Day Three - Here Kitty Kitty!

We started the day heading back towards the pipeline road, in the hope of seeing the Lions we had seen yesterday again. Along the way, we came across a small troop of Yellow Baboons with a very tiny baby, next to the KWS Education Centre. We thought the Baboons were being a bit optimistic trying to get him an education at three days old!

We didn't see a thing along the pipeline road this time, so we headed on for Mudanda Rock and were delighted to find the waterhole is now back to its former glory. A couple of Buffalo were enjoying the water and in the distance we saw three Eland and a group of White-Backed Vultures on a carcass.

Karen looks out over the Mudanda Rock waterhole

From there we headed up to Lugard's Falls and met a tour guide who told us where he had seen some Lions. The directions led us along a track beside the Mbololo seasonal river, which we nicknamed Elephant Alley in 2008 because we kept having close encounters with Elephants along there due to the twisting nature of the track and the thick foliage. The drought between late 2008 and late 2012 left most of the foliage gone, so in recent years we have not had the same problem on this track but this year much of the foliage had grown back, so we were quite wary about some of the blind turns on the track. Eventually we reached the place where the guide told us he had seen Lions – and boy was he right! Five adults and two cubs were resting among the bushes right beside the road, on both sides! We were surrounded by Lions and loving it.

Two Lion Cubs playing together under a bush

Happy Times

If you have to go behind a bush, make sure there isn't one of these sleeping under it!

After the Lions, we were elated as we continued along the track and more was to come. Parts of the Mbololo still had water in and we came across a lovely scene with Elephants drinking on the other side of the stream, with their reflections in the water providing a lovely balance to the photographs.

Elephants on the Mbololo

For the rest of the journey back we came across more Elephants, Waterbuck, Grant's Gazelle, Dik Dik, numerous bird species and the most beautiful male Lesser Kudu we have seen.

The gorgeous Lesser Kudu