Shooting the big five – Lion
I spotted lions on almost every game drive I went on in Kenya and Tanzania. In the Masai Mara the drivers go off road a lot and get as close as they can to the animals, so we were very close to several lions. In the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, the drivers are all made to stick to the roads, but even then its amazing how close you sometimes get. In the Serengeti and crater I saw several prides of lions, mostly sleeping but in one sighting the pride were all feasting on their kill.
The lion in the photo above was in the Serengeti. We spent a good hour watching it watch a crowd of gazelles drinking from a water hole, just waiting for the perfect moment to make its move. In the end we didn’t witness a kill, it was still in the same place that we first saw it when our game drive ended. Our jeep was getting some strange looks that afternoon. It wasn’t because everyone else had long zoom lenses that put our point and shoot cameras to shame, it was because we were sitting on the roof of the jeep passing round a tube of pringles whilst watching the lion.
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Great stories and pics! Sounds like an awesome start to your adventures. Can't wait to see the whole set of pics when you return.
it would have been cool if you saw it in action- it's your own animal planet show….LIVE
I will hopefully get more picture uploaded when I get to Livingstone or Cape Town. I need to cut them down first, I've filled a 16GB card already!
Great pic! I would really love to go on an African safari, and I know it would be an incredible opportunity for photography. But part of me thinks I would be shaking with fear if I was that close to a full-sized lion!