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Before I knew it, we’d arrived. The girls awoke in time to see what looked
like a two headed giraffe. Upon closer
inspection, I realized there were actually two giraffe standing next to each
other. Perhaps they were part of the
welcoming committee since they were positioned at the entrance to the game
lodge. We followed the road to our
lodge and exited the vehicle. Baboons
and wild monkeys roamed the grounds at will.
Sounds of monkey screeching and hippopotamus conversation were in the
air. It was a lovely setting. We were greeted by Peter, one of the lodge
managers, and shown to our tents. I had
never slept overnight in a tent before, nor did I have any real outdoor camping
experience. However, this tent was
unlike anything I could have imagined.
It was completely luxurious – like something out of Conde´ Naste travel
magazine. All of a sudden I really missed Harden and
wished I was sharing the experience with him.
He would have greatly appreciated the uniqueness of the accommodations
since he has worked in the hotel business for more than twenty years. Once we were settled into our rooms, we were
given a quick tour around the grounds.
Peter informed us that elephants and rhinos were known to frequent the
property, particularly at night. If we should
be walking around the lodge after dark and happen upon either of the two, we
were advised to keep our distance since the animals have the ‘right of way.’ I
smiled and thought to myself, “I won’t have any problem doing just that.” Peter also advised us to remove all food and
snacks from our vehicle and not to keep ANY food in the tent. The animals have a keen sense of smell and
wouldn’t hesitate to destroy property in search of a little midnight snack.
During the tour, we met a couple of vacationers that had failed to heed Peter’s
warning. They relayed a story about a
hungry elephant that had ripped off the ENTIRE top of their S.U.V. the night
before. Apparently the tourists thought
the elephant wouldn’t be able to smell the food that they had stored inside a
cooler in the back of their vehicle.
WRONG. Not only did the elephant smell the food, it
also found the food, and then marked the vehicle with its scent so that it
could return every night for another snack (elephants never forget, you know). I felt so sorry for these poor people. They were scared to death! 
After
the tour, we sat down to enjoy an al fresco lunch. It was a perfect day: great company, really tasty food, incredible
weather, and a fabulous view overlooking the river. It was hard for me to believe I was really
half way around the world. The sounds of
the hippos quickly brought me back to reality. 
Kevin
had arranged for us to participate in the evening game drive which started just
before dusk. Our driver was a young man named 'Friday.' Also
accompanying us in our vehicle was a man and woman named Dennis and Jane, who
had traveled from Europe to enjoy a winter safari holiday. The main attraction for all of the lodges in
the area was the 5600+ square mile South Luangwa National Park, home to
hundreds of species of flora and fauna. Savannah,
Kevin, and their girls were in the seat in front of Dan and me. Jan chose to skip the game drive so she could
enjoy the peaceful tranquility of the lodge for a few hours. Analiese peppered her mom and dad with
questions about the different animals. I
loved listening to her little voice and watching her reaction to everything she
was seeing. Game drive vehicles from
various lodges were all out enjoying the animal sites and sounds. Friday was a novice guide (he’d only been
leading trail rides for 3 years), and he was becoming a real source of
irritation to the more experienced drivers.
At one point during the drive we heard animal calls that sounded like an
alarm system. The elephants, alpaca, and
puku seemed to be running toward us, and I was getting nervous. A leopard had
been spotted just a few yards away.
Great Day in the Morning! A
couple of other jeeps were also in the area, and everyone knew about the
leopard spotting (I don’t know how the word got out). The leopard had seized its prey (a puku) and
was enjoying its feast inside a thicket of brush. The other vehicles stood motionless hoping to
get a picture of the leopard kill while our vehicle revved its engine, drove in
circles, disturbed the silence, and annoyed the passengers in the other jeeps
that had packed their professional grade camera gear. I was struck by the sophistication of their equipment. Some of the cameras had
12 inch camouflage covered lenses attached to a base that was supported by a
tripod. These people were serious about
their picture taking, and I was embarrassed to let them see my little point and shoot
Nikon. Dan and I had both brought a pair of binoculars, so I was able to focus
in on the thicket. I’m happy to
say that I saw the leopard’s tail, but that was all. Once the drama of that moment was over, we
continued on. Zebras, giraffes,
elephants, water buffalo, alpaca, and hippos were getting ready for bed. It was such a beautiful evening. I felt like singing Home on the Range, but I
didn’t dare. Peter drove up in another vehicle. He had come to retrieve Savannah, Analiese, and Gabriella so that Savannah could get the girls ready for bed. The rest of us proceeded on with the tour. The sun had set, and we stopped for a quick snack break and chance to stretch our legs. We then continued driving with the Jeep’s headlights turned on. Friday’s assistant road shot-gun and carried a spotlight so that he could point out any interesting nocturnal activity. I wished he had carried an actual shot gun just in case we encountered any trouble, but weapons weren't permitted inside the park. Friday decided to double back and head toward the area where the leopard had been spotted. Signs posted throughout the Park instructed visitors to stay on the paths and remain a reasonable distance from the animals. In Friday’s mind, ‘reasonable’ was definitely ‘relative.’ He was intent on getting a look at that leopard up close, so he actually drove the jeep into the thicket of brush. I found myself ducking and weaving to avoid being whacked in the face and side with tree limbs. Poor Dan. He had to sit in that back seat with me. Thankfully we DIDN’T spot the leopard; however, it had left behind traces of the kill. We could see splatters of blood here and there, and I was ready to get out of the bushes and return to the path. We drove in further. The jeep was surrounded on all sides by limbs and brush (prayerfully no poison ivy or oak), and the clearing had narrowed significantly. Friday decided it was time to turn around, but we were stuck. The only way to get out was to put the jeep in reverse, back into the brush, and go out the same way we'd come in. He must have forgotten that Dan and I were in the back of the jeep. He kept maneuvering the jeep forward then back, forward the back in an effort to get us turned around. At one point I was leaning completely forward with a tree limb stuck up my back! In my mind I kept praying, asking the Lord to help us. Once Friday finally got the jeep headed in the right direction, I exclaimed, “Thank you God!” Jane laughed out loud. I did too, but more out of a sense of relieved anxiety than humor.
I was beginning to have misgivings about Friday’s level of common sense, to say the least. I started to murmur about our predicament to Dan and Kevin when our jeep spotted the headlights of two other vehicles. We drove in their direction. There, lying in the middle of the road with spotlights shined on them were two young lions – a male and female. I couldn’t believe it! Friday pulled the jeep up so close to them we couldn’t have been more than 10 meters away. He turned off the engine, and we just watched, whispered, and snapped pictures. My poor camera shots didn’t do these creatures justice. They were beautiful! I must admit I was thankful they were on Dan and Kevin’s side of the vehicle. I wondered why they didn’t charge at us. Dennis explained the reason they were so docile was because it was mating season. Their ritual was to mate every 15 minutes, and they were tired (no comments ☺). The lions stood up and began to move even CLOSER to our jeep. Friday sat paralyzed. Dan leaned over closer to me (they were only about 5 meters from his right leg), and I put my hand over my mouth to muffle a scream. It wasn’t until the lions were almost eye level with Friday did he wake up out his stupor, crank up the jeep and throw the vehicle into reverse so the lions could pass in front of us. Whew! That was too close for my comfort!
Our jeep became isolated from the other vehicles as Friday was forging his own path through the game park. We spotted more hippos, and I got to see my first hyenas. I know that all of God’s creation is magnificent, but hyenas really are the scourge of the African savannah. That is one ugly animal. As we headed back toward the lodge, I looked up into the clear, night sky. There must have been 5 billion stars twinkling overhead. It was a spectacular light show, and I had a thousand thoughts running through my mind. We pulled into the lodge parking lot, and Jan was waiting. The four of us were going to enjoy a late night supper. As we walked past the tents on our way to the restaurant, there stood a two story tall elephant right in front of Kevin and Savannah’s tent door. We all froze. I prayed Savannah didn’t have any food in the tent. Thankfully the elephant wasn’t feeling overly curious that night, and it walked by without incident. Kevin and Savannah corresponded via text, and she assured him that they were alright. My goodness! It was a night to remember, yet the adventures of the morrow were only hours away.
next time: A Rose Among Thorns
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