Africa 35: We Happen Upon a Lion.

I've mentioned before about how competent our African guides were.  This is another example.  We were driving down the road after lunch when our guide, Abram, stopped the truck.  Lion, he said, pointing.

We looked out over the horizon and, even with binoculars, saw nothing but termite mounds.  But, sure enough, a few moments later the lion came into view.

How had Abram seen it?  We stood transfixed as the lion casually strolled toward us. 

This is how it often is on safari.  One never knows what's around the corner. 

It soon became apparent that he was going to cross the road right in front of us.

Here's an interesting question:  How does one know when or where the best picture will be?

The answer is, one never does.  For that reason, I tend to keep pressing the shutter at times like this.

I was teased in a good way about that.  But, I figure it's always easier to discard shots that don't work once I get home than to have lost a shot entirely.

Besides, one never knows what an animal is going to do next.

In this case, he crossed the road and continued walking.  I kept shooting. 

Once again, our luck held.  We were in the right place at the right time with the right guide.

Our guides cautioned us that our experience of seeing all the amazing things we did was not typical.

"The animals must like you," one of our guides said.  "Otherwise they would not keep showing up for you.  Other groups often have very different experiences when they come out on safari."


Next time, we talk about elephants.

Continue on to Post 36: Interesting Facts About Elephants, by clicking here.