The second day of our safari adventure got off to an early start with a 5 am wake-up call. Thankfully the room had a coffee pod machine, so I could caffeinate before seeing people. We then had a quick breakfast. This was to essentially get your blood flowing for the 6 am game drive.

It was a bit chilly, so we appreciated the fleece ponchos that had been placed in our seats along with hot water bottles. I tried to scoff at the need for the poncho or the hot water bottle, but riding along in an open land cruiser at 20-30 mph for three hours can get cold.

As we were driving along on the unpaved roads our driver pointed out hippos, Marabou storks and Zebra. All of the sudden our driver picked up the pace and I thought we were either running to something or from something. As luck would have it we were driving to a pack of African wild dogs. According to our guide it is rare to see them and he had gone multiple years without seeing them. The dogs were running around and yipping at a hippo that they clearly wanted to vacate the area. Eventually the hippo got annoyed and lumbered into a shady spot and the dogs calmed down.

After this, we drove around a bit more and saw some dazzles of zebra. Returning to the lodge at 9 am we had “big breakfast”. While quite delicious there weren’t any adventurous options. After breakfast, everyone returned to their rooms for a nap or to clean up. Lunch was then served around noon and afternoon tea at 3 pm. Being good folks from Wisconsin we decided we should have a gin and tonic, strictly to keep the malaria away.

The afternoon drive started at 4pm and our driver and tracker team were determined to locate some lions for us. About an hour into the drive he located a small pride of lions. shortly after we arrived another car from the lodge pulled up and the guides started talking shop. At this point the lions and cubs decided they wanted to cross to the other side of the road. As they got closer and closer to our truck a few us nervously said “Jeffrey, Jeffrey, and finally JEFFREY!” he told us to remain calm and keep our hands inside the truck and we’d be fine. We got some great shots of the lions. Truly an amazing experience to be that close to a wild predator.

After the high point of the lions, we drove around a bit more to look for more game, but I was enjoying the diversity of the landscape and sunset. We enentually made our way back to the lodge. For dinner, I opted to be adventures again and had wildebeests. We were happy to go back to our room to wind down and prepare for the exciting day that awaited us. Those 5 am wake-up calls come early after all.

more to come.