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March 31, 2025 morning
Wild elephants and lions


Today’s sky: fortunately the rain stopped and remained clear all morning

When Gail scheduled an African safari during our one-week break from cruising, she had one clear priority: a hot air balloon ride. (She had scheduled one last year in Agadir, Morocco, but it was cancelled at the last minute.) Gail picked a tour agent and a safari lodge based solely on their ability to provide a hot air balloon ride. She succeeded with Kapama River Lodge, where we are staying. And she scheduled a balloon ride for this morning.

Yesterday, lodge reception told Gail that the balloon ride was cancelled. Gail contacted her tour agent, who confirmed the bad news. So we are now zero for two. The balloon was cancelled due to weather, and last night the sky lit up every three seconds with thunder and lightning.

By this morning at our 5:00 am wake-up time, the rain had stopped. Still, Gail decided to sleep in and skip the morning game drive. She is fighting off a cold and doesn’t want it to get worse. Russell joined the rest of our group for another spectacular morning.

More guests have shown up at the lodge, which is now sending out 20 trucks at a time versus 12 previously. The disadvantage is that some areas can get congested. The advantage is that there are more guides and trackers sharing animal sightings.


Last night’s rain left its mark on the unpaved dirt roads


After it rains, lots of tortoises come out


The nests of social weaver birds. Weavers build communal nests together, where each couple gets its own “room.” Weavers always build on the northwest side of a tree, for maximum protection against the wind.


The guides all have radios to share information about animal sightings

We drove right out to a herd of wild elephants. Our truck as at the back, and the elephants were slowly moving toward the back. So we had to keep backing up, as the herd completely surrounded us.


A herd of elephants


As the herd kept advancing to feed, we had to keep backing up our truck to stay out of their way


The herd included many young calves, including this two-month old


After grazing, the herd headed down to a waterhole to drink

Next, we found a pride consisting of a male lion and two females. Once again, we were able to park our truck right next to them without them minding. When a female hunkered down, she literally disappeared into the tall grass.


The male lion approaches


One of the female lions


When a lion hunkers down in the grass, it becomes almost invisible

After our normal snack break, we encountered two more female lions sleeping in the road. As they woke up, they heard impalas in the distance and immediately went into crouching stances. We were thrilled not only to see all of these wild animals, but to be able to park literally feet away from them.


A snack break in the middle of nowhere


As we headed back, we encountered two more lionesses in the middle of the road


They were just waking up


But when they heard some nearby impalas, they immediately crouched in stalking positions

In the meantime, Gail was able to get some rest and take some medication. She is feeling better and plans to join the afternoon game drive.

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