Nothing like the lullaby of a lion's roar

This past Friday was Independence Day (1964) so of course we had the day off work. We were pretty keen on getting out of the city so Heather, our other friend Leila and I made plans with our friends Ebrahim (Ebs) and Salim to go to Kafue National Park, about 3 hours away. Unfortunately Heather had to go out of town for work so she couldnt come with us. We camped for the weekend, in the middle of the bush. The camp was beautiful, right on the Kafue river. It was very basic, no lodges or anything, just tents. A lovely eating area and very impressive bathrooms with proper toilets and everything! By now I am used to going in a latrine when I go to the compounds so this was luxury. We arrived Friday afternoon, rested for a few moments and then eagerly went on an evening game drive. We saw elephants, heaps of puku and impala (similar to deer), warthog, monkeys, baboons, waterbuck, kudu, and birds. It was amazing! We got back to camp and had a lovely meal. Saturday morning we woke up with the sunset and went on an early drive. Our driver told us that only about 15 minutes before we woke up, there was an elephant a mere 20 feet from our tent! On the drive we really wanted to spot some cats. No such luck, but we did see more elephants, some zebras, and vultures eating the leftover carcass of an impala. After breakfast we headed to another part of the river, 60km into the middle of nowhere, off the main road. A couple of times we had to stop the car to lift up a tree that had been broken down by elephants. We spent the afternoon relaxing, it was so peaceful there. We fished (I caught 2 fish!) and just sat by the water with the hippos not too far from us. There were no other people in sight, just the sounds of the birds and groans of the hippos. On the drive back to the main road we were lucky enough to spot a herd of about 50 elephants. It was quite something. We stopped in at a lodge that we had heard had a hippo that hangs out there. This was true, a hippo just lying there on their balcony overlooking the river with nothing more than a wicker bench separating us from him. Basil is his name. He is a wild hippo, not fed or trained by the lodge staff. He starting going there a few years back when he was being beaten up by the bigger hippos. I would too, it was a beautiful lodge! Now he is there on a daily basis, the owner told us. Great for business though!

Another delicious meal back at camp and a relatively early night to bed, considering we had woken up so early that morning. On our way back from the washrooms (after dark) I saw a set of eyes next to our tent, with my headlamp and immediately knew it was some sort of animal. I figured it was an impala or a puku since they are so rampant but when it didnt jump away but rather walked away ever so graciously, I knew it was not. I saw its approximate size and figure, described it to Ebs (who lived in the bush for many years) and sure enough.....it was most likely a leopard. A leapord???! Yikes! Apparently there is a female leopard with her cubs that pass through camp every so often. No need to worry though, I was quickly told. They are not at all interested in humans. Just don't bother them, they are more afraid of you then you are of them. So we sat and just talked for a while longer, only to hear a roar in the distance. Lions, Ebs says...they are likely fighting over a kill they had made. What's next? The sounds of elephants breaking down tree trucks for food. Don't worry, really - you are in a tent, you' re fine. So here we are in a camp with nothing more than a piece of nylon protecting us from the wild animals of Africa. As you can imagine, I didn't sleep all that well. But alas, I am fine. It was an amazing experience and a very relaxing weekend indeed.

I wanted to add some photos of the weekend but I only had a few minutes at the internet cafe so there wasn't enough time to upload them. Next time!