207/365 - 26th July 2011
I must apolgoise for not uploading my photos daily. I was operating with 3G and for some reason when I tried to upload it kept timing out. This was causing me more stress than anything else. I decided to wait until I was back in Cape Town where I have a proper connection. I am now back in Cape Town and am happily able to upload. Now onto the juicy stuff.
This was takem on our second to last drive on safari. We had just left our lodge for our afternoon drive when the ranger driving the other Landcruiser called us in as he had come across 3 lionesses (the mothers of the previous cubs). After following them through thick bush for about 5 minutes, something caught their attention and they went into "hunting mode". I was super excited as I have been going on safari for about 25 years or more and have never seen a kill. I know it sounds blood thirsty but it was something that I always wanted to see. We did not want to disturb the hunt so followed from a short distance. One lioness went right, one left and one hung back in the middle - all of this was done in complete silence - I was amazed at how each lioness knew exactly what to do. All of a sudden we heard hooves and a distress call - they had whatever it was they were hunting! We motored quickly to the site where the kill was and arrived just in time to see one lioness biting the female bushbuck through the skull to kill it. Unfortuantely, the kill was located in quite thick bush. I could see enough but all my photos have too much foliage. Anyway, the noise from those lionesses was something I have never experienced in my life. Two of them were fighting over one part of the bushbuck about 1 metre from us. It was really amazing. I realised only later that I should have recorded the audio with my camera - I think I was too caught up in the moment.
Anyway, that rates as one of my best safari sightings/experiences ever. I had to laugh though as there were 2 people from Atlanta, Georgia ho had arrived the previous night so this was their second drive on safari and they saw a kill. I calculated that I have probably been on 100 drives and this was my first kill. I hope they don't think that this happens all the time!
207/365 - 26th July 2011
I must apolgoise for not uploading my photos daily. I was operating with 3G and for some reason when I tried to upload it kept timing out. This was causing me more stress than anything else. I decided to wait until I was back in Cape Town where I have a proper connection. I am now back in Cape Town and am happily able to upload. Now onto the juicy stuff.
This was takem on our second to last drive on safari. We had just left our lodge for our afternoon drive when the ranger driving the other Landcruiser called us in as he had come across 3 lionesses (the mothers of the previous cubs). After following them through thick bush for about 5 minutes, something caught their attention and they went into "hunting mode". I was super excited as I have been going on safari for about 25 years or more and have never seen a kill. I know it sounds blood thirsty but it was something that I always wanted to see. We did not want to disturb the hunt so followed from a short distance. One lioness went right, one left and one hung back in the middle - all of this was done in complete silence - I was amazed at how each lioness knew exactly what to do. All of a sudden we heard hooves and a distress call - they had whatever it was they were hunting! We motored quickly to the site where the kill was and arrived just in time to see one lioness biting the female bushbuck through the skull to kill it. Unfortuantely, the kill was located in quite thick bush. I could see enough but all my photos have too much foliage. Anyway, the noise from those lionesses was something I have never experienced in my life. Two of them were fighting over one part of the bushbuck about 1 metre from us. It was really amazing. I realised only later that I should have recorded the audio with my camera - I think I was too caught up in the moment.
Anyway, that rates as one of my best safari sightings/experiences ever. I had to laugh though as there were 2 people from Atlanta, Georgia ho had arrived the previous night so this was their second drive on safari and they saw a kill. I calculated that I have probably been on 100 drives and this was my first kill. I hope they don't think that this happens all the time!