Pride Rocks

So back to Kenya. Did I mention that the entire I was on safari, I was quietly singing either Circle of Life or I Just Can't Wait to Be King to myself? Well I was, because it was exactly how it looks in the Lion King, pretty much.

On the second day of safari, we got up pre-dawn in order to go on our early morning drive.

It was, for the most part, a slightly disappointing drive. Once you've seen one distant impala, or one warthog's fleeing bum, you've kind of seen them all. We did, however, get to see some baboons and mongooses up close, and got to see a couple of giraffes, if slightly from a distance.

Until this point, I should add, I had been something of a safari passenger, both literal and metaphorical. Ben, our driver, did this for a living, and so despite also driving, was always the first to spot something. Kelvin is a lawyer, but a lawyer who has done several safaris, and so if Ben didn't get something, he did. I only ever saw an animal when it was basically blocking the track, the kind that Ben didn't even bother pointing out.

So we were on our way back to the lodge, and I thought I saw a thing, and before I knew it, I'd shouted at Ben to stop, and told him to reverse. And there, about three metres from us, were the things that I thought I had seen, but without a great degree of certainty.

What followed was basically the best fifteen minutes of my life, as we sat and watched these three young male lions groom and play with each other, completely not bothered by us. Ben reckoned they must have hunted in the night and fallen asleep where they were, not noticing that they were right by the safari track.

I sort of can't get believe it happened. Ben said we were 'very lucky', and that's how we felt. Even safari-pro Kelvin had never been so close to a lion, let alone three.

Eventually, as the sun rose and the place got hotter, they each wondered off to somewhere shadier and less touristy, and we ambled back to the lodge feeling all kinds of happy feelings.