We are now at our second game preserve and have been on a total of five drives. Each is entirely different; you never know what you are going to see. The vehicles hold six guests and the seats are tiered in three rows of two. They are entirely open and each of us is on the side so we can see everything. What I didn’t expect was how close we get to the animals. They are very accustomed to the vehicles and unpreturbed by them. I literally had a lion ten feet from me today. Our guides know many of the animals and can tell stories about their family groups, mating habits, migrations, etc. They are also very skilled at sighting and finding the animals and talk to each other on walkie talkies, so if one finds something we high tail it to that spot. They often follow the animals deep into the bush, off of the trail.

This morning I got up at 5:30 and went out on out deck to take a picture of the river before we left. I heard some splashing and watched two big hippos lumber out of the water and onto the bank. Those are the unexpected surprises that happen in the African bush! Here are some more photos from the past two days. Click on the photos to see them larger–