Lions and Leopards, Oh My!

Lions and Leopards, Oh My!

Barry and I were both up before our 6 am wakeup call. We both heard the roaring of lions in the distance. But, we could feel a lot of bumping and knocking all around our tent. We learned that a huge family...maybe a colony....heck, maybe a country of warthogs lives under our tent. There were also loud chortling sounds of hippos out front, too. We quickly dressed in our warmest gear and went to the lodge for breakfast. We sat around the fire on the deck overlooking the river. And it was COLD!!!! Really COLD! We took off in our open topped Range Rover bundled with blankets and hot water bottles to keep us warm! The very first thing we saw was mating squirrels? We loved seeing all of beautiful birds! Luckily we got to see a roan sable antelope. I'm not even sure that is the correct name! Barry and I had not seen one on our last journey to Botswana. And then Lemme found a leopard! She was a beauty! We watched her climb a tree. We knew that there was a HUGE male lion sleeping under a bush in our sight. We watched her easily climb down the tree while an enormous bull elephant was feeding and kicking up dust at the base of the tree. As she was silently walking straight towards me, she sensed the lion under the tree. Suddenly she stopped! Slowly, very slowly she moved into the grass at waters edge. She sized up her situation and decided that the "get back up in that tree" option her best bet. In a crouched position, she went back to the tree without making a sound. The lion never knew that she was that close to him. I wish that everyone could hear the commentary that Lane provided throughout our day in the Linyati! Late in the afternoon, King's Pool treated our family to a cocktail barge ride on the river. We did visit Namibia! Very memorable time watching the hippos, elephants, and the glorious sunset! We were all really missing Katie and Taylor!

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