Safari #8: Bonus Safari!

This morning, we had our last early morning at Londolozi. We had all assumed that Tuesday night's safari would be our last, as we had a 9:20am flight. As we were finishing up that evening, our Ranger, Lucian, told us that we could still had out for Wednesday's 5:30am safari, and that he could arrange transport for us back to our lodge by 8:00 for breakfast. What a wonderful surprise!! Bonus Safari!!

We headed out at 5:30, watched the sunrise, saw some cranes in a nearby trees, and a bunch of hippo.

We found a female giraffe - much smaller than the male one we had seen yesterday.

Lucian, and our tracker, James, then found some lion tracks from a pride ER had seen the other day, and started to track it.

Along the way, we found another giraffe - a tall male one this time. He was nearby the whole time we were tracking the lions. (Who apparently, were hunting buffalo, possibly giraffe last night - according to the tracks.)

Lucian and James had been tracking for only 15 minutes or so, when James looked up, pointed, and declared, "They are."

It was the same pride that we had found two days ago, finishing their meal. This time, there was one lion, two lioness, and 6 (older) cubs.

We watched the Pride for a while. The male giraffe we still nearby, and it was very interesting watching the interaction between the lions and the giraffe. They definitely saw each other, and it seemed like the lion might make the effort to hunt after him. The giraffe walked cautiously, trying to assess the situation. Eventually, the giraffe slowly walked away, and the entire pride remained resting.

On our way to our pick-up vehicle, back to the lodge, we experienced what I can only describe as the Safari Grand Finale! Within 15 minutes, we passed a herd of elephants, a buffalo, rhino, an eagle and two owls, several impala, mongoose, and the largest dazzle of zebra we've seen yet. Add that to the lion, hippo, cranes, and nyala that we had seen earlier, and I'd say it was a jam packed, star-studded finale of a safari! It was if they had all come out to bid us farewell!! It was like the end of a Disney movie. ;)

We made it back to our lodge just after 8:00, and our host, Nadia, had a grand breakfast ready for us. We are, finished packing, and were off in a range rover, on our way to the airstrip 10 minutes before our flight. We arrived there early, and watched our plane land. :)

We will miss Londolozi, and the incredible people we met there. It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!!

Thank you, Nadia, Lucian, James, Jobs, and the rest of the staff at Londolozi!! We miss you already. xo