light | | | | dozed off to sleep. |
| breakfast of muffins, fresh fruit and coffee before | | | | We watch the herbs of nervous wildlife slowly move |
| climbing into our 4x4 and driving off into the African | | | | away from the position of the lion until safely out of |
| Savannah. | | | | harms way. A couple of hours had passed before we |
| It was only a few minutes before we encountered a | | | | knew it and our grumbly stomachs lead to the |
| pod of hippos basking in the cool waters in a pond. | | | | suggestion of moving on to find a spot to stretch |
| They watched us watching them as they sporadically | | | | our legs and feast on brunch. |
| slid under water before slowly resurfacing. We sat in | | | | We continued on our way stopping to view herds of |
| awe of these gentle giants before continuing on our | | | | buffalo and giraffe before arriving at our brunch stop. |
| way. | | | | We enjoyed a full meal of coffee, juice, fresh fruit |
| Day had broken and the great African plains burst | | | | and French toast. With our bellies now full we packed |
| with life with herds of giraffe, wildebeest, zebras and | | | | up and continued on our game drive. |
| cheeky warthogs grazing the sweet green grass. The | | | | 10 minutes later we spotted a leopard lazily draped |
| cool morning air seemed to energies Zebras whom | | | | over a branch of an Acacia tree. His belly was full and |
| played some sort of game of animal tag - the | | | | happily lazing about while his meal digested; |
| younger ones would try to nip the hocks of each | | | | completely unperturbed by our presence. Even a herd |
| other; in defense one would sit down and try to nip | | | | of elephant wandering past did not seem to bother |
| back. This game lead to a dozen or so zebras | | | | the leopard. |
| forming a strange yet amusing configuration of half | | | | The day was spent cruising around the game park at |
| standing, half sitting followed by a quick speedy | | | | our own leisure; having the independence of our own |
| chase across the Savannah. We watched this | | | | vehicle meant we did not have to rush to try to spot |
| amusing sight for several minutes. | | | | the next animal as the packed tourist vehicles |
| The zebras played happily until the great stallion let | | | | seemed to be doing. We saw the Big 5, as well as 3 |
| out an ear piercing warning screech. The herd | | | | of the Little 5, numerous wildlife and birds to top off |
| stopped moving immediately; frozen in position. At | | | | a truly memorable day. We arrived back at camp just |
| that moment we spotted a lioness casually wandering | | | | in time to watch the sun set over the plains. For |
| across the exposed plain only a couple of hundred | | | | dinner we enjoyed a BBQ feast of tender steak, |
| feet from the zebra herd. | | | | salads and garlic bread; washed down with a bottle |
| We held our breath as the adrenalin raced through | | | | of South Africa red wine. We retired to our walk-in |
| our veins. Where we about to see a kill? In some | | | | free-standing tents and crawled into our camp beds |
| ways we wanted the zebra to run for their lives and | | | | before falling asleep to the wild sound of the African |
| other ways we wanted to witness the ultimate in | | | | bush. |
| wildlife viewing. It was not long before our leader | | | | It was just another day on the 4x4 Fully Guided Self |
| pointed out that the lioness was too exposed and | | | | Drive Cape Town to Nairobi Adventure with Africa |
| clearly not hungry enough to hunt. So the zebra were | | | | Expedition Support. |