African sunset
It may be a cliche and it may even be a cartoon but the reality of the blazing African sun sinking into the horizon is a sight which usually marks a high point in any trip of a lifetime. That it happens every evening on this expedition does little to diminish the experience but to have it become a glowing exclamation point to a day of the extraordinary makes it one of those moments that will truly stay with you forever.
As we set out in search of lions(Panthera leo), our hopes were to see them resting under trees or in thickets of brush, panting heavily as they sought the shade. However our first attempt of telemetry was quickly abandoned as someone pointed to the trees surrounding the water hole. Six lions, including a large, heavily maned male, walked casually out of cover and with languid gaits made their way to the water's edge. Our vehicle was quickly manouvered to where we could get an even closer view and we were able to observe the cats in amazing details as they drank, wandered, rested and even played with each other. A moment when some of the females seemed to be circling the 4x4 as if stalking brought back the fact that these were wild animals and we weren't in a theme park and to stare into the eyes of one of these animals is to stare into pure nature.
That was our morning and we left camp in the afternoon feeling that a search for a lioness that was on her own would be a much less thrilling way to end the day. Little did we know, as just a few minutes after we had managed to locate Thika we witnessed her languid gait turn into a deadly run. She brought down a Blue wildebeest(Connochaetes taurinus) calf and then dropped it at her feet,panting lightly from the exertion and staring at us as if to remind us exactly what she was capable of. We followed her as she dragged her kill into the shade of a tree and then we sat and watched nature at it's rawest, listening to the primal sound of a large predator feeding.
To finish on another cliche, such is life in the wild and the blood red colour of that setting sun reminds you that you are just a small part of a much greater and more beautiful thing.
Greg Wright, volunteer, NZ
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