Recently I traveled to Africa. We saw the Big Five: elephants, lions, leopards, Cape buffalo, and rhinos. Along with the Big Five, we also spotted the Magnificent Seven: the big five plus wild dogs and cheetas. We viewed a lion pride stalking its prey, here is what happened:
“There! Right there!” My cousin Story pointed. “I don’t see anything… Oh, wait! Is that them?” I asked. We were looking for lions and they were masters of blending in with the landscape. “ Are they up on that ridge?” my mom asked. The guide then looked then replied with yes. And there they were, beautiful in the morning sun. The male stood high and proud. His mane framing his face and the one-year-old cub trailing behind him. The rest of the females were spread out around them. From the direction they were gazing, we could infer that they were staring at the herd of buffalo below the ridge. They started to descend to the bottom and Kirsten, our guide said “We might be able to get a better view from on top of the ridge! Does that seem okay with you? We all replied “Yes” in unison. The lions seemed to be going parallel to the ridge, so we decided to head up there! We saw the lions stalking a buffalo. We watched them for about thirty minutes. Then Kirsten said “The lions won’t do anything for a while because they are waiting for the right time to strike! I think it would be fair if we let another group in’’ We all agreed and we headed back to the lodge.
There was also one time when we were driving along the dirt road and out of know where, a black mamba stands straight up on its tail for a full five seconds, then slithered away into the tall grass off to the side of the road. My mom was on the side of the car that the mamba was on and was definitely surprised! My moms’ phone recorded it all, on accident and we play it back and it is hysterical!
Since we were there over Thanksgiving, we had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at the place we were staying. Since game drives were in the early morning and near the evening, we had lunch and most of the afternoon to our selves. Our schedule looked like this. Wake up at five in the morning, eat a light breakfast then start before the sun was up, so it didn’t get too hot. Then, at four we would go on another game drive and we would look at the wildlife and then before we headed back, we would have drinks and watch the sunset, then we would drive back. My sleep schedule was a bit off because I would start wanting to fall asleep on the evening game drives and was totally alert for the morning game drives.
To end our trip to Africa, we stopped in Cape Town and took a tour of the city by helicopter. We went to Robbin Island and learned about its great history. Our tour guide for Robbin Island was a former inmate who told us what it was like to be there. Africa was a trip I will never forget. Seeing all those animals in their real habitats was amazing and you really respect nature out in the bush country.
Eliza Green 