Day 3: Morning game drive

Courtney woke us all up while it was still dark so we could get out and see the animals as the day was just starting. We went out for about 90 minutes and came back to have breakfast around the fire.

We hoped to see elephants, but our luck didn’t stretch to elephants on this trip. Given everything else we’d been able to see and do, I can’t say I feel too bad about it. Saw a couple of elephants waaaaaay in the distance and that would have to do.

We went back to the lions who had made good headway (so to speak) on the water buffalo. The tails of lionesses and cubs twitched irritably as we drove over to them again, and the lion stalked off with offended dignity. The lionesses roared at us, and that’s a scary sound, I tell you what. It’s one thing when it’s the MGM lion within the circle on the screen; it’s quite another thing when hunters who have already taken down a water buffalo are 10 feet in front of you.

The story of the morning was giraffes. They were everywhere. And so many of them. I could readily imagine that if you were a guide in the park, after a while you’d wonder why everyone was getting so excited about these animals. It’s like people coming to a park in Oakland and getting excited when they see the squirrels. Still, giraffes are just so cool, you know. They’ve got the cool walk going. I bet they’d look good in a leather jacket.