Love at first Lioness

I knew Lion King was my favorite movie for a reason!

There they were--two lionesses lazily lounging beneath a tree, post wildebeest breakfast.

One lifted her head to see what all the fuss was all about.  When I peered  at her through Jens’ (my professor) binoculars I saw wide-set, slanted eyes  that conveyed  a cool confidence.  She flicked an indifferent tail and I was plainly mesmerized.  

Dare I say, she was the most regal creature I’ve ever seen!!

Apparently, lion sightings are rare on game drives in Pilanesburg, so I feel quite lucky. 

We spied a rhino and a few hippos in the distance mimicking boulders, were fortunate to encounter two elephants munching by the road, and were graced by quite a few giraffes milling about. Zebras, monkeys, impalas and wildebeest also said hello.

  I’ll let the photos speak for the adventure, but I will say—-

this was the BEST day.  

It was absolutely FREEZING, but no matter; the wind plastered a smile on my face and my heart was a ball of joy bouncing for four ecstatic hours on that rutted dirt road.

Israel, our guide

Then, later that afternoon we met Papa, who eliminated the contest for best animal encounter. 

Papa is the resident male giraffe of Kedar, the much smaller reserve where we stayed. 

with Adriana and Rachel at Kedar

We befriended the local ecologist (Hemel) who took us on a much more intimate game drive where the animals breached our personal bubbles.

  (In a fantastic way). 

Papa, for instance, has rich patches, much darker than the giraffes in Pilanesburg and a wide smile.

Papa

 I know this because we saw Papa in HD. He has a thing for Toyota Landcruisers, and once he located us, he stalked us relentlessly for the next hour.  I can’t begin to illustrate how shocking and comical the circumstance was.  

Every time we stopped to photograph flora, fauna, etc. there was Papa...

creeping up on us from behind with that awkwardly graceful lope that only giraffes have (right-right, left-left; right-right, left-left).

 Once, while petting the local Impala darling, Teaspoon, we saw Papa galloping towards us and had to jump back in the vehicle and peel away.

What a blissfully absurd situation.  And what a jovial giraffe!

Though Papa’s shenanigans would have been enough, the rest of this game drive was magical. 

As the sun set on the park, it set fire with color.  The wind wasn’t biting (as hard!) and the grasses nearly reached my fingertips.  We waited for a happy eternity when a herd of Zebras crossed our path, and saw a surplus of deer-like breeds that an untrained eye can barely differentiate: Impala, Kudo, Nyala, Bushbuck, Springbok...

There were many, many babies.  The animals are all befuddled by the unseasonably warm winter.  

When darkness fell, we said goodnight to a Pygmy Hippo and warmed our chilly cores by a campfire before heading to bed.

Sigh.

These days are those that make you fall in love with Africa.

Love from Cape Town.