How Close Can You Get?

See the wheel in the background? That was one of our three jeeps. There was a cluster of jeeps full of tourists watching the pride of lions. This gal decided to meander across the road. She was really close. And really beautiful. And, no, I was not afraid. I believe that if you stay in your vehicle the animals will not try to get you. And this is true as long as you don't try anything really stupid like reaching out the window to touch the cat's back. Our guide told us he once had a client who tried that. The good news was that she got her arm back in and the window closed all in one piece. The bad news was that the lioness was really really mad. She jumped up on the front of the jeep and stared angrily at the guide who was sitting in the driver's seat. All the lions were running around the car yelling and growling. It was terrifying. The guide told everybody to sit still and wait and they did. Finally the lioness jumped down and the lions went about their business. The stupid tourist didn't even own up to what she had done. But the two other jeep drivers had seen her. The guide sent her home as he definitely should have. Nobody in our group even vaguely considered doing anything so crazy and dangerous. It was a great story. And we were glad it didn't happen to us.

Almost forgot to mention the other highlight of the day. We saw a cheetah under a tree. What a thrill. That's the cat I most wanted to see.