We woke early to a wonderful breakfast and then it was off to our first ever game drive. A game drive is much like a safari, but there is no hunting involved. You ride around in a land rover and look for wild game. The amazing thing is that the wild game are not spooked by the vehicle. They just look at it and turn away. Our guide did share some safety things with us - never climb out of the vehicle until given the OK. Never reach out to touch any animal - they are wild and you might be seen as a meal! If you remain still and quiet you may see some amazing things...And off we went!
At the gate we had to stop and check in. My stomach had butterflies as I was so excited to see the big animals. We had not gotten 1 mile into the park when we came upon a large herd of impala and cape buffalo (water buffalo). The vehicle stopped and the engine was turned off. We just watched - WOW!!!
Further on down the road we came upon a pair of lions - doing a mating ritual. We were 30 feet from these amazing animals when we had a view not seen by many. The female was on her back, she stood up and began circling the male. And you guessed it, it was love at first site! I don't need to go into the details, but needless to say it was amazing! Enjoy some of the pictures I'll post with this blog.
We also were able to see giraffe (Twiga in Swahili), Tembo (elephant), more Simbas, zebras, and lots of wildlife! It was breathtaking! Half way through the drive, we came to a watering hole. We learned this was man-made as there was very little water around. In the hole (which was quite large) there was a hippo. On the hippo's back there was an egret. This egret was very interested in us and came so close we could almost touch it. No fear!
During our break we were treated to cold sodas and some snacks. We rested for about half an hour and then it was off to see more of the park. We laughed as we saw more and more impala. Our wonderful guide told us these were "fast food" for the big animals. There were so many of them - I didn't really grow tired of seeing them, but it would be like seeing deer everywhere you went.
We ended our day after about 5 hours driving around the park. The sun was beginning to wane and we made our journey back out to Vuma Hill. Once we returned, we had a wonderful meal and it was off to pack our things. We boarded the bus and began our 4 hour ride to Iringa.
A new adventure was to begin!
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